Because of growing concern over the ability of state coastal management programs to address the impacts of cumulative growth and development, the U.S. Congress identified cumulative impacts as a priority area for improving coastal management programs nation-wide. Section 309 of the 1990 Amendments to the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) provides funding and oversight to guide this effort. In response to the 1990 Amendments, the Coastal Commission completed an Assessment of the California Coastal Management Program and in March, 1992, adopted a multi-year strategy to implement program improvements in several issue areas: Cumulative and Secondary Impacts, Wetlands, Coastal Hazards, and Public Access. The Coastal Commission's Regional Cumulative Assessment Project (ReCAP), undertaken as a pilot project in the Monterey Bay region, comprises the core of this strategy. Under ReCAP, the Commission staff assessed the cumulative impacts of development on wetlands, coastal hazards, and public access in the pilot region and developed program and policy recommendations to improve management of such impacts. The ReCAP pilot region is defined as the coastal zone extending from the Santa Cruz/San Mateo county line through Point Lobos State Park in Monterey County.
Cumulative Impacts are the combined effects of a series of development activities or natural effects.[1] Although an individual project may not greatly affect the natural or human environment, the cumulative impacts created by many different projects over time may significantly alter these environments. For example, the conversion of coastal habitat to developed land from an individual project may not seem that significant. However, twenty years of development projects may collectively degrade important habitat values.
Cumulative impacts are addressed and coastal resources managed primarily through three major processes under the California Coastal Management Program (CCMP): coastal development permitting and appeals, planning and implementation of local coastal plans (LCPs) and federal consistency review. However, the existing management framework makes effective management of cumulative impacts difficult. In the pilot region, seven local jurisdictions have certified LCPs and therefore issue most coastal permits, with the Commission retaining only limited permit and appeal authority. These jurisdictions are: Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz City, Capitola, Watsonville, Monterey County, the City of Marina, and Sand City. The Commission approved amendments to these LCPs at least 58 times, many of which were project related. Four jurisdictions have yet to be certified and the Commission retains jurisdiction in these areas (the Cities of Pacific Grove, Seaside, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Monterey). In addition to the CCMP, other state and federal agencies have regulatory authority affecting coastal resources under separate laws. Therefore, under the existing framework, multiple jurisdictions have varying policies and standards in different geographic areas.
Section 30519.5 of the Coastal Act provides that at least once every five years the Commission shall review every certified LCP to determine whether the program is being effectively implemented in conformity with the policies of the Coastal Act and submit recommendations of corrective actions, if any, to the local government.
Recognizing these difficulties, the CCMP relies on the periodic review of LCPs, called for in Section 30519.5, to help reconcile multiple policies and to ensure that policies remain effective in managing resources and responsive to social and cultural changes over time. However, this monitoring and program review has been accomplished in only a few cases. In the ReCAP region, Santa Cruz County and Santa Cruz City completed comprehensive revisions and updates to their LCPs. Monterey County is currently revising its implementation ordinances. In only one case (the City of Sand City), has the Commission itself looked at the combined, long term results of numerous individual permit decisions, and suggested improvements to the LCPs in carrying out the goals of the Coastal Act.
As indicated in this report, the CCMP has accomplished much in mitigating site specific impacts through its review of specific development projects. However, addressing the cumulative impacts of these combined projects is difficult without periodic reviews. The cumulative effects of individual development proposals on the resources of the region beyond the site, beyond a political jurisdiction and beyond the coastal zone are considered in only a few permit reviews; such analysis is generally limited to major projects, where cumulative impacts analysis is mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The lack of a structured information exchange among agencies further makes determining the effects of a single development proposal on regional resources difficult. Regional reviews and the data collection that results can provide the catalyst for better regional resource management by: 1) helping coastal managers see beyond the routine review of individual sites; 2) linking individual sites and development proposals to the larger regional resource trends; 3) recognizing sources and impacts from both inside and outside the coastal zone; 4) developing policy and intergovernmental tools to address cumulative and secondary impacts; and 5) helping programs realize their full potential to manage coastal resources.
Through ReCAP, the Commission seeks to develop a new framework for conducting regional periodic reviews throughout the coastal zone and to put in place information exchange mechanisms to facilitate continued monitoring of regional effects of individual development proposals. As a pilot project, ReCAP identified broad coastal trends in the Monterey Bay area to evaluate cumulative impacts over time that were not otherwise evident through "project by project" review, analyzed the major factors contributing to the cumulative impacts, and evaluated the effectiveness of coastal policies or procedures across multiple jurisdictions in responding to cumulative impacts. The results of the ReCAP pilot project include recommendations to improve coastal policies and procedures and to improve implementation of local coastal programs. Such improvements will enable both the Commission and local governments to better address cumulative impacts in their management of coastal resources.
The ReCAP team began the pilot project with a broad effort to identify regional aspects of wetlands, hazards, and access most important to the region. Once these were identified, the team created a framework for analyzing cumulative impacts. This framework was created by developing a matrix for the three priority issue areas. The matrix identified relevant policy questions, the methods and indicators by which the questions could be analyzed, the time frames and pilot area locations where these questions could be analyzed, data which should be used to analyze the questions, and the possible sources of data. In addition to the matrix development, the team completed a regional outreach to seek suggestions for how to measure and analyze these issues. Questionnaires were developed and sent to various regional parties, including technical experts in the areas. The team interviewed technical experts and key local government planning directors, officials and staff, and discussed issues with representatives of local environmental groups. In March, 1994, the team issued its Preliminary Report on Resource Status and Change, which described the current condition of the resource systems and changes documented over the past 10 years. Staff circulated the document to the Commission, local government and interested parties and conducted a workshop with staff of local and regional agencies and interested public. The Commission held a public hearing on April 12, 1994. In addition, ReCAP staff convened a seminar of wetland specialists to provide early feedback on the wetland impact analysis in May, 1994. This public input helped guide the ReCAP analysis of important policy questions. In this report, the team builds upon this earlier work.
The data used in this project came from a variety of information sources, with the major sources being Commission and local government permit actions. The ReCAP team developed a database of Commission permit activities from 1983-1993 and a database of local permits from 1986 to 1994, supplemented with detailed information on the three issues areas. The pilot project also benefited greatly from extensive and sophisticated mapping analysis developed by Santa Cruz County as part of the County's Geographic Information System. In addition, the ReCAP analysis provided some immediate assistance to Commission staff in ongoing review of LCPs and individual permits. For example, ReCAP information was used by Commission staff in working with Santa Cruz County staff on proposed revisions to the County's LCP.
The ReCAP pilot area has some of the most spectacular and important resources of coastal California. These resources are also subject to increasing pressures from growth and development. Overall, from 1970 to 1995, nearly one-quarter of a million persons were added to Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties combined -- an increase of over 65%. In terms of land use in Santa Cruz County and the northern portion of Monterey County, growth contributed to a 43% increase in urban land uses over the past two decades. From 1983 to 1993, the Commission and local government approved approximately 3,005 coastal development permits in the ReCAP pilot region. Nearly one third of these (949), were issued by the Coastal Commission. These Commission issued permits approved 765 residential units, 931 lodging units and over 300 new lots. The implementation of the CCMP in this period saw major accomplishments. As noted later in this report, the total acreage of wetland resources has not declined and major new access areas and facilities were developed. However, during this time, over 2 miles of shoreline were armored, impacts to wetlands were evident through changes in hydrology and the loss of buffers and habitat, and the ability to use available public access sites became more constrained.
This document contains the results of the year-long pilot project to assess cumulative impacts and to recommend improvements in coastal policy and procedures to address these impacts. The document summarizes how resources have changed over time in the pilot region and analyzes the factors contributing to these changes. It projects possible future trends given current policies. Finally, the report outlines recommendations for program improvements in the short-term and identifies longer term program opportunities in policies or procedures to better manage cumulative impacts on a regional basis. The general economic effects of the recommendations are considered. The recommendations are not presented in any priority, but rather are organized as initial steps, some of which could be taken in the next year's work program, as well as a wide range of longer term opportunities for program improvements. The Commission staff recommends that the findings and recommendations of this pilot project guide development and implementation of future specific program improvements and provide input to review of permits and LCP amendments in the pilot area. This report can be the basis for working with local governments to develop modified policies, programs or procedures in individual LCPs to better manage cumulative impacts.
ENDNOTES
Go to next chapter, Chapter 2: Regional Overview.
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