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LESS THAN a year after District 3 Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez was appointed to the California Coastal Commission, the powerful body's next speak.

The meeting for the coastal panel on April 15-17 will be held in the City of Gonzales, one of the cities in South Monterey County that Lopez represents.

Lopez, who was elected to the board of supervisors in 2018, suggested that meeting in the non-coastal city is an opportunity to allow more people to directly engage in decisions that affect the region, including those involving agriculture, water and infrastructure.

"Coastal policy affects far more than the shoreline," said Lopez. "Bringing the commission to Gonzales acknowledges the important role inland communities play in the long-term stewardship of our coast and shared resources."

The three-day meeting, at the Dennis and Janice Caprara Community Center in Gonzales, is notable since coastal commission meetings are typically held in cities along the coast, where the commission has jurisdiction over land use planning, natural resources and visitor access. Gonzales, which is about 18 miles south of Salinas, has a population of only 9,000, but numerous growers, farm suppliers and food processing businesses are established there, including Taylor Farms, Mann Packing/Del Monte Fresh, HealthySoil, which manufactures products to improve agricultural crop production, and Ramsay Highlander, a harvesting equipment manufacturer.

Gonzales city manager Carmen Gil said in a statement that the city is honored to welcome the California Coastal Commission.

"Hosting this meeting at the Dennis and Janice Caprara Community Center reflects Gonzales' growing role as a regional gathering place and creates an opportunity for broader public participation in important statewide discussions," Gil said in a statement to the press.

California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat who lives in Hollister, appointed Lopez to the coastal commission in May 2025, saying he believed that it is essential for all Californians — "especially farm and agricultural workers who live, work and recreate along the coast — to have a seat at the table when deciding its future."

"Agricultural communities and farm workers are the economy's backbone all along the Central Coast, and their voices must be at the center of decisions about the coast's stewardship," Rivas said when he announced Lopez's appointment to the agency.

The three-day coastal commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. The agenda can be viewed on the agency's website at coastal.ca.gov.