Commentary: Commission was answer to public outrage

What David Hansen fails to mention in his column on the California Coastal Commission (“Tiptoeing around panel shake-up,” Feb 18) is that the commission was created in 1972 by the California electorate, which was fed up with out-of-control coastal development and increasingly restricted access to the beach.

Proposition 20 passed with a clear majority, and implementation by follow-up legislation was signed in 1976 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.

I vividly remember the sense of outrage that led to Proposition 20’s passage. I circulated petitions to get placed it on the ballot, and I helped campaign for its passage.

What would Huntington Beach look like absent the Coastal Act and the Coastal Commission? It would look like Long Beach. In the place of scarce and ecologically vital wetlands, there would be high-rise condos, hotels and gas stations. Open space along the coast would be a memory.

I invite Hansen and all Independent readers to visit our Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center to learn why the work of the Coastal Commission and its dedicated staff has been so critical to our urban and natural environments.

Gordon Smith is chairman of the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy. He lives in Huntington Beach.