The Bodega coast is part of 55 miles of Sonoma County covered under the newly certified Coastal Plan.
Safeguarding public access to beaches and mitigating sea-level rise around coastal communities are among the priorities of Sonoma County’s Local Coastal Plan, certified this month by the California Coastal Commission. The commission’s approval of the local plan, which stretches 55 miles along the coast, also ensures Sonoma County’s permitting authority for development within the Coastal Zone, which extends from between a half mile and five miles from the coast in Sonoma County.
The Local Coastal Plan addresses changing conditions on the coast that have developed over the past several decades, including the need for:
- Adapting to climate change, including sea-level rise
- Safeguarding public access
- Protecting water resources
- Conserving coastal ecosystems
- Preserving agriculture
- Mitigating hazards and wildfire resiliency
Permit Sonoma has been working on the update since 2013; the county Board of Supervisors adopted the plan in July 2023, sending it to the Coastal Commission where it’s been awaiting certification following a process that involved nine public meetings and 35 hours of vetting and public input, according to county officials. Efforts were also made to modernize the plan to make it easier to understand and use.
Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who represents west Sonoma County and the coast, applauded the certification of the plan. “The Sonoma County coast is not just a scenic treasure but a series of irreplaceable ecosystems that we’ve committed to safeguarding through the Local Coastal Plan,” Hopkins said in a statement.
