California Supreme Court Holds That Landowners Forfeited Their Right to Bring A Lawsuit Challenging Coastal Development Permit Conditions Imposed By The Coastal Commission By Accepting The Permit And Constructing The Project.

In Lynch v. Coastal Commission, 5 Cal.5^th 470 (2017), the California Supreme Court held that California residents who began construction of a cliffside seawall and stairway project, for which they had obtained the requisite coastal development and building permits, forfeited their right to challenge conditions imposed on the coastal development.

In 2009, the City of Encinitas (City) granted to Plaintiffs, Frick and Lynch, who were neighbors, permits to build a new seawall and to replace the lower portion of the private wooden stairway leading from their respective homes down to the beach.  Final approval for the project required a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission (Commission).

In 2010, while Plaintiffs’ application for a coastal permit was pending, a powerful storm caused the bluff below the Lynch’s home to collapse, and destroyed part of the existing seawall and the lower portion of the existing stairway.