The three functions: planning, regulation, and 

 acquisition were discussed in detail in Chapter 8. 

 They are briefly discussed here as applicable to the 

 powers of a Coastal Zone Authority. 



A. Planning 



A State's first step is to develop a comprehen- 

 sive or "master" plan to coordinate use of land 

 and water resources. This can be accomplished by 

 the State authority or authorities whose functions 

 are spelled out by State action or by a temporary 

 planning commission whose duties are to develop 

 the plan and reconmiend the nature of an au- 

 thority or agency necessary to fulfill the State 

 role. At this level it should strive to coordinate 

 local planning, both public and private, with 

 planning at the area-wide level. The planning 

 agency should establish close relationships with 

 other institutions concerned with area-wide devel- 

 opment: water supply and development authori- 

 ties, mass transportation agencies, special districts, 

 highway departments, park and recreation agen- 

 cies, and air pollution control bodies. 



The panel found that a great amount of 

 planning for general land and pubhc use presently 

 exists, much conducted under the Urban Planning 

 Assistance Program authorized by Section 701 of 

 the Housing Act of 1954. FuU benefit should be 

 taken of such planning wherever possible. 



Federal funding for functional and action pro- 

 grams should be contingent on Federal review and 

 approval of a comprehensive area-wide plan. 



B. Public Regulation 



Effective management of a coastal region re- 

 quires government action. Regulation offers one 

 means of implementing a plan to conserve and 

 develop shorelines; acquisition offers another. Im- 

 plementation depending solely on acquisition 

 might prove too costly. Moreover, widespread 

 acquisition would result in a government agency 

 owning, and thus having to administer, large areas 

 of shoreline. Yet regulation should not be the sole 

 implementing tool. 



Regulation assumes that private owners will 

 retain title to their lands, but that uses and 

 development will be restricted by legislation. The 

 most typical contemporary land regulation sys- 

 tems are zoning and regulation by permit. 



C. Zoning 



In the past the owner of land could do with it 

 whatever he wanted. He was constrained if his 

 activities produced damage to his neighbors or 

 created a nuisance for which he could be brought 

 to court. Out of this developed a system of zoning 

 which, by planning, tried to minimize interference 

 between adjacent (or close) users of land in a 

 community. 



But zoning for land uses is different from 

 zoning for water uses. The difference arises from 

 the concept of "range." The range of interference 

 for land uses is very short, while that of water uses 

 can be quite large; for example, pollution at one 

 point in a body of water can be carried to another 

 easUy. (This reasoning also applies to air pollu- 

 tion.) 



The larger "range" of zoning is recognized by 

 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and by 

 the Water Quality Standards set for rivers, estu- 

 aries, and coastal waters, which spell out water use 

 and imply, also, constraints on land use. As a 

 further complication, the "range" can even extend 

 from one estuary to another through the inter- 

 mediary of migratory fish and migratory water- 

 fowl. 



Zoning traditionally is the responsibility of 

 local goverrmients. Historically they have failed to 

 protect the nonmarke table interests— scenic 

 beauty, recreational values, and preservation of 

 wildlife— against economic interests producing jobs 

 and increasing the tax base. For this reason, 

 responsibility for zoning the coastal zone should 

 be at the State level or, if dealing with a portion of 

 a State, under State authority. 



Zoning regulations would be designed to imple- 

 ment the comprehensive plan adopted by the State 

 through its Coastal Zone Authority. 



D. Regulation by Permit 



Alternatively to zoning, a planning body could 

 decide regulation through permits issued according 

 to prestated criteria. 



Under this method, activity could proceed only 

 on approval by the Coastal Zone Authority. 

 Regulations could set forth types of development 

 permitted. For instance, such regulations might 

 permit boat yards, marinas, and Uke uses at 

 designated shoreline locations only if such use 

 were desirable for the public convenience and in 



III-152 



