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Council adopts Mira Mesa community plan amendments with Coastal Commission modifications amid legal and process concerns
Summary
Council adopted Coastal Commission-required modifications to the Mira Mesa Community Plan and Local Coastal Program. Staff warned some requested changes included regulatory language that ordinarily belongs in code or ordinance; council members supported adoption to avoid further implementation delays but expressed frustration about the commission's role in inserting regulatory language into a policy document.
City planning staff presented the Mira Mesa Community Plan amendment and the related Local Coastal Program update. Because roughly 21% of the Mira Mesa planning area falls in the coastal zone, the city had submitted its plan update to the California Coastal Commission for certification. The Commission conditionally certified the update on Sept. 12, 2024, contingent on 25 modifications focused on coastal issues including public access and low-cost visitor accommodations, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, tribal and archaeological protections, stormwater management, multimodal access and fire-safety measures.
Planning staff noted they supported many modifications but opposed others they viewed as regulatory rather than policy. Deputy City Attorney Jean McKinnon advised that community plans are policy documents and that regulations and in-lieu fees typically must be adopted by ordinance in the city's Land Development Code after complying with legal procedural requirements. Council President Pro Tem Lee and other council members said they were frustrated that the Coastal Commission had included regulatory-style language and that rejecting the modifications would delay implementation of the community plan within the coastal zone, leaving the 1992 plan in effect there until certification was final.
After discussion, the Council voted to adopt the Coastal Commission modifications and authorized the mayor to resubmit the amended plan for final certification so the 2022 plan update can take effect in the coastal zone when the commission completes its final certification.
