Coastal Commission Denial Reversed; Development Permit Issued

Boca del Canon LLC and two individual lot owners came to us with a Coastal Commission Staff Report not only recommending denial, but asserting a public prescriptive easement across the client's lots located in an existing subdivision in a gated oceanfront enclave in San Clemente, CA.

We obtained a continuance, prepared and submitted to the Commission a legal brief that rebutted staff assertions of prescriptive rights, negotiated alternative vertical beach access, and negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the Commission and adjoining lot owners to provide for a coastal "trail" and view pavilion.

Coastal Commission Staff reversed its recommendation and issued a Staff Report for Approval, the Commission voted 11-0 to approve the project, and a CDP was issued after construction drawings and "condition compliance" was completed by the applicant.