The Ocean Beach Community Plan was approved by San Diego City Council Monday following a lengthy back-and-forth with the California Coastal Commission.
A sea of OB residents and supporters wearing blue T-shirts emblazoned with the line "Keep the OBcean Attitude" came out to support the plan. The Ocean Beach Community Plan had been in the works since 1999. The last plan was approved in 1975.
The City Council unanimously approved the community plan and Local Coastal Program on July 30, 2014. It then went before the Coastal Commission, which made a number of modifications to the council-approved plan that were adopted. The plan was then given the green light by the commission in August.
John Ambert, chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, said he only got involved with the community plan process a couple of years ago. He said the OB plan will serve as an example for other San Diego communities looking to make updates.
"It's a huge opportunity for the city of San Diego to use it as a precedent for other coastal communities that will update their plans in the near future," Ambert said.
The plan serves as the city of San Diego's guide for land-use decisions in the Ocean Beach community and is a touchstone for such issues as maintaining the character of the community and employing environmental protections and actions for the coastal enclave.
