The Challenges of Permitting Coastal Projects in the 21st Century

This paper provides a Southern California perspective on the competing societal interests that coastal property owners, both public and private, must face when dealing with coastal erosion. From the owner's perspective, accelerated coastal erosion creates an urgent need to protect their property; while many others simply view this as a natural process that delivers sand to the beach and can most simply be solved by removing the threatened property. As we enter into the 21^st century, there is increasing pressure for the government to regulate and require mitigation for any impacts to the state's shoreline. Moreover, mitigation measures for this impact may result in costs approaching or exceeding the cost of the proposed shoreline stabilization. This paper discusses the challenges of permitting coastal engineering projects and possible measures/solutions for permitting coastal engineering projects in the 21^st century.