Oceanside Approves $2.6M Beach Sand Phase 2 Pilot Project

By Save Oceanside Sand Board

Relentless storms and strong currents have pounded the Oceanside coastline this winter, sweeping away vast amounts of sand, further decimating our beaches! Oceanside beach restoration advocate group, Save Oceanside Sand (SOS) continues to collaborate with the City of Oceanside on approval and execution of a plan to restore and retain sand on our entire shoreline. Here are some updates and recent milestones over the past three months.

On January 5th, a team from the Los Angeles District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) walked the Oceanside shoreline with City Officials. They then met with Oceanside City officials and later in the day with S.O.S. board members. During these meetings, the Commanding Officer of the LA District, Colonel Julie Balten expressed urgency to complete the $1.8M Federal study over the next 32 months. The USACE study will produce a report identifying a preferred solution to restore the Oceanside shoreline. For more information on the USACE study, visit the Oceanside Coastal Management Website – scan the QR code on the next page.

Oceanside City Coastal Zone Administrator Jayme Timberlake continues to spearhead efforts and the city has actively pursued several coastal projects to restore our beaches. The most significant project is the Oceanside Beach Sand Nourishment and Retention Pilot Project Phase 2 that Oceanside Staff presented to the City Council on January 25. The City Staff provided a very comprehensive plan. Two key components of the plan are identification of a robust sand source to conduct major beach sand nourishment efforts and a design competition for innovative engineering solutions for a sand retention solution. For complete information on the Phase 2 pilot project, visit the city Oceanside Coastal Management Website – scan the QR code below.

A ‘call to action’ newsletter went out to the 500 members of S.O.S., suggesting letters of support for beach replenishment and retention. Over 90% of the 292 pieces of correspondence received by the Council were in support of Phase 2. Thank you to all who responded in support of the Phase 2 project!

The City Council vote was dramatic. The $2.6M phase 2 pilot project was approved 4-1. Our 4 District Councilmembers, Peter Weiss, Ryan Keim, Rick Robison, and Eric Joyce voted to fund the project. Only our Mayor, Ester Sanchez cast the single dissenting vote, citing her objection to any type of hard structure beach sand retention system.

Leading up to the City Council vote on January 25, volunteers from Save Oceanside Sand asked Oceanside residents to speak at the Council meeting expressing their concern for more sand on the beach.

The local beach sand restoration advocacy group, Save Oceanside Sand group fully supports our city’s efforts to restore our amazing shoreline! Every Saturday during the summer our popup appears on The Strand to provide outreach and education to the community on the shoreline issues and the city’s solutions. Stop by and get informed or sign our petition to show support for the Oceanside Phase 2 plan! For more information and to help Save Oceanside Sand, visit SOSOceanside.com – or scan the QR code below.