Coastal Commission Joins Local Push For Smaller Homes
The California Coastal Commission is poised to approve a crackdown on giant homes being built on the shores of Santa Cruz County.
PUBLIC HEARING CONTINUED TO MARCH 2009
I am pleased to report that the December 10, 2008 California Coastal Commission hearing on “Santa Cruz County IP Amendment: Net Site Area” (ITEM W10g) has now been continued from the presently scheduled hearing date in San Francisco, to a date to be determined in March 2009, in Monterey.
Protect Your Coastal Home
On Wednesday, December 10, 2008 the California Coastal Commission will rule on the Santa Cruz County proposed amendment to our Local Coastal Program (LCP). This amendment will reduce the permissible size of coastal homes. It will also cause many existing homes to become non-conforming and prevent you from replacing it with a like sized home if it is destroyed by fire or other natural disaster.
County’s Beach Area Planning Guidelines In Limbo
A Superior Court judge ruling last month invalidated a set of guidelines passed by the Board of Supervisors last year that were aimed at helping new homes to mesh with the beach bungalows and other structures in Pleasure Point, Rio del Mar and other unincorporated areas in coastal stretches of the county.
Supervisors Keep Homes In Compliance (Excluding Bluff Top Homes)
County supervisors on Tuesday approved new rules that will keep homes built at the toe of cliffs around the county in compliance with county code.
(Bluff top homes are still limited to 50% of your lot size, but your lot size must now exclude all of your land from the top of the bluff to the ocean.
This means you might now not be able to replace your existing home if it is lost to a fire.)
New Homes Must Fit In With Neighborhoods, County Supervisors Say
County supervisors accepted new guidelines from the Planning Department on Tuesday detailing how new homes in Pleasure Point, Rio del Mar and other unincorporated coastal areas should fit in with the character of the rest of their neighborhood.
Santa Cruz County Wants Rigid Limits On New Homes
SANTA CRUZ “” County planners may soon be able to tell developers how big a house they can build, how tall it can be and even whether the color they have chosen is acceptable “” part of an effort to curb giant homes that are replacing many of the old beach bungalows in the county.
County Sued Over Big-home Ordinance
Lawsuits filed last week by Barry and Susan Porter, who own property on Pleasure Point Drive, and Sea for Yourself Partners LLC question if the county conducted sufficient environmental review before declaring property owners could not count the ocean, beach and cliff faces as developable land.
Beach Homes May Or May Not Qualify For Free Money Following County Vote
After county leaders on Tuesday passed an ordinance limiting development on beaches, owners of homes built on the sand worry they may not be able to use emergency money available to lift their houses onto stilts and protect them from floods.
Supervisors Curb Plans For Giant Home
Beach homeowners fear they might not be able to refinance or rebuild their homes following a disaster after county leaders approved an ordinance Tuesday that left practically all homes on Beach Drive and Las Olas Drive in Aptos in violation of new development rules.