Senate BillPassed first housePublic Resources
SB 1229: Coastal resources: coastal development permits: disaster exemption.
What SB 1229 does, verified September 1, 2026
The bill aims to amend the California Coastal Act of 1976 to modify the exemption for coastal development permits in cases where a structure is replaced after a disaster. The exemption currently only applies if the applicant was the property owner immediately preceding the disaster. However, the proposed bill would restrict the exemption if the replacement structure would encroach upon a public access easement, lateral access easement, or vertical access easement, recorded or offered for dedication. This change would require local governments to review coastal development permits more thoroughly. The bill would also require the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for costs mandated by the state if the bill contains such costs.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Garcia. (2026-08-30)Alert me
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| Aug. 30, 2026 | Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Garcia. |
| Jul. 02, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Jul. 01, 2026 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 8. Noes 3.) (July 1). |
| Jun. 24, 2026 | June 24 hearing postponed by committee. |
| Jun. 09, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 4.) (June 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
Latest bill textAmended version, April 9, 2026 · 1,371 words
| Amended IN Senate April 09, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate March 25, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1229
| Introduced by Senator Allen |
February 19, 2026 |
An act to amend Section 30610 of the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1229, as amended, Allen. Coastal resources: coastal development permits: disaster exemption.
Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or a local government, as provided. The act provides that a coastal development permit is not required for the replacement of any structure, other than a public works facility, destroyed by a disaster.
This bill would prohibit that coastal development permit exemption from applying to the replacement of a structure by an applicant who was not listed as the property owner of record immediately preceding the disaster if replacement of the structure would, among other things, encroach upon a public access easement, lateral access easement, or vertical access easement, an open space easement or deed restriction that has been recorded or offered for dedication, as provided. By creating additional duties for a local government in reviewing coastal development permits, the bill would impose state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 30610 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:30610.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, a coastal development permit shall not be required pursuant to this chapter for the following types of development and in the following areas:(a) Improvements to existing single-family residences; provided, however, that the commission shall specify, by regulation, those classes of development that involve a risk of adverse environmental effect and shall require that a coastal development permit be obtained pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Improvements to a structure other than a single-family residence or a public works facility; provided, however, that the commission shall specify, by regulation, those types of improvements that (1) involve a risk of adverse environmental effect, (2) adversely affect public access, or (3) involve a change in use contrary to any policy of this division. Any improvement so specified by the commission shall require a coastal development permit.
(c) Maintenance dredging of existing navigation channels or moving dredged material from those channels to a disposal area outside the coastal zone, pursuant to a permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
(d) Repair or maintenance activities that do not result in an addition to, or enlargement or expansion of, the object of those repair or maintenance activities; provided, however, that if the commission determines that certain extraordinary methods of repair and maintenance involve a risk of substantial adverse environmental impact, it shall, by regulation, require that a permit be obtained pursuant to this chapter.
(e) Any category of development, or any category of development within a specifically defined geographic area, that the commission, after public hearing, and by two-thirds vote of its appointed members, has described or identified and with respect to which the commission has found that there is no potential for any significant adverse effect, either individually or cumulatively, on coastal resources or on public access to, or along, the coast and, where the exclusion precedes certification of the applicable local coastal program, that the exclusion will not impair the ability of local government to prepare a local coastal program.
(f) The installation, testing, and placement in service or the replacement of a necessary utility connection between an existing service facility and a development approved pursuant to this division; provided, however, that the commission may, where necessary, require reasonable conditions to mitigate any adverse impacts on coastal resources, including scenic resources.
(g) (1) The replacement of a structure, other than a public works facility, destroyed by a disaster. The replacement structure shall conform to applicable existing zoning requirements, shall be for the same use as the destroyed structure, shall not exceed either the floor area, height, or bulk of the destroyed structure by more than 10 percent, and shall be sited in the same location on the affected property as the destroyed structure.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the replacement of a structure proposed by an applicant who was not listed as the property owner of record immediately preceding the disaster, if replacement of the structure would do any of the following:
(A) Encroach upon a lateral or vertical public access easement, lateral access easement, or vertical access easement recorded or offered for dedication pursuant to this division. easement or deed restriction.
(B) Encroach upon an open space easement or deed restriction that has been recorded or offered for dedication pursuant to this division.
(B)
(C)
Be located within an environmentally sensitive area or within a required buffer area adjacent to an environmentally sensitive area.(C)
(D)
Be sited within a bluff setback established by a certified local coastal program or by the commission.(D)Occupy,
(E) Be incompatible with the public trust, as applicable, or occupy,
fill, or encroach upon state(E)
(F)
Block, impede, or restrict public access to or along the coast in a manner not present prior to the disaster.(3) For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A) “Disaster” means a situation in which the force or forces that destroyed the structure to be replaced were beyond the control of its owner.
(B) “Bulk” means total interior cubic volume as measured from the exterior surface of the structure.
(C) “Structure” includes landscaping and any erosion control structure or device which is similar to that which existed prior to the occurrence of the disaster.
(h) Any activity anywhere in the coastal zone that involves the conversion of any existing multiple-unit residential structure to a time-share project, estate, or use, as defined in Section 11212 of the Business and Professions Code. If any improvement to an existing structure is otherwise exempt from the permit requirements of this division, a coastal development permit shall not be required for that improvement on the basis that it is to be made in connection with any conversion exempt pursuant to this subdivision. The division of a multiple-unit residential structure into condominiums, as defined in Section 783 of the Civil Code, shall not be considered a time-share project, estate, or use for purposes of this subdivision.
(i) (1) Any proposed development that the executive director finds to be a temporary event that does not have any significant adverse impact upon coastal resources within the meaning of guidelines adopted pursuant to this subdivision by the commission. The commission shall, after public hearing, adopt guidelines to implement this subdivision to assist local governments and persons planning temporary events in complying with this division by specifying the standards that the executive director shall use in determining whether a temporary event is excluded from permit requirements pursuant to this subdivision. The guidelines adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from the review of the Office of Administrative Law and from the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(2) Exclusion or waiver from the coastal development permit requirements of this division pursuant to this subdivision does not diminish, waive, or otherwise prevent the commission from asserting and exercising its coastal development permit jurisdiction over any temporary event at any time if the commission determines that the exercise of its jurisdiction is necessary to implement the coastal resource protection policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200).
Text of SB 1229 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions