Board OKs Local Coastal Program Amendments to Plan for Sea Level Rise; Coastal Commission Certification to Follow

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a comprehensive update to the county's Local Coastal Program (LCP) that adds policies, programs and a coastal hazards screening framework to address sea level rise and coastal hazards across the unincorporated coast.

Planning staff presented the county-initiated amendments, which include changes to the Coastal Area Plan and to several sections and appendices of the coastal zoning ordinance. The package adds three goals, roughly 75 policies and 13 implementation programs focused on designing new development to be resilient, prioritizing natural adaptation strategies and conserving beaches. If approved by the California Coastal Commission, the amendments would be incorporated into the county's certified LCP.

Aaron Engstrom, the project case planner, told the board the update grew from two grant-funded phases: a vulnerability assessment that mapped exposure across 13 land-use sectors and an adaptation strategies report that developed a toolbox of responses suited to different shoreline conditions. The staff recommendation applies the state-recommended intermediate-high sea level rise scenario for most development, using an expected life of development of about 100 years. Under that approach, the guidance used in the package corresponds to planning for roughly 6.6 feet of sea level rise for most shoreline areas.

The amendments would require a coastal hazards report for shoreline and inland screening areas that assesses wave uprush, erosion and flooding (shoreline area) or still-water flooding (inland screening area). The county's proposal directs that, for design elevations, developers use whichever is higher between FEMA-required elevations and the applicable sea level rise scenario.

A central policy emphasis is elevation of structures (pile- or stilt-supported design) as principal adaptation while allowing owners to maintain existing shoreline protective devices (seawalls and revetments) without enlarging them. Staff described the approach as a neighborhood-scale transition: as properties redevelop and are elevated, reliance on hard armoring would decline. Staff and Coastal Commission staff negotiated a compromise permitting property owners to maintain existing shoreline protective devices but not to expand them once redevelopment occurs on stilts.

The update also includes provisions for public noticing of hazards at transfer of ownership, relaxed deck setback rules where elevation requires it, ministerial repairs to some seawall elements (up to 20% restacking or repair when documented), and programs to support neighborhood-scale planning and periodic science updates.

Speakers at the hearing included representatives from Surfrider Foundation, who urged stronger, enforceable triggers for removal of shoreline armoring and more explicit surf-zone protections, and the Ventura County NAACP environmental and climate justice chair, who recommended allowing owners to increase the design flood elevation in some cases so the underbuilding space is usable and homes face lower lifetime risk.

Supervisors asked detailed questions about how the rules apply when a structure is substantially damaged or replaced (the package harmonizes a 50% "substantial redevelopment" trigger with FEMA's substantial improvement threshold), how emergency replacement language works, and how the county will coordinate with regional agencies including the Port of Hueneme, the naval base and Caltrans. Staff said neighborhood-scale planning, coordination with Beacon (regional sediment-management interests), and periodic updates to the vulnerability studies are planned to address broader infrastructure, sand-management and evacuation-route issues.

The board approved two resolutions to adopt the Coastal Area Plan amendments and to forward them to the California Coastal Commission for certification, and adopted the zoning ordinance amendments by motion. The motion (Item 38) to approve the package was moved by Supervisor Lopez, seconded by Supervisor LaVier, and passed unanimously. Staff said the package will be forwarded to the Coastal Commission for final certification.

Planning staff said the LCP package is designed to be adaptive: it schedules periodic science updates and neighborhood-scale planning to refine and implement tools such as beach nourishment, living shorelines and managed retreat where appropriate.

The board also asked whether staff should pursue a separate zoning change to let corner lots in certain residential beach zones choose a different lot orientation; staff recommended not pursuing a countywide amendment now and to work with affected property owners individually where needed.