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Planning commission adopts 2026 growth policy, ties new permits to Edison water allocations
Summary
Commissioners approved the 2026 annual growth policy, maintaining existing allocation rules and noting that Southern California Edison has paused new freshwater allocations until desalination expansion is complete—earliest completion estimated end of 2026. Staff said projects will remain on a waitlist and no new permits will be issued without written confirmation from Edison.
The Avalon Planning Commission voted to recommend adoption of the 2026 annual growth policy to the city council, continuing the city’s current approach to permitting new development while water allocations from Southern California Edison (SCE) remain constrained.
Planning staff said the attachment to the staff report lists about 15 projects approved or permitted between January and October of the year, mostly transient rental licenses, renovations, or demo-and-rebuild projects. Staff emphasized that, under current city policy, no new project can be permitted without written confirmation of a water allocation from SCE. The staff presentation noted SCE is expanding desalination capacity at the Pebbly/Pebley Beach facility and that the earliest completion estimate for the expansion is the end of 2026; the utility will run a capacity assessment after expansion and then determine how many new allocations can be issued from the existing waitlist.
Commissioners asked for timing clarifications and whether pools and spas are counted in allocation calculations; staff confirmed pools are included in SCE’s allocation calculations and that some projects already on the list may have issued allocations that can be administratively expired if unused. One attendee counted roughly 32 projects on the waitlist. The commission approved staff’s recommended resolution to forward the 2026 growth policy to council.
