Pacifica Planners Back Coastal Plan Fix, 6-0, as Business Questions Linger

Pacifica's Planning Commission voted 6-0 on Oct. 19, 2026, to recommend that the City Council approve amendments aligning the city's Local Coastal Land Use Plan with its 2040 General Plan, housing element and Sharp Park Specific Plan. The vote clears a first hurdle after the California Coastal Commission found the Sharp Park plan inconsistent with the coastal plan. Commissioners also pressed staff on what the land use changes mean for existing businesses. Earlier in the meeting, a commissioner's apology for a 2023 email drew sharply divided public comment.

• Coastal plan amendments advance 6-0 to City Council, then Coastal Commission certification

• Business owners seek clarity on mixed-use designations ahead of a citywide rezoning

• Commissioner Chris Redfield apologizes for a 2023 email; speakers split on accountability

Coastal Plan Catches Up to the General Plan

The basics: The Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) and its zoning-level implementation plan together form Pacifica's Local Coastal Program. The California Coastal Commission must certify that program. File 2026030 updates three parts of the LCLUP:

• Chapter 2 land use classifications, including new Mixed Use 30 and Mixed Use 60 categories

• Chapter 3 figures

• Chapter 4 policies requiring bird and bat surveys

Why it matters: The Coastal Commission found the Sharp Park Specific Plan inconsistent with the coastal plan. Resolving that conflict lets the city bundle these amendments with the housing element rezone and the Sharp Park plan for certification. The amendments are also the first step toward the citywide rezoning that will decide what Sharp Park properties can actually be used for.

Where things stand: Community Development Director Samantha Updegrave described the changes as technical. "This is not a rezoning. This is strictly limited to the local coastal land use plan," said Updegrave. She said the changes do not alter how nonconforming uses are treated.

Commissioner Marjory Davis said much of the work repeats choices the council already made in the general plan. "We're just changing it here almost for a documentary reason so that they all match," said Davis. Updegrave noted that the 2040 General Plan also allowed what she called horizontal mixed use. She said Table 2-3 had relied on figures from 2020 and older, and staff replaced them with numbers from the general plan and the Sharp Park plan.

Commissioner Fischer asked where the bird and bat survey measures came from. Staff said they came from a California Department of Fish and Wildlife comment on the environmental impact report and apply citywide.

The other side: The sharpest questions concerned business impacts. "If a commercial space had its land use designation changed and wants to remodel or add on, what happens then?" asked Commissioner Sanchez. Staff said zoning, which is unchanged, governs allowed uses. "I don't think there's anything that prevents a current business from continuing to operate," said Updegrave.

Jeffrey Bruno, a Sharp Park resident and psychologist planning a ground-floor clinic on Palmetto Avenue, asked that the mixed-use center designation support adaptive reuse and long-term professional uses on the ground floor. He also asked that existing owners keep the ability to maintain and remodel their properties in the coastal zone. Staff said the amendments affect only land use classifications and two environmental policies. Staff added that the active ground floor overlay is part of the Sharp Park plan, not this item.

Chair Samantha Hauser asked that those concerns carry into the rezoning and the council staff report. "I also think it's really important that when we do get to a rezone that we very clearly delineate our parameters so that we're not losing businesses," said Hauser.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Davis moved to adopt the resolution in Attachment A. It recommends that the council certify the amendments as consistent with the California Coastal Act, find the action exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and incorporate maps and testimony by reference.

The motion was amended after Davis flagged a color on the Coastal Zone Central map that was missing from the legend. Staff said the color represents visitor-serving commercial and committed to completing the legend. Fischer seconded the motion. (For: 6, Against: 0, Absent: 0)

Property owners in Sharp Park, including around Palmetto Avenue, have the most at stake. Their allowed uses will be set during rezoning, not by this vote.

What's next: Staff noted an Oct. 26 joint study session. The amendments then go to a City Council hearing and to the Coastal Commission for certification, bundled with the housing element rezone and the Sharp Park plan.

Redfield Apology Splits Public Comment

Why it matters: A sitting commissioner faced public calls for an investigation, his resignation and his recusal from discussions of cultural sites. The debate turned on public trust and free speech.

Where things stand: Before open comment, Commissioner Chris Redfield read a statement about a February 2023 email he sent to former Planning Director Christian Murdock about the quarry property. The email was released through a public records request. "I used a poorly chosen idiom instead of expressing my literal intent, which was to simply document and share the history of the land," said Redfield.

Kata Gomes, a Ramaytush descendant, thanked him for the statement. She said the email was one example of an ongoing pattern of disrespectful online comments by an official directed at community members. Kimberly Finale called the phrase a racial microaggression. She asked for an official investigation, Redfield's resignation, or enforced recusal from discussions of cultural sites.

The other side: Connie Menefee defended Redfield as a dedicated public servant who made a bad joke. She cited his First Amendment rights, called the commission's land acknowledgment performance art and said critics are scapegoating him.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The commission took no action. The chair noted legal limits on responding to items not on the agenda and invited speakers to send emails. Calls for a review remain unaddressed by the commission.

• Tribute: Commissioners honored late Commissioner Alex Ferguson. Davis said "he really wanted to do what was best for the community." The commission also welcomed a new member selected by the City Council.

• Minutes: The commission approved its Aug. 3 minutes with Davis' corrections. (For: 6, Against: 0, Absent: 0)

• Hazard tree: Lila Ranero asked the city to reassess or remove an 80- to 90-foot Monterey cypress on city property near 400 Belfast and Grand Avenue before El Niño storms. She said the tree dropped a large limb on Feb. 19 and offered to sponsor replacement trees.

• Measure BB: Dan Stegink urged a no vote on the sales tax measure, claiming it creates a 10.875% rate. His claims were not addressed by the commission.

• Habitat: Lori Goldberg, a Valdemar resident, criticized tree removal, fencing and large new homes for harming wildlife habitat, and urged closer oversight of development.

Looking ahead: Pacifica has replaced MinuteTrack with OneMeeting, run on Granicus PrimeGov, for agendas and packets. "It replaces the old MinuteTrack meeting portal for City Council, Planning Commission, and all other commissions and committees in the city," said Deputy Director Christensen. Agendas are available in HTML, PDF and Word formats, and in-person and Zoom public comment are unchanged. Packet notifications are being sent manually while staff sets up a replacement system.