Former Sonoma County parks director Caryl Hart named chair of powerful California Coastal Commission

Sonoma County resident and former Regional Parks Director Caryl Hart has been elected chair of the powerful California Coastal Commission, extending her reach over land-use decisions along 840 miles of state coastline at a time of deepening concern about sea level rise, coastal erosion and climate change.

Hart was appointed to the 12-member commission in 2019 and served as vice chair for the past two years. She hopes to carry on the leadership of her predecessor, Donne Brownsey, with an eye toward just and transparent pursuit of the public’s work.

As chair, “you set the tone for the commission,” she said. “You set the tone that the commission needs to act in a very fair manner.”

“One of the most important things is … that the public knows that we have read everything. We are listening to everything they say. All our decisions are based on the law and, to the best of our ability, to try to be as fair as possible.”

The commission, which meets for three or four days monthly in communities up and down the coast, is tasked with evaluating a wide range of proposals, from a single bluff-top home to the handling of nuclear waste and wastewater.

Dealing with climate threat

But Hart, 66, has her own priorities as the commission, established by voter initiative in 1972, moves into a time of environmental turmoil and coastal change after centuries of stability.

The threat of climate change has vast implications for the coastal zone, affecting everything from recreational access to infrastructure, transportation routes and housing.

Sonoma County residents already have seen how wind and wave action scoured away enough bluff edge at Gleason Beach on the central Sonoma Coast to topple houses and force realignment of Highway 1.

The ocean’s potential was abundantly evident last week as well, as huge waves and king tides surged onto the land in Ventura, Capitola, Stinson Beach and other coastal communities.

“This is what’s coming,” Hart said.

Huge challenges lie ahead in how the state adjusts to a changing coastline, particularly given the commission’s broad prohibitions on sea walls and other armaments.

Parks and other public lands exposed to coastal change are also vulnerable, with no real plan about how to ensure that public access and lodging options, such as camping, are maintained for all income levels.

“I’m very concerned about that,” Hart said.

She said she also hopes the commission can work more closely with the Legislature to make sure the push for more affordable housing includes California’s coastal communities.

And as the aggressive push toward wave energy advances, the commission is in position to help determine “how is that going to happen, and how are we going to protect the coast and coastal resources as we do that?”

Protecting resources

Hart, who lives outside Sebastopol, has a law degree and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science Policy and Management from the University of California at Berkeley. She wrote her dissertation on “California State Parks and Climate Change.”

In the 30-plus years since she made Sonoma County her home, her commitment to protecting nature’s resources, preserving public spaces and getting people out on the landscape has been clear.

Hart cofounded the nonprofit LandPaths in the mid-1990s to facilitate expansion of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park through acquisition of the 1,111-acre McCormick Preserve. She also led county parks for seven years and served on boards for Save the Redwoods League and the Great Redwood Trail Agency, for which she is chair.

She also served as interim director of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space Preserve, spent 14 years on the California State Parks Commission, part of that time as chair and has held board seats and leadership positions elsewhere.

Veteran conservationist Richard Charter, director of the Coastal Coordination Program for The Ocean Foundation, applauded Hart’s election.

“With so many major upcoming decisions pending before the Coastal Commission that will literally determine the future character of our North Coast, having Caryl’s experienced local perspective at the helm should be very helpful,” he said.

The California Coastal Commission was created under the 1976 California Coastal Act, which grew in part out of two pitched battles on the Sonoma Coast. The first was over construction of a proposed nuclear power plant on Bodega Head, and the second was the effort to prevent development of The Sea Ranch from locking up access to 10 miles of scenic, rugged coastline.

The commission’s mission seeks to maximize public access, protect natural and scenic resources, promote balanced development clusters to preserve open space and protect marine habitat throughout the coastal zone, which extends 1,000 yards inland and three miles offshore.

Hart became interested in pursuing work at the state level after leaving county regional parks in 2017 and was appointed to the commission in 2019 by then-state Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. (The commission includes four members appointed by the governor and four each appointed by leaders of the California Senate and the Assembly.)

The commission already had endured substantial public controversy over its dismissal of Executive Director Charles Lester, a longtime staff leader whose many supporters rallied to his defense.

The commission worked for a time to restore the public trust but must continue to demonstrate its dedication and impartiality, Hart said.

“We’re not elected,” she said. “It’s a lot of power. It’s probably the most powerful group of people that’s not elected, so it’s critically important that it’s obvious we are there as public servants.”

Political consultant Dennis Rossatti, longtime executive director of Sonoma County Conservation Action, said Hart “has worked for decades in Sonoma County promoting public access, restoring the coast and opening up coastal land through California State Parks and Sonoma County Regional Parks. And she has a Ph.D. in climate science. She got that before its time.

“To have someone with that kind of wherewithal and skill, experience and dedication to our coast as chair of the California Coastal Commission, I couldn’t be happier,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan (she/her) at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On X @MaryCallahanB.