Coastal Commission Approves Golf Course Plan on Bluffs

The California Coastal Commission voted 9 to 1 Thursday to approve a $35-million development that will set a golf course and 83 homes on the coastal bluffs of Rancho Palos Verdes.

The decision, which came eight months after the commission’s earlier denial of the project, cleared a major hurdle for Barry Hon and Ken Zuckerman, the two developers who have been trying for five years to win approval of the project.

The commission had ruled against the controversial development in August because of concerns that it would restrict public access to the beach. But they reversed their position Thursday after developers agreed to amend the plan to provide additional trails, including one that is accessible by wheelchair, from the site to local parks and beaches.

The developers also promised they would try to expand available parkland.

“I feel great! I’m taking my kids to Disneyland,” Zuckerman said when the four-hour hearing ended Thursday afternoon.

Representatives of a coalition of environmental groups that are suing the city and developers to stop the project said they were surprised and disappointed by the decision.

“We are terribly disappointed and we will be reviewing all our legal options,” said Andy Sargent, president of the Coastal Conservation Coalition.

City officials have strongly supported the project, saying it will bring jobs and more than $300,000 in annual revenues to the cash-strapped city.