Coastal czars’ launch denial targets speech

We’ve long argued the California Coastal Commission, which regulates development issues along the state’s 840-mile coast, operates as an unaccountable fiefdom. It wantonly halts construction and imposes unreasonable conditions on property owners within the overly broad coastal zone. It also intervenes in matters that exceed its authority.

But even by the commission’s standards, the latest revelations are troubling. SpaceX, the aerospace company launched by Elon Musk in 2002, last week sued...