Disasters bring people together, even opposites. That’s happening with Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump uniting to make sure the powerful California Coastal Commission doesn’t impede rebuilding after the recent wildfires. The commission consists of 12 voting commissioners and three n on-voting members. The governor, Senate Rules Committee and the Assembly speaker each appoints the four voting commissioners. In his private business, Trump clashed with the commission over erecting a 70-foot American flagpole at his Palos Verdes golf course. Shortly after becoming president, he met with local officials to bring aid after the fires and charged of the commission, “I’m not going to let them get away with their antics” in preventing rapid rebuilding. The New York Times reported the Trump administration threatened to withhold wildfire rebuilding aid unless the state defunds the commission. And Democrats in the Legislature are trying to reduce the commission’s “authority over housing redevelopment.” Newsom even defended Elon Musk, a strong Trump ally, when the commission denied a SpaceX request to launch more rockets from Vandenberg Air Force Base, which actually is federal property. “I’m with Elon,” the governor said, “I didn’t like that.” The real problem is the commission is over-reaching its authority, including hurting the state’s struggle to ease a severe housing crisis. A good example is the casita — an Attached Accessory Dwelling — Steve and Karen Reinecke want to attach to their house in Laguna Beach. The city gave its approval and such units are allowed by state law and the commission’s own regulations without a Coastal Development Permit. But the commission disallowed the casita. The couple’s lawsuit is being handled by the Pacific Legal Foundation. Attorney David McDonald told us the next caste status conference is April 5. He pointed to California Public Resources Code Section 30610, which stipulates “no coastal development permit shall be required for … Improvements to existing single-family residences.” Except for “those classes of development which involve a risk of adverse environmental effect,” which this does not. That was clarified in 2024 by the Court of Appeal of the State of California Second Appellate District Division Five in the case Riddick v. Malibu. In the Justia summary, the “court interpreted the ordinance’s language to include ADUs directly attached to existing residences in the class of improvements exempt from the CDP requirement.” But the real problem uniting all of these issues is commission overreach. In response to the increasing number of problems from the commission, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-California, introduced the Coastal Commission Accountability Act, which he said on X would strip the commission “of its powers under federal law.” “From blocking SpaceX rocket launches to obstructing fire prevention projects, the Commission has repeatedly threatened the safety of Californians and weakened our national defense, while needlessly undercutting innovation and economic progress,” said Kiley. “The need to rein in the Commission has become urgent as we face the challenge of rebuilding Los Angeles following the fires. ” Indeed. While the California Coastal Commission on paper has an innocuous-seeming objective, these unelected bureaucrats are repeatedly asserting themselves in ways that are counterproductive to the interests of Californians. ...read more read less