Welcome to the April 8th, 2025 Planning Commission meeting.

We are live on Channel 27, and as well as interpretation and Pacific Coast TV.

Those that want to speak have three minutes to speak and can be we'll take the uh attendees here in the audience first and then go to Zoom.

Um I think that's pretty much it in a nutshell.

So I'll call the meeting to order and invite everyone to join in the Pledge of Allegiance.

May we have a roll call, please, Bridget?

Yes.

Commissioner Rems.

Commissioner Gossett?

Here.

Commissioner Hernandez.

I am present.

Vice Chair Gorn.

I'm here.

And Chair Reddick.

Here.

All Planning Commissioners are present this evening.

At this point, we invite members of the public to address the commission on anything whatsoever other than items on our agenda tonight.

Um double I see no one raising their hand on Zoom or in the room.

All right.

Well, we won't open public hearing at that point.

We'll go to uh item number one A, which is our uh study session on coastal development permanent permit findings.

Marlene, are you to lead that for us?

I think from the city attorney's office.

So good evening, Commissioners.

Marlene Dalinger, Deputy City Attorney for City of Half Moon Bay.

Tonight is our last installment of a series of such study sessions that we've been doing for the planning commission about planning commission role and decision making and the planning process.

So just list of topics here that will come up.

Discretionary versus ministerial approvals, requirements for making findings generally.

So just list of topics here that will come up, discretionary versus ministerial approvals, requirements for making findings generally, and then some specific information on findings required for coastal development permit approvals, looking at determinations of general plan or local coastal land use plan conformance, and then also I'll say a few words about conditions of approval for coastal development permits.

So first, looking at discretionary approvals.

So sort of big picture of looking at coastal development permits, many of your meetings, if not most, include project applications or a determination on a project seeking a coastal development permit.

And in chapter 18.20 of the city's municipal code, that chapter sets out the process and requirements for considering and approving or denying CDPs.

And I'll get into the specifics of those approvals, but first I want to just say that this type of consideration of coastal development permit approval is an example of a discretionary approval.

And what is a discretionary approval?

So discretionary approvals are ones that involve deliberation and sort of application of judgment.

If a project does meet the requirements, the commission makes findings of conformance with city requirements or places conditions on the project and approves it, or it makes findings of non-conformance with the city's requirements and denies the project.

So those are the pathways.

But city requirements that apply to discretionary project approvals often use subjective language, and therefore they require applying subjective judgment and interpreting the language of a policy to determine whether a project complies with it.

A different type of approval are ministerial approvals.

These generally don't come to the Planning Commission.

These are ones where a city sort of review is essentially applying a checklist or clear objective requirements with fixed standards or measurements to a project.

These types of approvals are often issued at a staff level, that's the case in Half Moon Bay, as it does in other cities, though building permits and seeking a permit for an ADU or examples of ministerial approvals.

Okay.

So looking at again how this applies to coastal development permit approvals.

Most development in Half Moon Bay requires a coastal development permit unless there's some specific exemption exempting a project from needing one.

And the city's code requires that a CDP be approved, can approved or conditionally approved after the planning commission makes specific findings.

And I'll be on the next slide be showing you what those categories of findings are.

But first when I say make some big picture points about findings.

So when a planning commission decides whether to approve or deny a project, it needs to, based on whether it meets city requirements, the decision needs to be supported by findings.

And findings are written explanations of why the planning commission determined that a project does or does not comply with the city's requirements.

And some language you might hear that comes from a well-known case, the Topanga Association for a Scenic Community case says or sets out a standard here.

It says that findings expose the agency's mode of analysis and bridge the analytic gap between the evidence presented and the agency's ultimate decision.

And so they essentially explain how the commission got from point A to point B in its decision making, and findings need to be supported by evidence in the record.

And evidence looks like public testimony, information in the agenda packet, information in a staff report, or communications from the public.

So for CDPs, the city's code at section 18.20070 has a list of six different categories of findings that need to be made in order to approve a CDP.

So I'll be focusing on this first one, which is findings of conformance with the local coastal program.

But there also need to be findings of consistency with the city's growth management system, which is Measure D, conformance with the city's zoning, also a finding that there are adequate services for the project, so adequate infrastructure for projects that are located between the C and the first public road.

And there's also findings related to design review criteria, so that the architectural and site design standards in this laid out in the city's code were satisfactorily addressed for the project.

And so when you review your agenda packets for a project seeking a CDP, you'll see documents attached to the staff report that refer to these findings in a few places.