Public resources: coastal resources: Coastal Resilience Permitting Working Group.

The deadline for the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to submit the Coastal Resilience Permitting Roadmap to the Governor and Legislature was extended from January 1, 2028 to July 1, 2028, giving agencies an additional six months.

The State Water Resources Control Board was added as an explicit participant in three places: the Working Group composition (item C now includes both the State Water Resources Control Board and representatives from the Regional Water Quality Control Boards), the Advisory Group convening collaboration, and the public workshops consultation list.

The Advisory Group membership requirement was changed from 'shall include' to 'may include,' making participation by listed entities (such as local governments, ports, tribes, and public members) permissive rather than mandatory.

Advisory Group item (4) was narrowed: local transportation agencies, special districts, stormwater management agencies, and wastewater treatment agencies are now limited to those that serve jurisdictions subject to Division 20.6.9 (the sea level rise planning requirements), rather than all such agencies statewide.

Duplicate numbering in the findings section was corrected (the old version had two items numbered (6) and two numbered (7)), a duplicate word 'hazards hazards' was fixed to 'hazards,' and a redundant subsection label (two subsections both labeled (f)) was resolved by renumbering the definition as subsection (g).

The lead agency for convening the Coastal Resilience Permit Advisory Group changed from the California Coastal Commission and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, with the commissions now in a collaborative rather than leading role.

Several roadmap recommendations were softened: 'within their existing authority' became 'to the extent feasible, within their existing authority'; 'use of engineering with nature features' became 'consideration of engineering with nature features'; 'a de minimis fill policy' became 'a potential de minimis fill policy'; and consent calendar delegation now applies only when 'appropriate and applicable.'

Two new items were added to the required roadmap content: (I) recommendations for expediting permitting of projects included in local sea level rise adaptation plans as an incentive to complete those plans, and (J) consideration of project-based permit streamlining.

The legislative reforms section now requires identification of 'regulatory gaps and frictions that could lead to maladaptation over time' in addition to focusing on requirements causing extensive analysis, and the language was changed from reforms that 'can further accelerate permitting' to those that 'can have the greatest potential to further accelerate permitting.'

A new definition was added for 'coastal resilience project': a project that maintains, protects, restores, or enables coastal ecosystems, infrastructure, or communities to withstand and adapt to sea level rise and other natural hazards amplified by climate change.

The State Historical Resources Commission was removed from the list of required members of the Coastal Resilience Permitting Working Group.

The cross-reference to Division 20.6.9 was corrected from Section 30895 to Section 30985, and standard measures for pile driving now explicitly account for variability across ocean floor topographies.

New Section 1 amends Public Resources Code Section 30517 to add subdivision (b), authorizing the Coastal Commission to retroactively extend for good cause, up to 5 years, time limitations on local governments to act on suggested modifications to land use plan amendments that would authorize 100-percent affordable housing developments meeting the definition in Section 21080.27. This applies only to approvals that would have expired between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026.

The bill's stated purpose was expanded from simply adding Division 20.8 to the Public Resources Code to also amending Section 30517, broadening the bill's scope to include coastal zone affordable housing permitting relief.

Assembly Member McKinnor was added as a coauthor alongside Haney and Bennett.

References to 'the California Regional Water Quality Control Boards with jurisdiction over the coast and the San Francisco Bay' were simplified throughout to 'representatives from the Regional Water Quality Control Boards,' removing specific geographic designations. The State Water Resources Control Board was repositioned as a separate entity in the list of Working Group members rather than being combined with the regional boards.

The definition of 'coastal resilience project' was broadened from projects that help communities withstand hazards 'amplified by climate change' to all 'natural hazards, including those amplified by climate change,' meaning the bill now covers projects addressing any natural hazard, not just climate-related ones.

The Coastal Resilience Permitting Working Group membership was expanded to include representatives from three additional Regional Water Quality Control Boards: Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Diego (previously only San Francisco Bay, North Coast, and Central Coast were listed).

Two new legislative findings were added: one referencing California's existing policy promoting natural infrastructure under Section 71154, and another citing the 2025 Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform report documenting challenges with 7 to 12 agencies having jurisdiction over resiliency projects.

A new subdivision (f) requires that when developing infrastructure to address adaptation, a project alternative using existing natural features and ecosystem processes, or the restoration of such features, should be developed where feasible.

The streamlining provision on application completeness was refined to specify tools such as preapplication consultations and publishing clear permit guidelines, rather than just stating 'streamlining the process.'

The compensatory mitigation standardization provision now includes language about 'types and thresholds for small amounts of fill that may not require mitigation because they may be beneficial or can be shown to have negligible impacts,' broadening the de minimis fill concept.

The permit approval timing provision was clarified to allow permits when design is still being developed (not just complete) and for permits to be maintained during subsequent nonsubstantive design changes arising from field conditions.

The Coastal Resilience Permit Advisory Group membership was expanded to include special districts and stormwater management agencies among local entities, and academics and professional associations among public members.

'Borings' was added to the list of standard construction practices (alongside pile driving and fill placement) that can be subject to standard measures safeguarding marine resources.