BCDC Enforcement Committee Adjourns Without Action After Commissioner No-Show

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission's Enforcement Committee convened May 28 only to adjourn minutes later — a missing commissioner meant no quorum and no business conducted. All pending enforcement matters now roll to an already-packed June 10 docket.

• Enforcement Committee fails to reach quorum after Commissioner Zepeda doesn't appear

• All pending enforcement items deferred to June 10, creating a heavier agenda

• Staff and legal counsel clarify Bagley-Keene rules barring any action without quorum

Missing Commissioner Stalls Enforcement Docket

The basics: The BCDC Enforcement Committee requires three members for a quorum. Only two — Chair Marie Gilmore and Commissioner Rebecca Eisen, attending virtually from New York — were present for the May 28 meeting. Commissioner Cesar Zepeda did not appear despite multiple contact attempts by staff.

Why it matters: The committee handles enforcement cases involving Bay shoreline violations — projects built without permits, conditions not met, environmental protections not followed. Every meeting without action extends timelines for compliance and resolution, and the delay compounds: all deferred items will now share the June 10 agenda with matters already scheduled for that date.

Where things stand: Chair Gilmore called the meeting to order at approximately 9:41 a.m., 11 minutes past the scheduled start, after staff exhausted efforts to reach Commissioner Zepeda. Commissioner Eisen raised a procedural question about whether the committee could at least hear items without voting.

"I have a question about whether we can proceed without a quorum. I vaguely recall from prior stuff that you could go ahead without a quorum as long as you didn't vote on anything," said Commissioner Rebecca Eisen, vice chair.

Staff Sierra Peterson, executive manager and commission liaison, and legal counsel Sherry quickly clarified the rule. "Unfortunately, you are unable to start the meeting without quorum under Bagley-Keene. I just tried to reach Commissioner Zepeda a few times, so we'll give him a few minutes," Peterson said.

Sherry elaborated: "I think what happens sometimes is you lose a quorum during a meeting and it's possible to end the meeting and you just can't vote on anything. But you can't start a meeting without the quorum."

Decisions: After roll call formally confirmed only two commissioners present, Chair Gilmore adjourned the meeting:

"We do not have a quorum present and are therefore not duly constituted to conduct business. Therefore, we will adjourn this meeting at this time. The next meeting of the Enforcement Committee is scheduled for June 10, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., where we will consider the items agendized for this meeting in addition to items that are already planned for that meeting."

What's next: The June 10 Enforcement Committee meeting at 9:30 a.m. will carry a combined agenda — this meeting's deferred items plus those already planned — potentially creating a longer and more complex session for commissioners, staff, and any parties involved in pending enforcement cases.