Mark Stone, Santa Cruz County Fifth District supervisor and Scotts Valley resident, was appointed today to the California Coastal Commission.

As a member of the 12-member land use board, Stone will have a say in the planning and regulation of all development along the California coast.

Environmentalists praised today's choice of Stone, according to news reports.

Scotts Valley Councilman Dene Bustichi, a developer, was also nominated, as was Dave Potter, a Monterey County supervisor who has served on the commission 12 years.

State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, announced the appointment.

"I have appointed Oceanside City Councilmember Esther Sanchez and Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone to the Coastal Commission," she said in a statement, "because, as elected leaders of their own coastal communities, they have shown a deep appreciation of how maintaining the health, safety and beauty of the coast can be a catalyst for tourism, fishing, recreation and sustainable economic growth."

Stone, a supervisor for the past seven years, will keep his seat on the county board. He's also a lawyer in private practice.

Voters created the coastal commission in 1972. Commission appointments are for four years.