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Coastal Commission News March 9

SierraClub-SantaMonica-March9xs
Sierra Club members Arlis Reynolds, Penny Elia, and Dave Grubb, as Penny delivers our remarks at a press conference. Behind us are some of the members of the many other environmental and social justice organizations that turned out for the hearings. Five other organizations also spoke at the press conference.

The crowd was not as large as at Morro Bay, but it was more diverse, and definitely more rowdy.

News roundup

Press Conference and Rally on March 9

A coalition of environmental and social justice organizations will hold a press conference before the start of the Coastal Commission hearings on Wednesday,  March 9th at 8:30 AM outside the Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica.  In addition to the press conference, advocates will also attend the hearing and provide testimony about replacing Dr. Lester.  A Sierra Club representative will speak on behalf of the Club.

Plan to Attend!
A good turnout for the hearings will show the Commissioners that the public is watching how they move forward after the unfortunate firing of the Executive Director.  Plan to attend the press conference and hearing.  The hearings will be held in the East Wing of the Civic Auditorium at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica. There is plenty of parking in the auditorium lot and a parking structure next door, if you arrive early.  Parking is $1.00 per hour or $5.00 per day, and the fee collection machine takes credit cards. Carpooling is advised, using the HOV lanes really helps get through the morning traffic. You may also get to the hearings by public transit (see details below).

Can’t Attend? Submit Comments!
Two agenda items, 5.1 and 5.2, have been added to consider and possibly act on hiring an interim ED, and the process for hiring a new Executive Director. You may submit comments on these items using a form on the Current Agenda page of the Commission web site: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html. For suggested talking points, see Act Coastal.

Getting There
By car
Driving through Los Angeles during morning rush hour is not advised.  It is 134 Miles from San Diego.  Under ideal traffic conditions, the trip takes a little over two hours.  If conditions are not ideal, it can take 4 hours or more.  From intermediate locations in San Diego or Orange County, the same cautions apply.  For a low-stress trip, go up on Tuesday and stay overnight.

By transit
There are no good options for an early morning trip from San Diego.  Either go up on Tuesday or drive to Oceanside and catch the first Metrolink train at 4:32 AM.  From Orange County, catching that same train is not too bad (5 AM in San Clemente or 6 AM in Buena Park).

From Union Station in Los Angeles, you have two choices: you can ride the Purple line, the Expo line, and the 534 bus, or you can catch Big Blue Bus Rapid 10 directly to Santa Monica.

There are a variety of hotels within walking distance of the auditorium, but they tend to be expensive.  More reasonably priced places are a little far to walk, but OK if you have a car.  There are plenty of restaurants nearby in all price ranges.

Links

Coastal Committee Web Site
http://www.ca4c.org/

Coastal Commission Agenda
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html

Parking in Santa Monica
http://www.downtownsm.com/parking

Metrolink Rail
http://www.metrolinktrains.com/routes/

Metro
http://media.metro.net/riding_metro/maps/images/system_map.pdf
and
http://media.metro.net/riding_metro/maps/images/rail_map.pdf

Bus from LA to Santa Monica
http://www.bigbluebus.com/Routes-and-Schedules/PdfHandler.ashx/R10/little-blue-book.pdf?preview=20160221

Civic Auditorium
http://www.smgov.net/departments/ccs/civicauditorium/content.aspx?id=46225

Public Discussion and Vote Approved

Patrick Henry
Coastal Commission’s Chief Legal Counsel O.K.’s Open Public Debate and Vote by Commissioners on the Reasons to Fire the Executive Director

SUMMARY: Yesterday (Feb 6), the CA Coastal Commission’s Chief Counsel advised the Commission, staff and public that it is entirely legal for the twelve Coastal Commissioners to:
1) PUBLICLY discuss the reasons for proposing the termination of the Executive Director, and to
2) PUBLICLY vote on the Executive Director’s termination.

The Chief Counsel’s memo eliminates the argument of those commissioners who claim they can neither identify nor discuss the reasons for their desire to terminate him. Nor can they deny the public the right to observe deliberations and vote on this important issue. To date, not a single reason, fact or document has been officially offered by those Commissioners seeking to fire the Executive Director. This new legal memo now allows those commissioners seeking his termination the opportunity to state and justify their reasons in public and to conduct their deliberations and an open public vote, in front of the audience at Wednesday’s public hearing.

This memo has to potential to transform how the Commission’s public hearing is conducted on Wednesday’s Feb. 10th in Morro Bay. The 20,000+ people that have submitted comments to the Commission in support of the Executive Director will now likely expect the Commission to commit to fully engage in a both a public discussion over the reasons for considering his dismissal and a public deliberation and vote on his possible termination.

KEY LEGAL POINT: The Chief Counsel’s Feb. 6th memo to the Commission, posted on the Commission website at: http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2016/2/W8-2-2016-a-chief-counsel-memo.pdf states in part:

“At the conclusion of the public testimony, the Commission may deliberate and vote in either open or closed session, or some combination of both. If the Commission takes an action to dismiss the executive director in closed session, it must publicly report the roll call vote when it reconvenes in open session afterwards. (Gov. Code, §§ 11122, 11125.2, 11126.3(f).)”

NO MORE EXCUSES: Various Commissioners, appointed by Governor Brown, seeking to terminate the Executive Director, have made statements like the following:

“Dr. Lester has not waived his rights to confidentiality regarding his performance reviews, closed sessions discussions with the Commission, nor his evaluations. Unless he chooses to do so, I don’t believe the Commission can deliberate in public.”

Commissioner Erik Howell (statement to Betty Winholtz)

The Chief Counsel’s memo invalidates the second sentence in this Commissioner’s statement.

PERFORMANCE ISSUES THAT CAN BE PUBLICLY DEBATED THIS WEDNESDAY: The Commissioner’s seeking Dr. Lester’s dismissal have offered no public reasons other than a few vague anonymous statements about lack of leadership, vision, communications and slow progress on implementing diversity of staff. Not a single fact, statistic or document has been offered by those Commissioners seeking his dismissal.

Dr. Lester’s Feb. 5th memo to the Commission, posted on the Commission’s website at: http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2016/2/w8-2-2016.pdf attempts to frame these unspecified issues. The opening pages of Dr. Lester’s memo identifies three performance issues.
1) Communications and Agency Operations
2) Agency Diversity and Recruitment
3) Commission Goals and Direction

The Coastal Act’s Right of Full Public Participation: Those Commissioner’s seeking the Executive Director’s termination have now been given the legal right if not the responsibility to step forward and publicly clarify reasons for seeking his termination. Many members of the public will travel hundreds of miles to Morro Bay to testify on Wednesday. The news media has covered this issue extensively. They have a right to understand the issues upon which this important decision will be made.

The Coastal Act grants the public the right to fully participate in decisions affecting the coast. See:

Section 30006 Legislative findings and declarations; public participation The Legislature further finds and declares that the public has a right to fully participate in decisions affecting coastal planning, conservation and development; that achievement of sound coastal conservation and development is dependent upon public understanding and support; and that the continuing planning and implementation of programs for coastal conservation and development should include the widest opportunity for public participation.

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE DIVISION 20 CALIFORNIA COASTAL ACT

News Update

Dr. Charles Lester has prepared a “Performance” memo to the Coastal Commission. It is posted on the Commission web site under the Agenda item for the Wednesday’s hearing. To see the full document, go to: http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2016/2/w8-2-2016.pdf

Hearing location for Wednesday has been changed to
Morro Bay Community Center Auditorium
1001 Kennedy Way
Morro Bay, CA 93442
Wednesday, February 10, 2016, 10:00 a.m.

MorroBayMap

Snap42

More News

There is a good article on the Surfrider Foundation web site.

And here are two articles from The Long Beach Report
News / In Detail / Developing
and
Battle For Soul Of Coastal Comm’n Will Have Long Beach Link

Morro Bay Weather Forecast
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 78.
Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52.
Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 72.
Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52.

Action Request

By now I am sure you have all heard about the attempt to remove the Executive Director of the Coastal Commission, Dr. Charles Lester. I will not repeat all of the details here. There is a lot of information available at Act Coastal, including a list of media articles, and information about the voting records of the Commissioners.

This message is to ask you to take action. First, you can send a message to the Governor and the Coastal Commissioners. Then, if you are able, attend the Coastal Commission hearing on this matter and voice your objection to the power grab.

Sending Messages

The Sierra Club action alert is here.
The action will send messages to the Governor and the Coastal Commission.

You may send your own letter directly to the Coastal Commission and the Governor.
The Coastal Commission email for this issue is: statusofexecutivedirector@coastal.ca.gov.
To send an email to the governor, go to this web page.

Attending the Hearing

The hearing will be held in Morro Bay, California on February 10 at the
Morro Bay Community Center Auditorium, 1001 Kennedy Way, Morro Bay, CA 93442

The Commission agenda is here.

The hearing Procedures are described in this pdf document.

There is comprehensive information about getting to and from Morro Bay, where to stay and how to get around, and much more here.

Coastal News for Dec 30

CEO Offers $1 Million Toward Sanctuary, Asks SeaWorld To Free One Orca
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/munchkin-seaworld-orca-sanctuary_564667d0e4b045bf3def2a06?cps=gravity_4806_-474990828774916005

This Genius Bucket Sucks Trash And Oil Right Out Of The Sea
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/seabin-ocean-bucket_5681d22fe4b06fa68880fc60

SEAWORLD SUES TO KEEP BREEDING KILLER WHALES
“SeaWorld made good on its vow to challenge a California Coastal Commission decision barring the breeding of its killer whales, filing a lawsuit Tuesday in San Diego demanding a reversal of the prohibition.”
more at
http://sandiegouniontribune.ca.newsmemory.com/?token=eaec3bb45910c2f3eb65321a3c9dab50_568430a4_d92b54f&selDate=20151230&goTo=A01&artid=2
and
http://www.seasidecourier.com/news/seaworld-sues-coastal-commission-in-attempt-to-save-shamu-shows/article_25706890-ae95-11e5-9f7b-1fde08874dc2.html

The Siege of Miami
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/the-siege-of-miami
As temperatures climb, so, too, will sea levels.
“The city of Miami Beach floods on such a predictable basis that if, out of curiosity or sheer perversity, a person wants to she can plan a visit to coincide with an inundation. Knowing the tides would be high around the time of the “super blood moon,” in late September, I arranged to meet up with Hal Wanless, the chairman of the University of Miami’s geological-sciences department.”

Bad News on Gregory Canyon

The Union Tribune reports that the Coastal Commission has decided not to review the project.

In an unexpected turn of events, the California Coastal Commission has withdrawn its application to intervene in North County’s Gregory Canyon Landfill debate.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the federal Office of Coastal Management, the commission said that upon further research, its initial concerns about the effects the proposed trash dump might have on the coast have been eased.