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Four from North County considered for state coastal panel

Four from North County considered for state coastal panel

North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
NORTH COUNTY — City council members from Oceanside, Carlsbad,
Encinitas and Del Mar are among seven people from San Diego County
selected as nominees for a …

NORTH COUNTY — City council members from Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas and Del Mar are among seven people from San Diego County selected as nominees for a seat on the powerful California Coastal Commission.

Jack Feller of Oceanside, Ann Kulchin of Carlsbad, Maggie Houlihan of Encinitas and Crystal Crawford of Del Mar were among candidates nominated by two groups last week as possible replacements for Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla.

Padilla must step down because he lost his re-election bid for mayor in November.

The Coastal Commission has 12 voting members and four members who don’t vote; all are appointed from specific coastal communities, according to the commission’s Web site.

Six of the voting members are from the public, and the other six are elected officials. The governor, the Senate Rules Committee and the speaker of the Assembly each appoint four of the voting members — two from the public and two from elected officials. Each commissioner may appoint an alternate. State government officials serve as the four nonvoting members or may designate someone to serve in their stead.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, will select Padilla’s replacement within 30 days of receiving formal notification of the nominations, a Nunez spokeswoman said.

“We haven’t got the letter yet,” spokesman Steve Maviglio said Tuesday. “We have 30 days to act, and typically (Nunez) waits till the end.

Last week, two panels voted unanimously to approve the following nominations:

  • The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to nominate Feller, Kulchin, Coronado Councilwoman Carrie Downey and San Diego Councilman Ben Hueso.
  • The City Selection Committee — a panel of mayors from the 18 cities in the county — nominated Houlihan, Crawford, Kulchin, Downey, Hueso and Councilman Steve Castaneda of Chula Vista as possible appointees to the state panel.

    Formed in 1972 with the enactment of the Coastal Act, the 12-member Coastal Commission oversees construction along the state’s 1,100-mile coastline and protects beach access.

    Elected officials from coastal cities fill half the panel’s seats. The other half are held by coastal residents at large. Inland communities are not represented on the commission. Terms are four years.

    The Coastal Commission can overturn local land-use decisions and, for that reason, can find itself at odds with cities and counties.

    “I think that’s why local elected officials do well on these kinds of commissions,” said Kulchin.

    Kulchin represents Carlsbad as chairwoman of the regional Shoreline Preservation Working Group. She also is a director of the American Coastal Coalition, a group that lobbies federal lawmakers on coastal issues.

    “First of all, I’m thrilled,” Kulchin said of her nomination. She has served on the Carlsbad council since 1980. “I think it is beneficial to have experienced representatives” on the Coastal Commission.

    Feller said that he, too, was honored by the nomination.

    “I’d bring a different view to the Coastal Commission than that of many of the other nominees,” the two-term councilman said. “If Mr. Nunez decides to approve someone who is reasonable and isn’t a rubber stamp for putting the environment above the general public, I have a chance.”

    Houlihan, an environmentalist elected to two terms on the Encinitas council, said this week that she remains as interested in the appointment now as she was two years ago, when she was nominated but not appointed.

    Recently, Houlihan appeared before the coastal panel and asked that commissioners approve a city-initiated ban on new short-term vacation rentals in Encinitas. Her efforts failed, as the commission voted to deny the ban.

    As a commissioner, Houlihan said, she would strike a balance between coastal development and preservation.

    “You’re always looking for a win-win,” she said.

    Like Encinitas, Del Mar receives many visitors to its beaches.

    Crawford, a Del Mar council member, said Wednesday that the Coastal Commission is “an essential agency” to protect the coast.

    “It would be a very high privilege for me” to serve, she said.

    Commissioners meet monthly at locations up and down the state. Commissioners receive a $100 per diem and compensation for travel expenses.