The California Coastal Commission gave Huntington Beach more time to add Sunset Beach to the city’s local coastal plan on Wednesday, Dec. 7.
Huntington Beach will now have until Jan. 27, 2013 to add Sunset Beach Specific Plan to the city’s planning guidelines.
A local coastal plan allows a city to assume some of the authority of the Coastal Commission. This can streamline the permit process for owners of property within 5 miles of the coastline.
According to the Coastal Commission staff report, Huntington Beach submitted changes to its local coastal plan in late August. The plan included a new land use plan that included the recently annexed Sunset Beach area.
Huntington Beach officials propose creating a new Sunset Beach Specific Plan that would designate the former county island as a mixed use area.
However, state law requires the Coastal Commission to hold a public hearing on changes to the land use plan within 90 days of the submission.
“The 90th day after the city’s filing of the complete submittal is Jan. 27, 2012. In order to be heard within this time frame, the LCP amendment would need to be scheduled for the Commission’s January 11-13, 2012 meeting,” the staff report said.
“Staff is recommending that the Commission extend the 90-day time limit for the review of the LCP amendment request,” the report said. “The time extension would allow for a thorough review of the city’s proposed changes.”
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