Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1740, a new law gives Santa Monica a defined path to a certified Local Coastal Program after more than 50 years without one. The once controversial measure also creates a statewide fast track for bike, pedestrian and transit projects that improve access to the coast.
The bill was authored by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Santa Monica. Once the city's program is certified, Santa Monica will be able to process most coastal development permits locally instead of requiring separate approval from the California Coastal Commission. The commission will keep oversight.
The city of Santa Monica and the advocacy group Streets For All sponsored the bill but its final version came out of negotiations among the city, the commission, and housing, environmental and mobility advocates.
"Getting to this agreement was no small undertaking. It took months of hard work, difficult conversations, and a willingness from stakeholders with very different perspectives to stay at the table and find common ground," Zbur said. "What we achieved is a solution that works for Santa Monica, strengthens the partnership between the City and the Coastal Commission, and creates new opportunities for communities across California to improve bike, pedestrian, and transit access to our coast."
The law requires Santa Monica to submit a complete proposed LCP to the commission by Jan. 1, 2029. The commission must then:
- give the city a written list of any identified issues within 45 days, and
- act on the submission within six months of receiving it.
If the commission misses the six-month deadline, it must send quarterly written updates to the Legislature explaining the delay. It must also reimburse the city for reasonable costs of coordinating on suggested modifications. The reporting requirement expires Dec. 31, 2032.
The city has an incentive to move faster. If it submits a complete program by Dec. 31, 2027, it will get priority consideration for funding from the state's Active Transportation Program. That program supports bike lanes, pedestrian paths, safe-routes-to-school improvements and quick-build projects.
"I have a high degree of confidence that this is going to lead to an LCP within a short period of time," Zbur said.
The statewide part of the law works independently of the Santa Monica process. It amends Section 30610.91 of the Public Resources Code. Under the change, the commission's executive director may waive the coastal development permit requirement for projects that convert existing road right-of-way into bicycle, transit or pedestrian infrastructure. To qualify, the director must find that the project, on balance, provides commensurate or enhanced public access to the coast. Replacing lost parking is no longer an automatic requirement. The loss of parking near beaches has historically complicated or blocked bike lane approvals.
The law also requires more transparency around approvals, denials and pending applications.
Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis said the city is among the last coastal cities without a state-certified program.
"Cities up and down the coast make their own permitting decisions under coastal programs the state has certified,” she said. “Santa Monica is one of the last that doesn't. AB 1740 puts us on the clock to get there; now the work is ours. Thank you to Assemblyman Zbur for seeing it through, and to Governor Newsom for signing this important piece of legislation."
Michael Schneider, founder and CEO of Streets For All, said multimodal projects have long been too difficult to build in the coastal zone.
"I'm grateful to Assemblymember Zbur for authoring this critical bill, and to Governor Newsom for signing it, creating a streamlined process, which will allow cities to more easily install bike lanes, bus lanes, and pedestrian safety improvements," Schneider said.
Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge said the law supports the commission's current work with Santa Monica.
"It also expedites bike lanes and other multimodal projects that will improve public access to the coast without weakening Coastal Act protections," Huckelbridge said.
The signed law is much narrower than the bill Zbur introduced in February. That version created broad exemptions from coastal development permit requirements for multifamily housing, building renovations, outdoor dining, temporary events and parking changes. It applied to more than a dozen coastal cities that met specific urbanization criteria.
The Coastal Commission opposed earlier versions of the bill. Later amendments limited it to Santa Monica, which drew criticism from environmental groups and some residents who called it a targeted carve-out. The housing and commercial exemptions were eventually removed. So was the bill's original findings section, which had argued that the Coastal Act's permitting framework was poorly suited to dense, transit-rich urban communities.
Santa Monica's effort to get a certified program goes back decades:
- 1992: The commission approved the city's Land Use Plan, which still serves as the standard of review for coastal permits in the city. The companion Implementation Plan, which works as the coastal zoning ordinance, was never approved.
- 2014: The city started a new LCP process.
- October 2018: The City Council adopted a revised Land Use Plan. The city later withdrew it before the commission acted.
- May 2023: The city resumed the update.
- May 2026: After AB 1740 was introduced, the council voted unanimously to direct staff to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the commission. The target is to complete both plans by June 2027.