Orange, CA Environmental Rules: Coastal Development (2026)

Information on Digital Coastal Zone Boundaries: The original 1977 Coastal Zone Boundary maps were mylar (drafting film) copies of 161 USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangles with an inked boundary added. This digital version of the boundary was developed to provide a georeferenced, attributed (to explain the basis of the mapped Coastal Zone), cadastral (parcel-based) depiction of the adopted Coastal Zone Boundary for the planning and regulatory activities of the Coastal Commission, local governments and others. However, it does not represent "survey" accuracy information, and may not eliminate the need for a formal boundary determination. Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 30103(a) specifically defines California's Coastal Zone as that land and water area of the State of California from the Oregon border to the border of the Republic of Mexico depicted on maps identified and set forth in Section 17 of that chapter of the Statutes of the 1975-76 Regular Session enacting PRC Division 20 (the Coastal Act of 1976). PRC Section 30103(b) directed the Coastal Commission to prepare and adopt more detailed 1:24,000 scale Coastal Zone Boundary (CZB) maps, which occurred March 1, 1977. These 161 adopted maps provide the official basis for all other representations of the landward CZB. The digital version of the CZB created by developing this data is a conformed copy of the official boundary, and in some locations reflects legislative changes and Coastal Commission minor adjustments adopted from time to time since March 1977.