ARTICLE 3. Implementation; Master Plan [30710. - 30721.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 3.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30710. Section 30710.

Within 90 days after January 1, 1977, the commission shall, after public hearing, adopt, certify, and file with each port governing body a map delineating the present legal geographical boundaries of each port’s jurisdiction within the coastal zone. The commission shall, within such 90-day period, adopt and certify after public hearing, a map delineating boundaries of any wetland, estuary, or existing recreation area indicated in Part IV of the coastal plan within the geographical boundaries of each port.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30711. Section 30711.

(a) A port master plan that carries out the provisions of this chapter shall be prepared and adopted by each port governing body, and for informational purposes, each city, county, or city and county which has a port within its jurisdiction shall incorporate the certified port master plan in its local coastal program. A port master plan shall include all of the following: (1) The proposed uses of land and water areas, where known. (2) The projected design and location of port land areas, water areas, berthing, and navigation ways and systems intended to serve commercial traffic within the area of jurisdiction of the port governing body. (3) An estimate of the effect of development on habitat areas and the marine environment, a review of existing water quality, habitat areas, and quantitative and qualitative biological inventories, and proposals to minimize and mitigate any substantial adverse impact. (4) Proposed projects listed as appealable in Section 30715 in sufficient detail to be able to determine their consistency with the policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200) of this division. (5) Provisions for adequate public hearings and public participation in port planning and development decisions. (b) A port master plan shall contain information in sufficient detail to allow the commission to determine its adequacy and conformity with the applicable policies of this division.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30712. Section 30712.

In the consideration and approval of a proposed port master plan, the public, interested organizations, and governmental agencies shall be encouraged to submit relevant testimony, statements, and evidence which shall be considered by the port governing body. The port governing body shall publish notice of the completion of the draft master plan and submit a copy thereof to the commission and shall, upon request, provide copies to other interested persons, organizations, and governmental agencies. Thereafter, the port governing body shall hold a public hearing on the draft master plan not earlier than 30 days and not later than 90 days following the date the notice of completion was published.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30714. Section 30714.

After public notice, hearing, and consideration of comments and testimony received pursuant to Section 30712, the port governing body shall adopt its master plan and submit it to the commission for certification in accordance with this chapter. Within 90 days after the submittal, the commission, after public hearing, shall certify the plan or portion of a plan and reject any portion of a plan that is not certified. The commission may not modify the plan as submitted as a condition of certification. If the commission rejects any portion of a plan, it shall base that rejection upon written findings of fact and conclusion of law. If the commission fails to take action within the 90-day period, the port master plan shall be deemed certified. The commission shall certify the plan, or portion of a plan, if the commission finds both of the following: (a) The master plan, or certified portions of the master plan, conforms with and carries out the policies of this chapter. (b) Where a master plan, or certified portions of a master plan, provide for any of the developments listed as appealable in Section 30715, the development or developments are in conformity with all of the policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200).

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30715. Section 30715.

(a) Until such time as a port master plan or any portion thereof has been certified, the commission shall permit developments within ports as provided for in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600). After a port master plan or any portion thereof has been certified, the permit authority of the commission provided in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) shall no longer be exercised by the commission over any new development contained in the certified plan or any portion thereof and shall at that time be delegated to the appropriate port governing body, except that approvals of any of the following categories of development by the port governing body may be appealed to the commission: (1) Developments for the storage, transmission, and processing of liquefied natural gas and crude oil in such quantities as would have a significant impact upon the oil and gas supply of the state or nation or both the state and nation. A development which has a significant impact shall be defined in the master plans. (2) Waste water treatment facilities, except for those facilities which process waste water discharged incidental to normal port activities or by vessels. (3) Roads or highways which are not principally for internal circulation within the port boundaries. (4) Office and residential buildings not principally devoted to the administration of activities within the port; hotels, motels, and shopping facilities not principally devoted to the sale of commercial goods utilized for water-oriented purposes; commercial fishing facilities; and recreational small craft marina related facilities. (5) Oil refineries. (6) Petrochemical production plants. (b) If maintenance dredging is part of, or is associated with, any category of development specified in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (a), the commission shall not consider that maintenance dredging in its review and approval of those categories.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30715.5. Section 30715.5.

No development within the area covered by the certified port master plan shall be approved by the port governing body unless it finds that the proposed development conforms with such certified plan.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30716. Section 30716.

(a) A certified port master plan may be amended by the port governing body, but an amendment shall not take effect until it has been certified by the commission. Any proposed amendment shall be submitted to, and processed by, the commission in the same manner as provided for submission and certification of a port master plan. (b) The commission shall, by regulation, establish a procedure whereby proposed amendments to a certified port master plan may be reviewed and designated by the executive director of the commission as being minor in nature and need not comply with Section 30714. These amendments shall take effect on the 10th working day after the executive director designates the amendments as minor. (c) (1) The executive director may determine that a proposed certified port master plan amendment is de minimis if the executive director determines that the proposed amendment would have no impact, either individually or cumulatively, on coastal resources, is consistent with the policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200), and meets the following criteria: (A) The port governing body, at least 21 days prior to the date of submitting the proposed amendment to the executive director, has provided public notice, and provided a copy to the commission, which specifies the dates and places where comments will be accepted on the proposed amendment, contains a brief description of the proposed amendment, and states the address where copies of the proposed amendment are available for public review, by one of the following procedures: (i) Publication, not fewer times than required by Section 6061 of the Government Code, in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the proposed amendment. If more than one area will be affected, the notice shall be published in the newspaper of largest circulation from among the newspapers of general circulation in those areas. (ii) Posting of the notice by the port governing body both onsite and offsite in the area affected by the proposed amendment. (iii) Direct mailing to the owners and occupants of contiguous property shown on the latest equalized assessment roll. (B) The proposed amendment does not propose any change in land use or water uses or any change in the allowable use of property. (2) At the time that the port governing body submits the proposed amendment to the executive director, the port governing body shall also submit to the executive director any public comments that were received during the comment period provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1). (3) (A) The executive director shall make a determination as to whether the proposed amendment is de minimis within 10 working days from the date of submittal by the local government. If the proposed amendment is determined to be de minimis, the proposed amendment shall be noticed in the agenda of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the commission, in accordance with Section 11125 of the Government Code, and any public comments forwarded by the port governing body shall be made available to the members of the commission. (B) If three members of the commission object to the executive director’s determination that the proposed amendment is de minimis, the proposed amendment shall be set for public hearing in accordance with the procedures specified in subdivision (a) or, at the request of the port governing body, returned to the port governing body. If set for public hearing under subdivision (a), the time requirements set by this section and Section 30714 shall commence from the date on which the objection to the de minimis designation was made. (C) If three or more members of the commission do not object to the de minimis determination, the de minimis amendment shall become a part of the certified port master plan upon adjournment of the commission meeting on that date. (4) The commission may, after a noticed public hearing, adopt guidelines to implement this subdivision, which shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law and from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The commission shall file any guidelines adopted pursuant to this paragraph with the Office of Administrative Law.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30717. Section 30717.

The governing bodies of ports shall inform and advise the commission in the planning and design of appealable developments authorized under this chapter, and prior to commencement of any appealable development, the governing body of a port shall notify the commission and other interested persons, organizations, and governmental agencies of the approval of a proposed appealable development and indicate how it is consistent with the appropriate port master plan and this division. An approval of the appealable development by the port governing body pursuant to a certified port master plan shall become effective after the 10th working day after notification of its approval, unless an appeal is filed with the commission within that time. Appeals shall be filed and processed by the commission in the same manner as appeals from local government actions as set forth in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) of this division. No appealable development shall take place until the approval becomes effective.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30718. Section 30718.

For developments approved by the commission in a certified master plan, but not appealable under the provisions of this chapter, the port governing body shall forward all environmental impact reports and negative declarations prepared pursuant to the Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (commencing with Section 21000) or any environmental impact statements prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) to the commission in a timely manner for comment.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30719. Section 30719.

Any development project or activity authorized or approved pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed certified by the commission as being in conformity with the coastal zone management program insofar as any such certification is requested by any federal agency pursuant to the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451, et seq.), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and memoranda of understanding between the state and federal governments relative thereto.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30720. Section 30720.

If the application of any port master plan or part thereof is prohibited or stayed by any court, the permit authority provided for in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) shall be reinstated in the commission. The reinstated permit authority shall apply as to any development which would be affected by the prohibition or stay.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 30721. Section 30721.

(a) The Legislature recognizes that Port Hueneme is unique in its relationship to the coast in that it is the only deep water port operated by a harbor district, and is without access to city or county funds. Therefore, the governing body of Port Hueneme may claim reimbursement of costs it incurs in the preparation and certification of a port master plan as required by this chapter. (b) Prior to submitting any claim for reimbursement, the governing body of the port shall submit its proposed claims to the executive director of the commission for review and approval and shall provide adequate documentation to enable the executive director to make the following determinations: (1) That the work done was directly attributable to the operation of this chapter. (2) That the work done is reasonably related to, and appears to be necessary for, the preparation of a certifiable port master plan for the geographic area within the port’s jurisdiction as identified by the commission pursuant to Section 30710. (3) That the governing body of a port is not reimbursed for the costs of the work from any other source. The executive director of the commission shall, within 60 days after receipt of the necessary information, approve the proposed claim, if the director can make the determinations set forth in this subdivision. (c) After a proposed claim has been reviewed and approved by the executive director of the commission pursuant to subdivision (b), the governing body of the port may submit its claim for reimbursement to the Controller who shall then process and pay any such claim as provided for in Section 2231 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026