Dan and Denise Sterling live in a mobile home with their four children at the top of a hill in El Granada. For the past nine years, the Sterlings have sought to build a house on their land, but have been stifled by layers of government regulation. In applying for a building permit in 2005 for their latest redesigned home – a 6,456-square-foot house, seven water storage tanks and a septic system – they hit a snag.
“What the Coastal Commission is asking us to do in return for a building permit is to put the remaining acreage into agriculture easement,” Dan Sterling said. “But it doesn’t stop there. They want control of what and how we farm. And even then, they can come in here whenever they want.”
 Dan Sterling holds his daughter on 143 acres his family owns in El Granada. He is suing the California Coastal Commission, saying the state agency is forcing him to farm the land in exchange for the right to build a home there. |
“Even if they could justify a need for this type of easement, acquiring 142 acres to go to agricultural conservation or easement use, in return for one home, is grossly disproportionate,” said Dave Breemer, the Sterlings’ attorney.
Breemer, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, called the Sterlings’ suit a “landmark case” and the commission’s actions “unconstitutional.” The Foundation is representing the Sterlings pro bono.
“This is a big issue because (the Coastal Commission has) been doing this to people in San Mateo County for years and they haven’t been called to the mat on it,” Breemer said.
Calls seeking comment from the Coastal Commission were not returned before Review deadline.
Breemer said he’s waiting for the commission to compile administrative records and call a hearing.
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