Years and years from now, when our children look at photos of pristine Central and Northern California beaches from the ’00s, turn to us and ask, Where are all the huge hotels and parking lots and condo…condo…nimiums?, we'll take a swallow of bourbon, inhale deeply, and while trying to hold back the rage creeping into our voice, explain that beaches in California were once protected from rampant overdevelopment by something called the California Coastal Commission (CCC). That is, until February, 2016, when that body was fatally infiltrated by developers in a cynical power grab.

Or perhaps I'm being a bit hyperbolic. (But I don’t think so! Call the Governor! E-mail your state representatives!)

Either way, on February 10th, the CCC will vote in a hearing held in Morro Bay on whether or not to fire its longtime Executive Director Charles Lester. It's effectively a coup. A band of Commissioners has announced that it has the required majority of votes to oust Lester, citing as justification vague concerns of a lack of transparency within the organization, and, especially, inefficiency and permit approval delays under his leadership.

Unfortunately, at least for those of us who value public beach access and the stewardship over the common good that the CCC has traditionally fought to uphold, that majority of the Commissioners voting to remove Lester has ties to development interests, according to reports in The LA Times and a statement from the Surfrider Foundation.

"The most pro-development commissioners with the worst environmental voting records are attempting a coup to weaken the Commission's ability to protect the public's coast and undermine the integrity of the Coastal Program," the Surfrider Foundation recently posted to its website.

Charles Lester, middle, in suit and shades, attends a hearing about a project in Newport Beach (Hey — you try finding an interesting photo of beach bureaucracy in action). Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Digging even a little into how the CCC works and what Lester’s firing might mean is enough to terrify any beachgoer concerned with the future of California’s coastline. Paid “agents” (translation: lobbyists) travel up and down the coast, wining and dining Commissioners to buy influence when it comes time to approve new coastal development.

Environmental groups don’t have the deep pockets developers do, so they’re not flying advocates around to bend the ears of Commissioners. Removing Lester, who’s done a solid job of pumping the brakes on questionable coastline projects, and who has made it his mission to improve beach access for all Californians, will make it even easier to build up whatever the richest, most influential developers can dream up.

Digging even a little into how the CCC works and what Lester’s firing might mean is enough to terrify any beachgoer concerned with the future of California’s coastline.

Using charges of inefficiency as an excuse to fire Lester is "ironic, because if the coup is successful, it would throw the entire [CCC] program into chaos and facilitate inefficiencies, waste, costs, and a political beauty contest to choose a new Director," Mark Massara, celebrated attorney/environmental watchdog/surfer told SURFER this week.

Frustratingly, Governor Jerry Brown, typically known to side with environmental causes, and who, in fact, signed into law the Coastal Act (the interpretation and enforcement of which is the whole point of the CCC), has remained mute on Lester's perils. A simple statement from Brown expressing support for Lester would do wonders to stop this coup before it starts.

This is where we, the beach-loving public, come in.

"It's deja vu," Massara says. "In 1996, Governor Pete Wilson and his appointments tried the same thing when they tried to fire CCC Executive Director Peter Douglas."

That attempt, however, was defeated by a very loud and very public outcry by environmental and conservation groups that ultimately prevented Douglas's removal. An outcry is also building this month, as over 50 environmental causes have thrown their support behind Lester, as have the editorial boards of California newspapers like The San Jose Mercury News and The LA Times.

There will be a public hearing on February 10th, in Morro Bay. The Surfrider Foundation (who will be bussing interested people to the hearing (info here), as well as the dozens of other environmental organizations backing Lester, are encouraging people to attend in order to show the Commissioners that the public maintains passionate support for continued protection against any further privatization or overdevelopment of California's coastline. Attend if you can. Write your state representatives. Write Jerry Brown’s office directly.

It’s your beach, too.