OCEANSIDE — Councilman Jerry Kern adamantly petitioned council to send a letter of support for Senate Bill 1295, which amends the Coastal Act and nixes the Coastal Commission’s power to appeal a decision or project, but the motion was killed when it did not receive a second April 2.

Kern said the bill would streamline the coastal review process, give more local control and do away with unnecessary delays in project approvals. The Coastal Commission has 137 signed blank appeal forms on the ready for unsupervised staff to issue, said Kern.

David Grubb, of the Sierra Club North County Coastal Area, refuted Kerns statement that the Coastal Commission impedes project OKs. “These people lean heavily in the favor of development. I’ve never seen them bend the law to deny a project,” Grubb said. “To make an assertion that the Coastal Commission makes frivolous appeals is wrong.”

Grubb, along with the majority of speakers, opposed Senate Bill 1295, citing the Coastal Commission as a knowledgeable watchdog on coastal issues.

“It’s a necessary entity to protect our coasts,” said Carolyn Krammer of Citizens for the Preservation of Parks and Beaches. “Why would you want to impede another government agency to appeal a decision?”

Kern said the Coastal Commission works independently of local interests and opposed the commission’s decision to charge luxury hotel developers higher state fees to support less expensive lodgings, like hostels and state campgrounds. These fees may soon hit close to home with new luxury hotels going up in Oceanside. “We will never see that money,” said Kern, who sees the bill as a way to gain more local control. “We are here to protect the citizens of Oceanside first.”