Seawall Update - Coastal Jurisdiction Challenged

(see first post in this series at http://martinsbeach.blogspot.com/2013/03/seawall-threatens-martins-beach.html)

South end seawall.  Photo Credit David Strohm

The latest communication from the Coastal Commission staff conveyed that an application for a Coastal Development Permit is expected, but that nothing has come in yet.  What has come in, however, is a letter from the law firm Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP, on behalf of the applicant, challenging the Coastal Commission's boundary determination.  The boundary determination is the basis for the Commission's assertion of jurisdiction in this matter, so basically the applicant is fighting the Commission's oversight of the project. 

The Coastal Commission will likely respond, but it's hard to say how the Commission will respond.  If the Commission concedes that the determination was incorrect, and if a new determination shows that the project is not on tidelands or other lands of the state, then the Commission will no longer have jurisdiction over the project and the permit already issued by the County will suffice.  This would mean that the applicant would have the ability to move forward with building the rock revetment, at the unfortunate detriment to the beach.