Santa Monica is finally making a move to reclaim more say over what gets built and approved along its shoreline. This week, the city and the California Coastal Commission signed a memorandum of understanding to finish the long-delayed Local Coastal Program, a key planning document that has been lingering in draft form for years.
City leaders say the agreement is supposed to cut down on duplicate city-and-state permitting, speed up approvals, and give Santa Monica more direct authority over projects in the coastal zone while still following state coastal rules. The City Council signed off last week, authorizing the city manager to execute the MOU. Staff say work under the deal should start in July, with a goal of getting the Local Coastal Program certified by the end of 2027.
What the MOU covers
The memorandum sets up a formal work plan between the city and the commission to produce a certified Land Use Plan and an Implementation Plan, which together function as the zoning and permitting playbook for Santa Monica's coastal strip. According to the Santa Monica Mirror, the new agreement builds on a 2018 draft land use plan and years of community outreach that never quite got over the finish line.
City officials say that once the Local Coastal Program is certified, Santa Monica would take primary responsibility for approvals on a wide range of coastal-zone activity. That includes temporary events, outdoor dining, tenant improvements, adaptive reuse projects, residential development and some transportation changes, all while keeping protections required under the state Coastal Act.
How a certified LCP would change permitting
Under guidance from the California Coastal Commission, a certified Local Coastal Program allows the local jurisdiction to issue most Coastal Development Permits, as long as it follows the adopted plan. In theory, that shift is meant to streamline the process by combining what are now separate state and local reviews.
The commission would still keep control over certain shoreline areas and public trust lands, so Sacramento is not exactly walking away from the beach. Even so, city planning staff say that getting more permit decisions made locally could trim months off timelines that currently slow some downtown and coastal projects.
Timeline and outreach
City staff expect the detailed work under the MOU to kick off in July, with a public engagement effort running roughly four to six months, Santa Monica Next reports. Officials have set December 31, 2027, as the target date to have a fully certified Local Coastal Program in place.
The agreement itself is described as a non-binding framework that lays out how city and commission staff will collaborate. The outreach phase is expected to do the heavy lifting on the political side, shaping how zoning standards, sea level rise strategies and public access protections are written into the locally administered rules.
State bill and the political backdrop
The renewed push on the Local Coastal Program is landing at the same time Sacramento is weighing changes to coastal permitting tailored specifically to Santa Monica. Assembly Bill 1740, written with the city in mind, has already passed the Assembly and is now under review in the Senate, according to the California Legislature.
Backers of AB 1740 argue it would update outdated permitting rules for denser, transit oriented communities. Critics warn that the measure could chip away at statewide oversight of sensitive coastal zones, a fight that has flared up repeatedly along the California coast.
Officials and critics weigh in
Mayor Caroline Torosis has framed the MOU as a move to clear obstacles for residents and small businesses, language that appears in city materials and is echoed in coverage by the Santa Monica Mirror. Supporters say faster, clearer rules could help everyday projects that currently get bogged down in the coastal permitting maze.
At the same time, local reporting from outlets such as Santa Monica Next notes that community groups remain wary of AB 1740 and the possibility that broader oversight could be narrowed. Advocates on both sides say this summer's outreach will be where those tensions get aired in detail.
What’s next
In the coming weeks, staff plan to publish the schedule and materials for public outreach ahead of the July kickoff. The city says the full staff report and meeting video are posted on its website, along with a press release that includes a media contact for residents who want to dig deeper.
Officials say they will return to the City Council with updates as the Local Coastal Program work advances. Residents can expect public workshops later this summer, where business owners, neighborhood groups and local commissioners will have a chance to weigh in on the draft implementation rules that could reshape how Santa Monica manages its slice of the coast.
