Monterey County staff says Big Sur land-use plan must add several general-plan elements; noise section requires most work

Monterey County planning staff told the Planning Commission on April 30 that the certified Big Sur Coast Land Use Plan does not fully satisfy several mandatory general-plan elements and that the Big Sur update should incorporate missing elements rather than wait for a comprehensive update of the county’s 1982 general plan.

Katie Scaria, assistant planner, told commissioners the referral (22.02a) asked staff to analyze which statutory requirements the Big Sur Coast Land Use Plan currently satisfies and which do not. Scaria said the land use plan meets some statutory land-use provisions but lacks a noise element and needs updates to circulation, conservation and open-space sections.

Why it matters: General plans and certified coastal land use plans must meet state statutory requirements. Planning commissioners and nearby residents weighed whether Big Sur’s land use plan should be a stand-alone document that contains all required elements or should rely on amendments to the 1982 county general plan that are proceeding countywide.

Staff noted the state requires eight general-plan elements — land use, circulation, noise, conservation, open space, environmental justice, housing and safety — and that three elements (housing, safety and environmental justice) are being updated countywide. Scaria said those countywide updates are proceeding separately and that staff recommends incorporating element-level updates into each coastal land use plan as staff works on them. "Staff is recommending that we incorporate the updates needed for the 4 elements, should that be desired by the Planning Commission while we're in the Big Sur LUP," Scaria said.

Commissioner Gail Deal, who requested the referral, said she favors making coastal land use plans stand-alone documents that fully address required elements so that a reader does not have to cross-reference the 1982 general plan. "My basic question was for a reading and direction from the planning commission to resolve this ongoing question of whether we're gonna do a stand-alone plan or a plan that depends on 1982," Deal said.

Taylor Price, senior planner, and other staff clarified that three of the four elements that the Big Sur LUP needs to amend — circulation, conservation and open space — appear to be minor edits that could be folded into the current Big Sur process. The noise element, however, will require more technical work, including updated contour maps, and staff estimated adding three to six months to the Big Sur timeline if the noise element is prepared as part of the LUP update.

Public comment came from Trey Cropp, a Big Sur resident, who said outreach felt late in the process and urged additional community meetings on noise, because local views vary between residents who want event venues and those who seek quieter neighborhoods.

Ending: Staff said the Big Sur Land Use Plan will return to the Planning Commission in spring or summer 2025 with revisions and that the certification process will include Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors and California Coastal Commission review. Commissioners asked staff to return with clearer analysis of how countywide element amendments would be reflected in individual coastal land use plans.