The California Legislature is currently debating one of the most important issues it has ever confronted: the proposed California Coastal Plan.¹ The outcome of this legislative fight may determine not only the future of the 1,100-mile California coast, but also the national destiny of comprehehensive resource management and innovative developmental controls.

Within the last 30 years, California's population has trebled to 20 million persons, 85 percent of whom live less than 30 miles from the coast; the rate of growth within five miles of the coast is twice that in the rest of the state. This population surge, coupled with the dispersion of planning and zoning powers among 200 coastal jurisdictions, has resulted in an unrestrained, haphazard pattern of development that is a nightmare for those seeking to preserve the coast's environment. To remedy this situation the California Coastal Plan forcefully proposes the objectives of quality development coupled with preservation, enhancement, and restoration of natural and man-made coastal resources. In addition, the Plan would grant priority to public and coastal-dependent over private and non-coastal dependent uses, concentrate growth near already developed areas, and maximize access to the coast.