Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur introduced legislation Monday that would allow select coastal cities to bypass California Coastal Commission approval for housing projects, bike lanes and parking changes, marking a significant shift in how nearly 50-year-old coastal protection laws are applied in urban areas.
AB 1740 would permit cities designated as "urban multimodal communities" to locally approve housing developments and transportation improvements without individual coastal development permits. Zbur said the proposal preserves the commission's authority over projects that could harm sensitive coastal resources.
"The California Coastal Act is one of our state's most important environmental laws, and is critical to protecting coastal access and our treasured coastal resources," Zbur said. "However, in urbanized communities with robust public transit, current Coastal Commission standards must be modernized to achieve the important goals of the Coastal Act."
The bill, sponsored by the City of Santa Monica, Streets for All and Abundant Housing, comes as California prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, events expected to draw massive crowds to coastal areas.
Under the legislation, qualifying cities could approve housing developments without Coastal Commission permits if projects meet specific criteria. Mixed-income housing would be exempt from commission review when located in areas designated for multifamily housing in local general plans, provided projects are not within 300 feet of beaches, on wetlands or in environmentally sensitive habitat areas.
The legislation defines housing for mixed-income households as projects dedicating at least 7% of units to extremely low-income residents, 10% to very low-income households or 13% to lower-income residents. Projects with 10 or fewer units on sites smaller than one acre would also qualify if developed at a minimum density of 10 units per acre.
All affordable units would be subject to recorded deed restrictions for 55 years for rentals and 45 years for ownership units.
The bill would also exempt interior and exterior renovations of existing buildings that don't expand footprints by more than 150%, as well as projects combining or dividing existing structures.
"Instead of enhancing public access, current standards often put needless barriers in front of housing, bike lanes, and other projects that achieve climate goals and pose no risk to sensitive coastal resources," Zbur said. "This bill modernizes coastal standards in transit-rich, urban areas and allows the Coastal Commission to focus its attention where it matters most—on protecting our beaches, sensitive habitats and coastal ecosystems."\
The California Coastal Commission, an independent state agency established in 1972 and made permanent by the 1976 Coastal Act, regulates development along the state's 1,100-mile coastline through land-use planning and permitting. A Coastal Development Permit is required for most construction or land alteration within coastal zones, issued by local governments with certified Local Coastal Programs or the commission itself to evaluate impacts on public access, environment and coastal hazards.
Current coastal permitting practices, according to Zbur, can "impede statewide climate, transportation, and land use policies and discourage the use of transit, walking, and bicycling as primary or significant modes of coastal access."
Zbur’s legislation would eliminate coastal development permit requirements for Class I, Class II or Class IV bicycle facilities installed within state highway rights-of-way, provided projects don't eliminate existing public coastal accessways.
In qualifying cities, local governments could add bike lanes, bus lanes and other multimodal transportation improvements without commission approval. The bill would also permit roadway reconfigurations, including removal or relocation of on-street parking to accommodate cycling infrastructure.
"For far too long, common sense improvements like bike lanes, sidewalks, bus lanes, or outdoor dining have been held back by the Coastal Commission's strict interpretation of coastal access, meaning exclusively driving to the beach," said Michael Schneider, founder and CEO of Streets For All. "This bill modernizes that approach and returns local control to cities that have spent the time and resources to build out multimodal infrastructure, and wish to expand upon it."
AB 1740 would grant qualifying cities broad authority over parking regulations without Coastal Commission oversight. Local governments could add or remove parking spaces, establish maximum and minimum parking ratios, determine on-street and off-street parking rates, and manage pricing structures, payment methods and time limits.
The legislation would also exempt installation of accessible walkways, pay stations, signage and electric vehicle chargers in public facilities from permit requirements.
Cities could implement residential preferential parking zones and other parking management tools without commission review, addressing what the bill characterizes as delays that undermine cooperative planning between state and local agencies.
The measure notes that "rigid, parking-centric access assumptions embedded in legacy coastal permitting practices" often conflict with modern transportation and climate policies.
To qualify as urban multimodal communities, cities must demonstrate they have at least one high-quality transit corridor or transit priority area with stops in the coastal access zone—defined as the coastal zone plus areas within one-quarter mile of it.
Cities must also maintain Class I, Class II or Class IV bicycle facilities in the coastal access zone and have adopted plans with targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fatal and severe injury crashes, including climate action and local road safety plans.
Qualifying cities would submit documentation to the state Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, which would have 30 days to review submissions for completeness. If the office doesn't respond within that timeframe, cities' designations would be deemed approved. Cities would need to recertify every three years.
"Santa Monica is rebuilding, and we need modern tools that match how people access the coast today," said Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis. "With the World Cup, the Olympics, and other major events coming to our region, this bill helps focus the Coastal Commission on protecting sensitive coastal resources, while giving transit-rich cities the flexibility to move faster on housing, transportation, and public space."
The legislation would exempt short-term and recurring community events lasting 12 months or less from permit requirements, provided they don't permanently alter land use or access and aren't located on or within 100 feet of wetlands or environmentally sensitive habitat areas.
Outdoor dining meeting other local and state requirements would also be exempt, addressing what the bill describes as commercial vacancy challenges and the need for "timely tenant improvements and temporary activations to revitalize coastal business districts."
Zbur said the bill preserves California Coastal Commission jurisdiction over development that could adversely affect coastal resources. Projects between the sea and the first public road paralleling the coast, within 300 feet of beaches, on or near wetlands, or in environmentally sensitive habitat areas would remain subject to full commission review.
"Streamlining multi-family housing approvals in existing urbanized areas along California's coast will both address our housing crisis and increase access to our amazing coastal resources," said Azeen Khanmalek, executive director of Abundant Housing LA. "That's why we are so excited to co-sponsor AB 1740."
The bill will be heard in the policy committee later this session.