Gary Grossman, a homeowner in Pismo Beach for more than 25 years, has fought costly California Coastal Commission battles for his sea wall.
"Our first lawsuit was back in 2002, 2003 was to defend our ability and the Coastal Commission's obligation to provide protection,“ Grossman said.
But his 80-year-old neighbor, who has lost about 15 feet of earth to the eroding bluff, according to Grossman, remains in limbo, anticipating further damage with no response from the Coastal Commission.
“There are a lot of people who feel they're waiting here, because he is sick and elderly, that they're waiting for more and more damage to occur to where there will be no turning back," Grossman said. "There will be no ability to save the house."
This conflict represents the reality for many Pismo Beach homeowners dealing with the Coastal Act.
Pismo Beach city officials say records reveal that every recent sea wall permit has been appealed, raising concerns about fairness.
“It's unfair and arbitrary because my neighbor is going to lose his house,” Grossman said.
In an email, the Coastal Commission cites the negative impacts of armoring sea walls such as impacting public access and ecological balance and said that by considering them, “It makes sense that the Coastal Act is quite conservative in terms of when armoring is allowable.”
The turmoil for homeowners along the cliffs in Pismo Beach is part of a broader legal battle over "managed retreat," a climate adaptation policy calling for relocating coastal structures rather than protecting them where they are.
“The frustrating feature of this is that some kind of retreat from climate change impacts is going to be essential. And ideally, we wouldn't need to be considering this at all. We would have tackled climate change effectively, but that's not where we are,“ said Chris Fields, Director of Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
As coastal residents witness their neighbors struggle, the City of Pismo Beach aims to update its Local Coastal Plan (LCP) in January with a goal of protecting property owners. It will be the first major update in 29 years.
The LCP contains the city's goals and policies for development and the protection of coastal resources in accordance with the Coastal Act. Any changes to the LCP must be approved by the Coastal Commission.
“We have to look at modern science," said Matthew Downing, Pismo Beach Community Development Director. "We have to plan for all these things, particularly in light of requirements and guidelines that the Coastal Commission puts out.”
Jim Elliott, PH.D., Professor and Chair of Sociology at Rice University, who is researching managed retreat in the U.S., notes the lack of updates is not surprising due to outsourcing and consultants unfamiliar with local nuances.
“What they do is they outsource and get a consultant who's not familiar with the local area and they get a plan that is good enough to meet federal requirements to be eligible for the funding," Elliott said.
The Pismo Beach City Council is seeking community input on changes to the LCP, emphasizing a collaborative approach to bring it up to modern times.
