8/17/11
For the past quarter-century, Peter Douglas has guarded the scenic coastline that made the Golden State famous.
As executive director of the Coastal Commission, Douglas championed public access to the rocky bluffs and sandy beaches. With the muscle afforded by the state's landmark Coastal Act, he preserved natural habitat and battled developers, moguls and celebrities with visions of private beaches. And, despite making powerful enemies, he survived in a political arena as rugged as Big Sur.
Douglas, 68, is moving on to a different kind of fight. He's suffering from lung cancer and went on medical leave Monday with plans to retire in November. Few state officials have left a bigger mark than Douglas, a World War II refugee from Germany, made on his adopted home. And his departure ushers in a period of uncertainty for an agency that has roots in Sonoma County.
Douglas may have said it best when he informed the commission of his plans at a meeting last week in Watsonville: “The irony of our work is that our greatest achievements are the things you don't see. It's the wetlands that haven't been filled. It's the access that hasn't been lost. It's the agricultural lands that haven't been converted. It's the highly scenic and environmentally sensitive habitat areas that haven't been spoiled or destroyed.”
The Coastal Commission grew out of public frustration with restrictions on beach access in Southern California and growing interest in closing off swaths of the North Coast with exclusive developments such as The Sea Ranch.
Douglas has been there from the start. A longtime resident of Marin County, he co-authored Proposition 20, the 1972 ballot initiative that created the commission. As a legislative staffer, he worked on the Coastal Act, the 1976 law that made the commission permanent and empowered it to regulate development in coastal zones. He joined the agency and became its executive director in 1986.
Some of his biggest battles have been in Southern California, where the commission prevented a freeway from splitting San Onofre State Beach, and along the Central Coast, where it secured public access at Pebble Beach and San Simeon. Closer to home, it helped establish Tomales Bay State Park.
Douglas hopes that Charles Lester, his senior deputy, will succeed him. Given the political battles that have been fought over pricey coastal property, there's likely to be pressure to pick someone from the outside.
Whichever avenue the commission chooses, former Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Reilly said Douglas' influence will be felt for years to come through the policies crafted and legal precedents established during his tenure.
“Peter always said the coast is never protected, it's always being protected,” said Reilly, who served on the Coastal Commission for 12 years. “And that's going to continue to happen in large part because of the groundwork he's laid.”
That's a fitting legacy for a champion of California's coast.
