Santa Monica : Suit on Land Jurisdiction
The state Court of Appeal in Los Angeles is expected to hear a suit April 19 by two Santa Monica Mountains property owners, challenging the California Coastal Commission’s inland jurisdiction.
The suit was filed by Quaker Corp., owner of 272 acres about 6.5 miles from the ocean near Mulholland Drive and Las Virgenes Road, and by Michel T. Ghosn, who owns 160 acres in the same area.
Attorneys for the property owners seek to remove coastal zone and coastal plan jurisdiction at the ridgeline from Kanan-Dume Road to Topanga Canyon. They argue that maps of the area drawn by coastal commission staff and approved by the state Legislature were drawn in error.
The suit also requests damages for the plaintiffs, who for years have tried to develop the property.
If successful, the litigation would remove thousands of acres of mountain land from coastal commission jurisdiction and open up development in the Santa Monica Mountains.
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