Rock bolders along the bluffs at southern Ocean Beach. Picture from Tom Prete, September 2010.

UPDATE 9:45 p.m. July 13 – The California Coastal Commission has unanimously denied San Francisco’s application for a permit to install additional armoring at Ocean Beach. Some commissioners expressed skepticism that an actual emergency existed at the southern stretch of the beach, and frustration that they had been asked to approve a permit for a temporary measure that was not backed by a longer-term plan.

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San Francisco could get permission to install more rocks and two new walls of pilings at Ocean Beach under a permit the California Coastal Commission will consider Wednesday.

The new structures are part of the city’s attempts to address severe erosion along Ocean Beach, particularly at Sloat Boulevard and southward, and to protect the Great Highway and the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant. The commission also will consider authorizing existing rock walls the city installed without state permission.

Local environmental groups have questioned the use of rocks, pile walls and other “armoring” at Ocean Beach, saying the practice impedes public access, shifts erosion to other areas and is ultimately futile.

Save The Waves has organized a campaign to contact the CCC with letters and phone calls opposing the city plan. According to Katie Westfall, environmental and program director for Save The Waves, “We feel that the DPW hasn’t done a thorough job of exploring less environmentally detrimental options, including strategic relocation of infrastructure, and possible abandonment of infrastructure.”

Ocean Beach Erosion

In the winter of 2009-2010, increased erosion ate away at the bluffs supporting the Great Highway just south of Sloat Boulevard, and chunks of the road fell onto the beach, mandating a road closure of almost six months.

In response to the erosion, the Department of Public Works declared a state of emergency and hauled rock to the beach for a revetment to protect the bluffs. Local environmental organizations such as Save the Waves and the Surfrider Foundation, loudly protested DPW’s plan at the time, calling it shortsighted. The city’s Board of Supervisors ultimately approved the DPW work, and the beach at Sloat was piled up with boulders in February 2010.

Now, DPW seeks after-the-fact approval from the California Coastal Commission for the emergency rock revetment that was installed, as well as an extension of the process. DPW wants more time to explore long-term solutions, and seeks to install more rock revetment as well as tangent pile walls. The application urges the CCC to “approve the project for a period of five years, to allow the City to develop a long-term permanent solution to erosion at Ocean Beach.”

Long-term erosion solutions

Westfall of Save the Waves said the focus should be on that long-term solution instead: “There is an effort going on with SPUR to explore long-term coastal erosion issues, and to make an issue on this now really undermines the process to create a long-term vision for Ocean Beach.”

Frank Felice, manager of capital planning with DPW, said the proposed work isn’t in conflict with  SPUR’s long-term plans.

“We’ve participated in and continue to support the long-term visions for how to address erosion at Ocean Beach,” Felice said. “We’ve been actively involved with SPUR, and have provided them with a significant amount of technical information.”

Application No. 2-10-33 is item No. 10 on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, which takes place in San Rafael in the Marin County Board of Supervisors Chambers, located at 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 330. The San Francisco DPW permit is estimated to be discussed at around 1 p.m.

Coastal Commission meetings also are available by webcast.