The San Francisco Planning Department has kicked off a process to amend the Western Shoreline Plan, the city’s aging Local Coastal Program (LCP). The LCP is the element of the city’s General Plan that sets land use and resource protection policies for the Coastal Zone (an area defined under the 1976 Coastal Act). Like other General Plan elements, the LCP must be approved by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, but it must also be approved by the Coastal Commission. Once the LCP is approved, the city can issue permits for projects that conform to its policies.
The current amendment, long sought by Coastal Commission staff, will develop policies addressing sea level rise and coastal management, with an emphasis on the area south of Sloat Boulevard where erosion is the most severe. It represents an important opportunity for recommendations in the Ocean Beach Master Plan – a non-binding guidance document – to become adopted city policy.
The process will include public meetings. If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, click here.