Coastal Commission executive is favored by Banning Ranch activists

Elected officials in Sacramento and Los Angeles — as well as environmental activists in Newport Beach — are urging Gov. Jerry Brown to weigh in on the fate of the embattled executive director of the California Coastal Commission, saying his dismissal would jeopardize pending environmental protection efforts.

A letter sent to Brown on Tuesday by 16 Democratic legislators warned that an attempt to fire Charles Lester, the commission’s executive director, would be “disruptive to achieving the state’s coastal protection and management goals.”

Lester, who has led the appointed panel since 2011, was notified last month that the commission was considering his removal. He then asked for the issue to be resolved in a public hearing, now scheduled for the commission’s meeting Wednesday in Morro Bay.

In an open memo to the commission Thursday, Lester offered a defense of the agency’s work to help protect public access and the environment, prepare for climate change and sea-level rise and review development projects up and down the coast.

“I believe that my vision has been clear and incisive and that my performance and accomplishments in the administration of the coastal program have been exceptionally strong,” Lester wrote in the 20-page document, which includes a detailed list of accomplishments during his tenure and a copy of his curriculum vitae.

Supporters of Lester have contended that pro-development groups are pushing to remove him, while other observers have said the effort may be more about his ability to run the quasi-independent agency.

Among the supporters are Newport Beach-area activists who oppose development of Banning Ranch. They have written letters to the Daily Pilot saying they are against any move to oust Lester.

“By firing Dr. Lester without cause, the Coastal Commission undermines its own mission and creates an unmistakable message to California that money and influence trump the public good,” wrote Newport resident Dorothy Kraus. “We can only hope that good sense prevails.”

Newport Banning Ranch LLC is looking to build homes, retail space and a boutique hotel on part of the 401-acre property next to the Santa Ana River and across Coast Highway from the ocean. Banning Ranch is one of the largest remaining undeveloped areas in Orange County.

Lester has not publicly opposed developing Banning Ranch, but the Coastal Commission as a whole sent the project back to the developer and Lester’s staff, saying it should be scaled down and brought back for approval.

Praise for Lester’s work leading the commission also came Tuesday from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which unanimously approved a resolution warning that an attempt to remove him “would undermine the stability of the commission, while simultaneously further compromising its ability to effectively carry out its mission.”

In response to the letter from legislators, Brown spokesman Evan Westrup stated that “this is a personnel matter — initiated without any involvement from our office — for the Coastal Commission to decide.”

The commission is made up of 12 voting members, four of whom are appointed by the governor. The remaining commissioners are selected by leaders of the state Senate and Assembly.

Brown has no formal role in commission matters, though the panel’s website notes that gubernatorial appointees “serve at the pleasure of the governor.”

The letter sent to Brown was written by Democrats largely from coastal parts of California, led by state Sens. Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara and Ben Allen of Santa Monica.

“We strongly support the value of an independent Coastal Commission staff,” the legislators wrote, “and we respect the commitment and the accomplishments of Dr. Lester during his tenure as executive director.”

On Monday, almost three dozen former commissioners weighed in to support Lester. And since the dispute became public, the commission has received thousands of letters.

The move to oust the executive director was first considered during a closed session in December.