Sloat Restoration through Managed Retreat

Sloat Restoration through Managed Retreat
This is our original vision for Sloat Restoration - graphic courtesy of PSA and Associates and the Ocean Beach Task Force

Our Vision of Beach Restoration and Preservation

The shorelines of Ocean Beach south of Sloat Blvd and Sharp Park in Pacifica are threatened by rip-rap seawallls and long-term erosion. This blog chronicles our campaign efforts to restore these beaches. Check out the web view of this site to see our proposed solutions and how to help- in the right hand column below. For all the latest about our efforts, see our monthly posts.

We advocate a managed retreat strategy to restore both Ocean Beach south of Sloat and Sharp Park.

At Sloat, our vision involves:

A long-term plan to relocate threatened infrastructure
(including the south of Sloat Great Highway, the two oceanside parking lots and the sewer lines underneath them).

The cleanup of all the rock and rubble littering the beach.

The use of sand dunes as the primary tool to slow erosion.

For Sharp Park, we advocate the decommissioning of the golf course, the removal of the rip-rap berm, and a full restoration of the wetland.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

New BOS Hearing for Sharp Park / LCP Hearing at SF Planning



The beautiful beach fronting Sharp Park golf course
Photo (B. McLaughlin)


Greetings Surfriders and Friends,

The hearing to affirm the Sharp Park portion of the SNRAMP EIR is now scheduled at the SF Board of Supervisors for Tuesday February 28th at 3pm. Again, we are asking that the Board order the Sharp Park golf renovation plans to be removed from the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan's Final Environmental Impact Report (SNRAMP FEIR).

The main reason we are asking for this is because golf course flood control projects have no place in a Natural Areas Plan EIR.  An 18-hole golf course is not a natural area.

The golf course renovation work are flood control measures, which are part of a system that includes a protective berm/seawall found on the beach (see pic above).  Seawalls are a threat to the fast eroding beaches of Pacifica.  They have wreaked enough havoc to the town's shoreline.  For erosion facts and seawall impacts to the beach, please see page 13 of the scientific report done on the golf course watershed: http://www.savethefrogs.com/actions/sharp-park/images/Sharp-Park-Report.pdf

If you cannot make the hearing on the 28th, please head to our coalition partners at the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter.  They have a great letter writing page. Please personalize your letter by highlighting your concern about the beach.  Feel free to copy and paste the following into the letter writing template: "As a member of the Surfrider Foundation, I oppose the golf course flood control work in this EIR. The flood control work found in this document relies in part an engineered system for the wetland which includes a seawall like structure on the beach.  Flood control at Sharp Park has widespread and significant long term impacts to the shoreline. Any such renovation work should be taken up in a separate EIR."

Finally, SF Planning is due to take up the draft LCP amendment for Sloat on March 2nd at 12pm. Agenda item time is still TBA. Please send a letter if you cannot make it! (see Maggie Wenger email address below). Help us reinforce our call for an erosion plan that leads to beach restoration and infrastructure security by means of managed retreat.

We need folks to especially point out that the draft should be amended to allow for the relocation of the road and parking lot to be done in 2 phases.  The current version at SF Planning does not include this.  Phase one should commence asap. Remove the curve in the road south of Sloat and re-align each of the lanes (1 northbound  / 1 southbound) onto the furthest landward side of the bluff.  Then, build new temporary parking until the long-term plan is ready for construction.  With initial relocation of the road and parking we can avoid new emergency armoring, protect our vehicle infrastructure now, open up safer and saner parking, and reduce emergency road closures.

Again, if you cannot make the hearing, please send a letter to SF Planning: maggie.wenger@sfgov.org

Thanks again for your participation and interest!