The purpose of the CZ overlay district is to allow proper consideration of the local coastal land use and implementation plans in order to implement these plans and to allow coastal developments and issuance of coastal development permits, as set forth in this chapter; provided, that such developments are consistent with the local coastal program and this chapter. The CZ overlay district is an overlay district to be combined with the districts designated in the ordinance codified in this title. The CZ overlay district classification is limited to those properties located within the City coastal zone.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-1)
In addition to the criteria established by the ordinance codified in this title and the City municipal code, criteria shall be applied to developments within the CZ overlay district, as set forth in the local coastal program. All developments within the coastal zone are subject to the requirements of the CZ overlay district and the underlying district with which it is combined.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-2)
A. 
All developments within the coastal zone must obtain a coastal development permit. Application for a coastal development permit shall be made by the owner of the property or authorized representatives on an application form provided by the City. The application for a coastal development permit shall be accompanied by any maps, drawings and other necessary supplementary materials as indicated on the application form. The application fee shall be set by the City Council and no part of such fee shall be refundable.
B. 
The determination of whether a development is categorically excluded, non-appealable or appealable for purposes of notice, hearing and appeals procedures shall be made by the local government at the time the application for development within the coastal zone is submitted. Where an applicant, interested person, or a local government has a question as to the appropriate designation for the development, the following procedures shall establish whether a development is categorically excluded, non-appealable or appealable:
1. 
The local government shall make its determination as to what type of development is being proposed and shall inform the applicant of the notice and hearing requirements for that particular development.
2. 
If the determination of the local government is challenged by the applicant or an interested person, or if the local government wishes to have a commission determination as to the appropriate designation, the local government shall notify the commission by telephone of the dispute/question and shall request an executive director's opinion.
3. 
The executive director shall, within two working days of the local government request (or upon completion of a site inspection where such inspection is warranted), transmit his or her determination as to whether the development is categorically excluded, nonappealable or appealable.
4. 
Where, after the executive director's investigation, the executive director's determination is not in accordance with the local government determination, the commission shall hold a hearing for purposes of determining the appropriate designation for the area. The commission shall schedule the hearing on the determination for the next commission meeting (in the appropriate geographic region of the state) following the local government request.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-3)
The coastal zone regulations and coastal development permit requirements shall not be applied to those areas and classes of development categorically excluded by actions of the California Coastal Commission.
No coastal development permit shall be required for the following types of development:
A. 
Improvements to existing single-family residences as outlined below, except within 50 feet of the edge of a coastal bluff, or involving a significant alteration of a sand dune, or where the development permit issued for the original structure by the Coastal Commission indicated that any future additions would require a development permit; or involving a change in the intensity of use:
1. 
Additions of less than 500 square feet outside the appeal jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission;
2. 
Additions of up to 10% of the floor area of the existing structure, within the appeal jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission;
3. 
Other improvements to an existing single-family residence, including improvements to any fixtures or structures directly attached to the residence or to structures on the property normally associated with a single-family residence such as garages, swimming pools, fences and storage sheds;
4. 
Landscaping on the lot;
5. 
Replacement of water storage tanks, wells or septic systems serving existing legal single-family residences.
B. 
Improvements to any structure other than an existing single-family residence or a public works facility as outlined below, except within 50 feet of the edge of a coastal bluff, or involving a significant alteration of a sand dune, or where the development permit issued for the original structure by the Coastal Commission indicated that any future additions would require a development permit; or involving a change in the intensity of use:
1. 
Additions of less than 500 square feet outside the appeal jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission;
2. 
Additions of up to 10% of the floor area of the existing structure, within the appeal jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission;
3. 
Other improvements to an existing structure, including improvements to any fixtures and other structures directly attached to the structures;
4. 
Landscaping on the lot;
5. 
Replacement of wells or septic systems serving existing legal structures.
This exemption does not include any improvement which would change the intensity of use of the structure.
C. 
Repair and maintenance of existing public roads including routine maintenance and those activities necessary to preserve the highway as it was constructed; provided, that there is no excavation or disposal of fill outside the roadway prism and there is no addition to or expansion of the existing public road facility and any other repair and maintenance activities that do not result in an addition to, or enlargement of, the object of such repair or maintenance activities, except:
1. 
Any method of repair of maintenance of a seawall revetment, bluff retaining wall, breakwater, groin, culvert, outfall or similar shoreline work that involves:
a. 
Repair or maintenance involving substantial alteration of the protective work including pilings and other surface or subsurface structures,
b. 
The placement, whether temporary or permanent, of rip-rap, artificial berms of sand or other beach materials, or any other forms of solid materials, on a beach or in coastal waters, streams, wetlands, estuaries and lakes or on a shoreline protective work except for agricultural dikes within enclosed bays or estuaries,
c. 
The replacement of 20% or more of the materials of an existing structure with material of a different kind, or
d. 
The presence, whether temporary or permanent, of mechanized construction equipment or construction materials on any sand area of bluff or within 20 feet of coastal waters or streams;
2. 
The replacement of 50% or more of a seawall, revetment, bluff retaining wall, breakwater, groin or similar protective work under one ownership, unless destroyed by natural disaster;
3. 
Any repair or maintenance to facilities or structures or work located in an environmentally sensitive habitat area, any sand area, within 50 feet of the edge of a coastal bluff or environmentally sensitive habitat area, or within 20 feet of coastal waters or streams that include:
a. 
The placement or removal, whether temporary or permanent, of rip-rap, rocks, sand or other beach materials or any other forms of solid materials,
b. 
The presence, whether temporary or permanent, of mechanized equipment or construction materials.
D. 
The installation, testing and placement in service or the replacement of any necessary utility connection between an existing service facility and any development; provided, that the activity does not new roads, and there will be no clearing in habitat areas defined in the local coastal land use plan.
E. 
The replacement of any structure, other than a public works facility, destroyed by fire, flood, explosion, wind, earthquake, war, riot or other calamity other than a willful act by the property owner. Such replacement structure shall be for the same use as the destroyed structure, shall not exceed either the floor area, height or bulk of the destroyed structure by more than 10% and shall be sited in the same location on the affected property as the destroyed structure.
F. 
Any category of development, or any category of development within a specifically defined geographic area, that the California Coastal Commission, after public hearing, has described or identified and with respect to which the commission has found that there is no potential for any significant adverse effect, either individually or cumulatively, on coastal resources or on public access to, or along, the coast.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-4)
Upon receipt of a filed application, with the required fee and all accessory maps and materials, the City shall set the matter for hearing as follows:
A. 
A public hearing date on a coastal development permit application shall be set within 10 working days upon completion of environmental review. If action on other permits or approvals is required for the project, the City shall act concurrently on the coastal development permit.
B. 
Not less than 10 calendar days prior to a scheduled public hearing the City shall send notice by first class mail of the date, time and place of such hearing and other contents required by this section to a newspaper of general circulation and to each applicant, all property owners and residents within 100 feet of the project site, to the State Coastal Commission, and to all other persons who request such notice by submitting a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the City.
C. 
Contents of the notice shall include a statement that the development is within the coastal zone; name of the applicant; date of filing; project location and description; application number; statement of the coastal status; the date, time and place of the public hearing; a brief description of the City's general procedure concerning the hearing process; and a description of the appeal process.
D. 
A least one public hearing shall be held on a coastal development permit application. If a decision on a permit is continued to a time which is neither previously stated in the notice, nor announced at the hearing as being continued to a certain time, the City shall provide notice of further hearings as described above.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-5)
The City Council shall weigh the evidence presented and render a decision on the coastal development permit application, and its decision shall be to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the application. In its decision, the City Council shall adopt findings that indicate whether or not the proposed development is in conformity with the local coastal program. The City Council must find that the development is in conformity with the local coastal program, prior to approving an application for a coastal development permit. Within seven calendar days of a final decision by the City Council on a coastal development permit application, the City shall provide notice of its action by first class mail to the applicant, the State Coastal Commission, and any other persons who have requested such notice by submitting a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the City. The notice shall contain the City Council's adopted findings, conditions of approval and procedures for appeal to the State Coastal Commission.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-6)
Prior to issuance of a coastal development permit, all legal documents pertaining to public access and open space or conservation easements which are conditions of approval of a coastal development permit shall be reviewed and approved by the City Attorney for legal adequacy and consistency with the requirements of potential accepting agencies. The documents shall then be forwarded to the executive director of the Coastal Commission for his/her review and approval, unless and until the commission approves a program for local review, and then shall be recorded. Upon completion of recordation of documents, the City shall forward copies of such legal documents to the executive director of the Coastal Commission.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-7)
A. 
Emergency coastal development permits may be granted at the discretion of a local official designated by the City for projects normally requiring a coastal development permit approval which must be undertaken as emergency measures to prevent loss of or damage to life, health or property, or to restore, repair or maintain public works, utilities and services during and immediately following a natural disaster or serious accident.
B. 
Applications in cases of emergencies shall be made to the City by letter if time allows, and by telephone or in person if time does not allow. The applicant shall submit the appropriate fees at the time of application for an emergency permit.
C. 
The information to be reported during the emergency, if it is possible to do so, or to be fully reported after the emergency, shall include the following:
1. 
The nature of the emergency;
2. 
The cause of the emergency, insofar as this can be established;
3. 
The location of the emergency;
4. 
The remedial, protective, or preventive work required to deal with the emergency; and
5. 
The circumstances during the emergency that appeared to justify the course(s) of action taken, including the probable consequences of failing to take action.
D. 
The City may request, at the applicant's expense, verification by a qualified professional of the nature of and solutions to the emergency situation. Within 90 days of issuance of an emergency permit, the applicant shall submit a completed coastal development permit application and required technical reports.
E. 
The emergency work authorized under approval of an emergency permit shall be limited to activities necessary to protect the endangered structure or essential public structure. The emergency approval shall be voided if the approved activity is not exercised within 15 days of issuance of the emergency permit. The approval shall expire 60 days after issuance. Any work completed outside of these time periods requires a regular coastal development permit approval unless an extension is granted by the City.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-8)
A. 
The City Council may impose such conditions as it deems necessary to achieve consistency with the local coastal program and to protect adjacent properties.
B. 
At the minimum, the following shall be required for issuance of any coastal development permit:
1. 
Compliance with the provisions of the design control (DC) overlay zone district and issuance of a design permit;
2. 
Compliance with all provisions of Chapters 18.62 and 18.64 regarding parking and landscaping;
3. 
Utilization of appropriate native coastal plants in landscaping;
4. 
Provision of buffers between conflicting land uses;
5. 
Utilization of water conservation fixtures and landscaping that maximizes the planting of drought tolerant plants as provided in the City's water conservation ordinance codified in Chapter 15.12 of this code;
6. 
Clustered development shall be subject to planned unit development (PUD) application and approval, including requirements of this CZ overlay district and the policies and requirements of the coastal land use plan;
7. 
Compliance with the provisions of any applicable specific plan.
C. 
In considering a coastal development permit application, the City Council shall give due regard to the local coastal program in order to approve a development and the Council shall make findings that approval of the permit is consistent with the local coastal program, including but not limited to:
1. 
Project complies with provisions for public access;
2. 
Appropriate legal documents are submitted to insure provision of vertical and lateral access or in-lieu fees paid as may be required by the LCP Land Use Plan;
3. 
Project complies with provisions for public visitor serving facilities and services;
4. 
Identified geologic, flood, groundwater and fire hazards are mitigated as recommended in the geologic and soils reports pursuant to the Local Coastal Plan Land Use Plan and deed restrictions are recorded which provide:
a. 
That the permittee(s) understand that the site is subject to extraordinary hazard and the permittee(s) assume(s) the liability for this (these) hazard(s),
b. 
That the permittee(s) unconditionally waive any claim of liability on the part of the City or other regulatory agency for any damage from such hazard(s), and
c. 
That the permittee(s) understand that construction in the face of the known hazard(s) may make them ineligible for public disaster funds or loans for repair, replacement or rehabilitation of the property in the event of storms or natural disasters;
5. 
Project complies with measures in approved habitat restoration plan to protect identified environmentally sensitive habitats and archaeological resources and/or develop dune restoration programs;
6. 
Provision of view corridors and vista points pursuant to the Local Coastal Land Use Plan and appropriate easements or other legal mechanisms to insure their permanent provision;
7. 
Approval by City design committee of project design, siting, landscaping and provision of view corridors from Highway 1 to the ocean in conformance with policies and guidelines set forth in the Local Coastal Program Land Use and Implementation Plans;
8. 
Demonstrated ability and adequacy of water and sewer services. If there is a limit placed on the amount of wastewater that may flow into the Seaside Treatment Plant or pump station, then no coastal permits for new development which require sewer hookups shall be issued until the City Council adopts a wastewater allocation plan. This plan must allocate at least 50% of the City's remaining capacity to coastal dependent and visitor serving uses within the coastal zone;
9. 
Provision of minimal water flow rates and fire response times;
10. 
Compliance with City water allocation;
11. 
Provision of adequately sized water and sewer lines;
12. 
Provision of required parking;
13. 
Uses proposed adjacent to existing industrial manufacturing uses and the sewage treatment plant will be sited and designed in a manner that is compatible with these uses;
14. 
New uses proposed adjacent to locations of known environmentally sensitive habitat shall be sited and designed to prevent impacts which would significantly degrade such areas and shall be compatible with the continuance of such habitat areas based on the standards set forth by the City in the Local Coastal Land Use Plan;
15. 
Project complies with policies regarding shoreline structures.
D. 
The City shall not approve or renew a coastal permit for new or expanded surf zone sand mining if it finds that such new or expanded sand mining, either individually or cumulatively, will have significant adverse impacts on shoreline erosion. Such determination shall be made upon consideration of the results of the continuing shoreline erosion monitoring program, available evidence on the impact of surf zone sand mining on coastal erosion, and other relevant social, economic, environmental and technological factors. Any coastal permit issued for new surf zone sand mining or expansion of existing surf zone sand mining shall be issued subject to a condition that will permit the City to require that sand mining activity be reduced to previous levels (prior to the issuance of a coastal permit) or terminated (in the case of a new sand mining operation) if the continuing analysis or other available evidence on the impact of beach and surf zone sand mining on shoreline erosion shows that such operations have a significant adverse impact on shoreline erosion.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-9)
A. 
Offers to dedicate or grant public access easements shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Local Coastal Land Use Plan. the offer of dedication or granting shall be made on forms provided by the City and approved by the City Attorney. An offer to dedicate or grant an access shall revert to the owner after five years from development project completion (including access improvements) if it has not been accepted by an appropriate public or private agency. Accessways whose title is maintained in private ownership shall remain open to the public during daylight hours subject to a deed restriction recorded on or prior to the time of reversion of the offer of dedication.
B. 
Access easements shall be provided in accordance with provisions of the Local Coastal Land Use Plan and the following:
1. 
Vertical beach accessway easements shall be a minimum width of 10 feet and shall extend from the nearest public roadway to the sandy beach frontage. Improvements to be made shall be as prescribed in the Local Coastal Land Use Plan and by the City Council.
2. 
Lateral beach accessway shall be provided by an easement with a minimum of 25 feet dry sandy beach or the entire sandy beach if the width of the beach is less than 25 feet.
3. 
Blufftop access easements shall run along the edge of the bluff, and be of a width adequate to provide safe access.
C. 
Future developments shall dedicate rights-of-way for roads and bikeways as shown in the Local Coastal Land Use Plan and on forms as provided by the City.
D. 
Required in-lieu fees shall be based on current fair market value of land and development costs in areas where accessways are planned, and shall be based on the equivalent of the parcel having to accommodate a vertical accessway. The fees collected shall be used only for the purpose of providing or enhancing public accessways or ancillary facilities to or along the shoreline.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-10)
A. 
The coastal development permit shall become effective 10 working days after the City's final decision, unless an appeal is filed with the State Coastal Commission. Denials of a permit application shall become effective immediately.
B. 
Decisions on applications for appealable developments shall become effective after the 10 working day appeal period to the Coastal Commission has expired and no appeal has been filed. The 10 day appeal period shall start the day of the receipt by the Coastal Commission of adequate notice of the final local action.
C. 
A coastal development permit will expire on the latest expiration date of any other applicable permit, unless no other permits are required, then the coastal development permit shall expire two years from its date of approval if the project has not been commenced during that time. The two year period shall be tolled during any legal proceedings brought to challenge the approval or conditions of the permit.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-11)
A. 
An appeal of a decision regarding a coastal development permit may be made to the State Coastal Commission for the following types of development:
1. 
Developments approved located between the sea and the first public road paralleling the sea or within 200 feet of the inland extent of any beach or 200 feet of the mean high tide line of the sea where there is no beach, whichever is the greater distance;
2. 
Developments approved located on tidelands, submerged lands, public trust lands, within 100 feet of any wetland, estuary, stream, or within 200 feet of the top of the seaward face of any coastal bluff;
3. 
Any development which constitutes a major public works project or a major energy facility.
B. 
All appealable developments may be appealed by an applicant, any two members of the State Coastal Commission or an aggrieved person. Coastal commission review of appeals shall be based on findings of consistency with the City's Local Coastal Land Use Plan. Grounds for appeal of an approved coastal development permit for developments described in paragraph (A)(1) of this section are limited to the following:
1. 
The development fails to provide adequate physical access, public or private commercial use or interferes with such uses;
2. 
The development fails to protect public views from any public road or from a recreational area to and along the coast;
3. 
The development is not compatible with the established physical scale of the area;
4. 
The development may significantly alter existing natural land forms;
5. 
The development does not comply with the shoreline erosion and geologic setback requirements.
The grounds for appeal for development described in paragraphs (A)(2) and (3) of this section are limited to consideration of whether or not the proposed development is in conformity with the certified local coastal program.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-12)
An applicant may petition to amend a coastal development permit by filing a new application pursuant to the requirements of this chapter. Any amendment approved for development in the coastal zone shall be found consistent with all applicable local coastal program requirements. Requests to amend coastal development permits approved by the Coastal Commission must be submitted to the City for review and comment but will be acted upon by the commission.
(Ord. 84-1 §26-13)