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- The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's 1,100 miles (1,800 km) coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is "to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline". Protection of coastal resources includes shoreline public access and recreation, lower cost visitor accommodations, terrestrial and marine habitat protection, visual resources, and regulation of agricultural lands, commercial fisheries, and industrial infrastructure. By regulating land use within a defined coastal zone extending inland from 3,000 ft (910 m) up to 5 mi (8.0 km), it has the authority to control construction of any type, including buildings, housing, roads, as well as fire and erosion abatement structures, and can issue fines for unapproved construction. It has been called the single most powerful land-use authority in the United States due to its purview over vast environmental assets and extremely valuable real estate. Property rights activists and real estate developers say that the CCC has exceeded its mission, violated property rights of citizens, and worsened California's housing shortage by limiting housing supply. Environmentalists, on the other hand, say that the Commission has protected open space, views, habitats, and public coastal access. (en)
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