Oppose SB 951 Unless Amended

In April 2024, Surfrider went neutral on SB 951, signaling an exciting victory in this campaign to defend the Coastal Act.

Surfrider San Francisco opposed an earlier version of SB 951(Weiner) largely because a portion of the bill redrew San Francisco’s coastal zone boundary. The boundary change that would have removed residential areas in Ocean Beach and parts of the Great Highway and Golden Gate Park from the Coastal Zone and would have taken away the ability of the Coastal Commission to implement the Coastal Act in this area.  

Surfrider supports affordable housing in the Coastal Zone and thanks Senator Wiener's office for working with us on amending the bill so that it does not unnecessarily undermine the Coastal Act. The Coastal Act is a bedrock environmental law that plays a critical role in protecting the coastal environment, ensuring public access to the coast, and helping the state and local communities prepare for accelerating sea level rise.

By carving out areas of the coast from its protection — the unamended bill would have set a terrible precedent for clawing back protections statewide. Coastal zone boundaries haven't otherwise been changed since the passage of the Coastal Act in the 70's. The bill was also amended so as not to curtail the Coastal Commission's authority to hear specific classes of project appeals, which we strongly supported since this process is not a cause for denial of housing projects in California.  

Read more about our prior stance on our blog!