Section 13115 - Substantial Issue Determination(a) At the meeting next following the filing of an appeal with the Commission or as soon thereafter as practical, the executive director shall make a recommendation to the commission as to whether the appeal raises a substantial issue within the meaning of Section 30625(b).(b) Unless the Commission finds that the appeal raises no substantial issue as to conformity with the certified local coastal program or, in the case of a permit application for a development between the sea and the first public road paralleling the sea (or within 300 feet of the inland extent of any beach or of the mean high tide line of the sea where there is no beach) that there is no substantial issue with regard to the public access and public recreation policies of Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act of 1976, the Commission shall consider the application de novo in accordance with the procedures set forth in Sections 13057-13096.(c) When determining whether the appeal raises a substantial issue, the Commission may consider factors, including but not limited to:(1) the degree of factual and legal support for the local government's decision;(2) the extent and scope of the development as approved or denied by the local government;(3) the significance of the coastal resources affected by the decision;(4) the precedential value of the local government's decision for future interpretations of its local coastal program; and(5) whether the appeal raises only local issues as opposed to those of regional or statewide significance. The Commission may, but need not, assign a particular weight to a factor.
(d) The Commission may ask questions of the applicant, any aggrieved person, the Attorney General or the executive director prior to determining whether or not to hear an appeal. A majority vote of the members of the Commission present shall be required to determine that the Commission will not hear an appeal.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, § 13115
1. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 7-30-2019; operative 1-1-2020 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(2) (Register 2019, No. 31). Note: Authority cited: Sections 30333 and 30620.6, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 30603 and 30625, Public Resources Code; and Hines v. California Coastal Commission (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 830.
1. Amendment of section and Note filed 7-30-2019; operative 1/1/2020 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(2) (Register 2019, No. 31).