SANTA MONICA, CA — A controversial proposal that could make it easier for a specific Santa Monica development designed by famed architect Frank Gehry to move forward has resurfaced in Sacramento, prompting fierce opposition from the city's two state lawmakers.
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur told Patch he is "strongly and vehemently opposed" to the proposal, while state Sen. Ben Allen said Wednesday that he also opposes the measure and supports an existing agreement between Santa Monica and the California Coastal Commission.
At issue is a proposed change to state law that would give certain housing developments in Santa Monica a faster and narrower review by the Coastal Commission.
Under the proposal, qualifying Santa Monica developments would be presumed to comply with key Coastal Act policies if the city has not completed its long-delayed Local Coastal Program by Jan. 1, 2028. A completed program would shift most coastal permitting authority from the commission to the city.
Among numerous requirements, an eligible project would have to include a museum "honoring the career and work of architect Frank Gehry," including Gehry's archives, architectural designs or renderings and models or other examples of his buildings.
The developer would also need written authorization from the Gehry Living Trust or Gehry's estate to include the museum.
The proposed language itself says a special statute applying to Santa Monica is necessary partly because of "the desire to promote a museum in the city honoring the works and life of Mr. Frank O. Gehry."
The requirements appear to point directly toward the Ocean Avenue Project, a Gehry-designed mixed-use development proposed by Worthe Real Estate Group and M. David Paul Associates.
Zbur told Patch that he learned "with some certainty" Monday that the controversial Coastal Act proposal was being revived after environmental advocates warned him several days earlier that another attempt appeared to be coming.
"I spoke to the governor's team and basically told them that I was strongly and vehemently opposed to it," Zbur said.
Zbur said the proposal undermines the agreement he helped negotiate between Santa Monica and the Coastal Commission to complete the city's LCP.
Asked by Patch why Santa Monica was being singled out, Zbur said he believed a developer was behind the effort.
"I assume because the developer who is advancing this has projects in Santa Monica that he wants to get around the process and the time to go through the Coastal Commission," Zbur said.
Asked specifically whether the renewed proposal ultimately comes down to the Gehry project, Zbur said, "I'm sure that's what it is."
"The last one of the versions of this budget trailer language that I saw yesterday refers to it specifically," he said.
The proposed language subsequently obtained by Patch explicitly requires the Frank Gehry museum component.
Allen also came out against the proposal Wednesday.
"Protecting coastal access, our natural resources, and the Coastal Act are really important to me," Allen said in a statement to Patch. "I support the agreement struck by Assemblyman Zbur, the City, and Coastal Commission and am not interested in unwinding that work."
Allen said he does not support "this or any other trailer bill language that would incentivize delays in the completion of the City's LCP," which he called the heart of the agreement he was "proud to carry on the Senate floor."
The proposed measure describes itself as a "secondary streamlining measure" that would take effect only if Santa Monica's LCP has not been adopted and fully certified by Jan. 1, 2028. It would generally become inoperative Jan. 1, 2032.
However, the draft also says that if the LCP is not certified by Jan. 1, 2028, an applicant that files a qualifying preliminary application before that date could elect to use the special process even after the LCP is subsequently certified.
The proposal would impose strict new limits and deadlines on how the Coastal Commission processes qualifying applications.
Within 30 days of a formal request, the commission would have to give an applicant a comprehensive list of technical reports, plans and other materials required for a complete application. It generally could not subsequently demand additional materials unless significant changes were made to the project.
After receiving an application, the commission would generally have 10 working days to identify deficiencies, with an additional review period of up to 10 days for certain items pending further review. A public hearing would generally have to be held within 90 days after the required materials are submitted.
If the commission misses certain deadlines, an application could be deemed complete by operation of law. If it fails to hold a hearing or render its final decision within specified timeframes, the project and its coastal development permit would be deemed approved.
The commission could rebut the presumption that a qualifying project complies with Coastal Act policies only by finding a specific, adverse and unavoidable impact involving public coastal access, wetlands, mapped environmentally sensitive habitat, coastal hazards or coastal water quality.
Inconsistency with Santa Monica's partially certified 1992 coastal land use plan could not itself be used to rebut the presumption or deny the permit.
The Ocean Avenue project was approved by Santa Monica in 2022 and the Coastal Commission in 2023. The development includes a hotel, 100 apartments, retail and cultural space intended to showcase Gehry's work.
Jeffrey Worthe, president of Worthe Real Estate Group, has also been a significant political contributor to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Campaign-finance records compiled by Transparency USA show Worthe contributed $250,000 to the committee opposing the 2021 recall of Newsom and $32,400 to Newsom's 2022 reelection campaign.
Newsom appointed Worthe to the California Privacy Protection Agency board in 2023 and to the California High-Speed Rail Authority board in 2025.
Patch found no evidence establishing that Worthe's political contributions or appointments influenced the proposed legislation. When Patch specifically asked Zbur about allegations involving political contributions to Newsom, he declined to address them.
The renewed proposal follows an earlier attempt in June to create broader streamlined Coastal Act provisions for multifamily housing in Santa Monica's coastal zone.
That controversy unfolded alongside negotiations over Zbur's AB 1740, which was substantially rewritten following an agreement among Zbur, Santa Monica and the Coastal Commission to advance completion of the city's LCP.
Santa Monica and the commission have agreed to work toward completing and certifying the LCP by the end of 2027. Zbur said his immediate objective is to prevent the latest proposed language from being formally introduced. If that fails, he said he will try to rally lawmakers to defeat it.
"It would be extremely unusual for a budget trailer bill to advance where the legislator that is in whose district it impacts is not only opposed to it, but is strongly and vehemently opposed to it," Zbur said.
Zbur said he has communicated his opposition to the governor's team, legislative leadership and the chairs of the Assembly and Senate budget committees.
"I'm doing everything I can to get this killed," Zbur said.
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