On Wednesday, April 9, the California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a $1.835M grant for the City of Oceanside. These funds will support a robust baseline monitoring effort to advance the City’s coastal management program and the implementation efforts of the RE:BEACH Oceanside project, an innovative pilot sand retention project that proposes to use an artificial reef and two headlands, combined with sand nourishment, to restore the City’s beaches.
“The Commission is excited to support the City of Oceanside in advancing sea level rise planning and coastal resilience through our LCP Local Assistance Grant program. By investing in robust monitoring of shoreline conditions and taking a first step in updating the City’s LCP to address sea level rise, Oceanside will be better equipped to make science-based decisions that protect its coast for future generations.” – Kelsey Ducklow, Coastal Resilience Coordinator, California Coastal Commission
Oceanside’s shoreline has experienced significant erosion, a process that has accelerated over the past 10 years. To manage this challenge and respond to public demand to restore beaches using innovative approaches to coastal resilience, the City of Oceanside partnered with coastal engineers at GHD and Resilient Cities Catalyst to launch an international design competition. The RE:BEACH design competition brought global experts to engage with Oceanside’s residents to co-design an implementable project.
“Oceanside is taking action to restore beaches now and for future generations. We are proud to be a leader among California’s coastal communities in identifying and implementing world-class solutions, and grateful to the Commissioners and Coastal Commission staff for recognizing our need to preserve public access to sandy beaches.” – Jonathan Borrego, City Manager, City of Oceanside
These grant funds will support baseline monitoring that will help inform future refinements to the winning project design, and provide a baseline to compare against once the project is implemented. Designed by Australian design firm ICM and led by a local team at the engineering firm GHD, the project includes the construction of two artificial headlands that will aim to stabilize sand on the back beach and one offshore artificial reef aimed at slowing down nearshore erosive forces. These built elements and overall project area will be filled with approximately 900,000 cubic yards of sand through nearshore and onshore beach nourishment.
“This grant from the Coastal Commission is a critical step that brings us closer to realizing the ambition and vision of our City’s residents. Through our RE:BEACH initiative, we have closely partnered with the community to find the best solution to our coastal challenges. And now, per our new agreement with the Coastal Commission, we are enabled to increase our understanding of the current coastal conditions, which will enhance and inform implementation of the RE:BEACH Oceanside project and future planning for the entirety of Oceanside’s coast.” – Jayme Timberlake, Coastal Zone Administrator, City of Oceanside
With these funds, the City of Oceanside will develop and implement a Baseline Monitoring Program, update the City’s Vulnerability Assessment, create a focused addendum to the City’s Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan, and develop a targeted Local Coastal Program change aimed at incorporating baseline sea level rise policies and more detailed adaptation planning options. This progress will further the City’s actions to increase sand nourishment and retention for Oceanside beaches while simultaneously planning for future coastal adaptation needs.
