Meeting Rules and Procedures

SPEAKER SIGN-UP & TIME LIMITS. If you wish to speak, please fill out a "Request to Speak" form and give it to a staff person. Forms are available near the door to the meeting room. Time limits are indicated on the back of speaker sign-up forms, and under ‘agenda categories’ later in this summary. Generally, the Chairman will determine time limits for each speaker. Time limits for permit items are combined total time for all speakers in favor of or in opposition to the project.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN MATERIALS. Written materials should be submitted to Commission staff no later than three working days before the hearing. In the upper right hand corner of the first page of your submittal please identify the agenda item number & your name. Please summarize your position in two or three pages. You may attach any exhibits you feel are necessary. Please Note: You are discouraged from submitting written materials to the Commission on the day of the hearing, unless they are visual aids. It is difficult for Commissioners to carefully consider late submittals.

LOCATION of MEETINGS. The Commission meets once a month in different locations of the State in order to facilitate public participation.  Staff attempts, whenever possible, to schedule matters for hearings that will be relatively close to the location of a proposed development.  However, legal deadlines for action may require that the hearing on an item take place in a different area than the proposed project. 

NO FAXs will be accepted at the meeting site. You may be able to make prior arrangements with staff or a Commissioner to send a fax, but you will be responsible for paying the hotel or meeting site for its receipt.

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. Government Code Section 84308 requires Commissioners to disqualify themselves from voting on any matter if they have received a campaign contribution of more than $250 from an interested party. If you intend to speak on any hearing item, please indicate on your speaker slip and/or in your testimony, if you have made campaign contributions of more than $250 to any Commissioner within the last year, and if so, to which Commissioners you contributed.

CONTACTS with COMMISSIONERS. Written materials sent to Commissioners must also be sent to staff. All non-procedural communications must become part of the record. For a summary of these requirements, please call the receptionist at (415) 904-5200.

PUBLIC STATEMENTS ABOUT ITEMS NOT ON THIS AGENDA. Before lunch each day there will be time for public statements about Commission work other than items that are pending before the Commission. Persons wishing to speak should fill out a sign-up slip, and limit presentations to 3 minutes. You may always submit written comments to the Commission office, and copies will be distributed to Commissioners.

WHEN WILL MY AGENDA ITEM BE HEARD? It is not possible to predict how quickly the Commission will complete agenda items or how many will be postponed to a later date. The Commission begins each session at the time listed on the Meeting Notice and considers each item in the sequence listed, except in extraordinary circumstances. The Commission may consider an item even though interested persons are not present.

STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS. A written staff report is available for most items on this agenda. At the end of the agenda description the author's initials and a code indicating his/her headquarters office are identified (E=Eureka SF=San Francisco SC=Santa Cruz V=Ventura LB=Long Beach SD=San Diego). Staff reports are usually distributed 10 days before the meeting. If you are interested in any item on this Meeting Notice contact the nearest Commission office to get a copy of the staff report. It may also be on the Commission’s web site.

VISUAL PRESENTATIONS/MATERIALS. Powerpoint presentations must be accompanied by a flash drive, memory stick, or compact disk. A slide projector & laptop will be available from our audio-visual technician, and they can assist you in its use. All materials exhibited to the Commission during the hearing (slides, maps, etc) are part of the public record and must be kept by the Commission for 60 days after final Commission action on the matter. Your materials will be returned upon written request.

PUBLIC & ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS. Some public records for agenda items are available for inspection at the meeting, and are available in the Commission office. Please call to make an appointment to see any file you are interested in. If you need a verbatim transcript of the proceedings, a court reporter is present at the hearing. If you decide to challenge a final decision of the Commission in Court, please request preparation of the administrative record by letter to the Administrative Records Section at the Commission office in San Francisco, and indicate in your letter a description of the agenda item and date(s) of Commission action. Such a record will include a transcript of the proceedings at the hearing.

CLOSED SESSION. At any time during the meeting the Commission may meet to consider possible and pending litigation in a session closed to the public pursuant to the attorney-client privilege and statutory exemption to the Open Meeting Act (Government Code Section 11126e).

ACCESS TO HEARINGS. The hearings are wheelchair accessible. If accommodation for other disabilities is required, please call (415) 904-5200.

MORE INFORMATION. For more information about this agenda, contact one of the following staff members:

A Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) is available at (415) 904-5200.

The Coastal Commission is not equipped to receive comments on any official business by electronic mail. Any information relating to official business should be sent to the appropriate Commission office using U.S. Mail or courier service.

TIME LIMITS for Permit Items

The combined time per side for testimony on any items is shown below. You may need to coordinate your statement with other speakers to stay within the time limits. All statements should be brief, non-repetitive, and related to coastal issues. Written comments of any length may be submitted to staff.

All others -- determined by the chair, approximately 5 minutes per side.
 

Public Hearing Procedures
for Regular Permit And Local Coastal Program Matters

• If you wish to speak on a matter, fill out a color-coded speaker’s slip depending on: 1) whether you support or oppose the project proposed by a permit applicant or; 2) whether you support or oppose the staff recommendation on an LCP or LCP amendment or; 3) whether you are neutral. Applicants must also fill out a speaker slip.
• The order of the hearing will be: staff presentation, applicant, supporters, opponents, and neutral parties.
• Speaker slips must be given to staff prior to the start of testimony by opponents. Additional speaker slips will not be accepted after that time.
• There may only be two organized presentations for each matter - one in favor organized by the applicant or other proponents, the other opposed. Generally, time allowed for organized presentations is a maximum of 15 minutes per side. However, the precise time for organized presentations will be determined by the Chair on a case-by-case basis. If there is more than 1 organized presentation, it is up to the organized groups to confer and divide the time between them.
• Individual speakers will be given 2 minutes each.
• Individuals who wish to speak may donate their time to another speaker up to a maximum of 6 speakers (12 minutes). However, you must indicate your request to donate time on your speaker slip and you must be in the hearing room at the time of the presentation. Speaker slips must be submitted together and must indicate to whom you are donating your time.