After 33 years Coastal Commission finally moving to protect Tomales Dunes

Thirty-three years ago California voters passed the Coastal Act. Today, finally, the California Coastal Commission has started a process to require the owners of Lawson's Landing to comply with the law.

Lawson's Landing, the largest recreational-vehicle (RV) campground on the California coast, has operated for decades without required county and Coastal Commission permits. The facility is located on the Tomales Dunes, across from the north end of Point Reyes National Seashore and at the mouth of Tomales Bay. The site is the largest unprotected dune system in central California and home to at least 14 threatened and endangered species.

Last fall the Marin County Planning Department released the long-delayed draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Lawson's Landing Master Plan. This document should have provided the information needed to make important decisions about how the popular RV park can be operated without damaging the sensitive coastal environment or threatening public health and safety.

Unfortunately, the draft EIR is a monumental let-down. It lacks such essential information as the location of the proposed 1,000 campsites; surveys of wetlands, sensitive habitats, and cultural resources; identification of permitted and unpermitted development; and clear information about the design and location of the waste-disposal systems for the property, including 12 residences.

The EIR attracted overwhelmingly negative comments from environmental organizations and many public agencies, including the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Coastal Commission. The Water Board criticized the report's "failure to provide clear and accurate descriptions of the facilities that are part of the project and where they are located."

The Sierra Club joined with the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin (EAC) and the Coalition to Protect the Dunes in arguing that the draft EIR was so flawed that it should be withdrawn and thoroughly revised to meet the legal obligations of the California Environmental Quality Act. The Planning Commission, however, despite its own severe criticism of the draft EIR, decided in October to proceed to the next stage in the planning process: preparation of a Final EIR which will reflect whatever comments and criticisms the consultants and planners accept.

Although Lawson's Landing lacks the required coastal permit, the Coastal Commission had intended to defer acting on that fact until the county process was complete, but last December EAC and the Sierra Club, alarmed by the inadequate EIR and the county's lack of progress, warned the commission that it needs to act now to avoid possibly irreversible deterioration of this important coastal resource and threats to public health and safety. (One-third of the county's weekly water-quality tests last year at Lawson's Landing found violations). We presented the commission with 1,200 letters calling for protection of Tomales Dunes.

Persuaded by our arguments, the poor quality of the draft EIR, and its own findings of unpermitted development at the site, the Coastal Commission decided to take action. In February it began a "resolution process". The owners must apply for an after-the-fact coastal permit authorizing existing unpermitted development. The owners must provide full information about existing uses and structures and evidence of any permits already issued. Development that predates the Coastal Act of 1973, that has not substantially changed, and that had all necessary permits at the time, would be "grandfathered" in.

EAC and the Sierra Club welcome the Coastal Commission's intervention. By requiring basic scientific, technical, and legal information, the Commission has already improved the process. The county has now agreed to conduct surveys of wetlands and of environmentally sensitive habitats. Such information will speed up the process, avoid costly and time-consuming lawsuits, result in better protection of Tomales Dunes and other sensitive coastal habitat, and keep this coastal area available for public enjoyment for generations to come.

WhatYouCanDo

Write to:
The Commissioners
California Coastal Commission
45 Fremont St., #2000
San Francisco, CA 94105-2219.

Thank them for taking the first steps to enforce the Coastal Act at Tomales Dunes, and ask them to continue working to ensure that this wonderful coastal spot is protected.

Write also to:
The Commissioners
Marin County Planning Commission
3501 Civic Center Drive
San Rafael, CA 94903.

Ask them to protect the Tomales Dunes.

Sierra CLub Bay Chpater members can receive more information and alerts about Tomales Dunes or other Marin environmental issues. Just send your email address to webmaster -at- sfbaysc.org

Catherine Caufield, executive director, EAC