9:00-9:10am

Jordan Diamond, Executive Director, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law

9:10-9:30pm

Richard M. Frank, Executive Director, California Environmental Law & Policy Center, UC Davis School of Law

9:30-10:45am

The California Coastal Act is a nation-leading conservation and management law that arose from a citizen-led initiative – Proposition 20 of 1972 – and an intensive three-year public education and consultation process. This panel highlighted major themes that run through the Coastal Act and that are highly relevant today, and identified cross-cutting issues that will shape implementation of the Act over the next 40 years.

Moderator: Letise Lafeir, California Ocean Policy Manager, Monterey Bay Aquarium

• Pedro Nava, Chair, Little Hoover Commission
• Senator Fran Pavley, California’s 27th District
• Effie Turnbull-Sanders, California Coastal Commission

11:00-12:30pm

Preserving public access to California’s coastal resources was one of the driving issues that prompted passage of the Coastal Act, and it remains perhaps the most important—and certainly the most controversial—obligation of the Coastal Commission four decades later. This panel discussed the history of public access to the coast, key past, present, and future access controversies in California, legal requirements for and constitutional limits on mandated coastal access, and how future public access to the coast can be ensured for all.

Moderator: Richard Frank, Executive Director, California Environmental Law & Policy Center, UC Davis School of Law

• Marlene Finley, Director, San Mateo County Parks
• Robert Garcia, Founding Director & Counsel, The City Project
• Damien Schiff, Principal Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
• John Ainsworth, Acting Executive Director, California Coastal Commission

12:30-1:30pm

Secretary John Laird, California Natural Resources Agency

(remarks began at 1:00pm)

1:30-2:45pm

In addition to the Coastal Commission, a multitude of local, state, federal, and nongovernmental entities have authorities that apply within the coastal zone. A key opportunity for and challenge to robust coastal governance is ensuring effective and efficient coordination and collaboration between them. This café-style conversation explored past successes and current challenges to cultivating collaborative efforts, systems, and implementation strategies.

Moderator: Jordan Diamond, Executive Director, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law

• Deborah Halberstadt, Executive Director, Ocean Protection Council
• Carmen Ramirez, Mayor Pro Tem, Oxnard City Council
• Mary Small, Deputy Executive Officer, California Coastal Conservancy
• Becky Smyth, West Coast Director, NOAA Office for Coastal Management

3:00-4:15pm

Increasing temperatures are forecasted to raise global sea levels by over a meter in this century, and to exacerbate storms in frequency and intensity. Coastal managers and residents will have to respond to these changing conditions. Speakers on this panel discussed the current state of predictions and forecasts, existing authorities to guide response, the California Coastal Commission’s sea level rise guidance and surrounding context, and what more is needed to help the California Coast prepare for and adapt to changing conditions.

Moderator: Sean Hecht, Co-Executive Director, Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, UCLA School of Law

• Sarah Newkirk, Coastal Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
• Sandi Potter, Manager, Comprehensive Planning Division, Sonoma County
• Madeline Cavalieri, Coastal Program Manager, California Coastal Commission