Balancing the Benefits, Weighing the Consequences: The Ventura River and the California Coastal Act

by Mark H. Capelli, Univ of Calif, Santa Barbara, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '93

Abstract:

Four years after its construction on the Ventura River delta, the Ventura River inundated the Ventura Beach Rv Resort. The facility had been permitted under the City of San Buenaventura's Local Coastal Program, in accordance with the policies of the California Coastal Act of 1976. These policies are intended to achieve multiple policy objectives, including the preservation of agriculture, protection of environmentally sensitive habitats, provision of public access and related visitors serving opportunities, and the minimization of risks due to coastal hazards such as floods. The planning and permitting history of the project illustrates the dangers of pursuing any one of the Coastal Act's policy objectives to the exclusion of others, and the wisdom of multiple objective planning which is a fundamental principle of the California Coastal Act of 1976.

Subject Headings: Coastal management | Public health and safety | Rivers and streams | Public policy | Public opinion and participation | Agriculture | Water-based recreation | California | United States

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