Permit Sought to Legitimize Sharp Park Seawall

The future shoreline of Pacifica: A pile of rocks or a sandy beach?

Greetings Surfriders,

A Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the Sharp Park Golf Course seawall has been submitted by SF Rec and Park to the Coastal Commission. The application includes the 2013 unauthorized boulder additions we chronicled in this campaign blog.

Coastal armoring has already decimated large stretches of the beach in Pacifica. It's time to say enough is enough!

The  CDP is coming up for a vote at November’s Coastal Commission hearing which will be on Wednesday, November 8th at Bodega Marine Lab in Bodega Bay. It is the first item on the agenda for the meeting.

See link below for Coastal Commission hearing details:

https://www.coastal.ca.gov/meetings/agenda/#/2017/11

To help derail this CDP, please send an email or printed letter to the Commission.  

Here is a simple comment letter to use as a template:

RE: Agenda Item 9A Application No. 2-17-0702 (San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, Pacifica)

I visit/surf/hike/fish our local Bay Area beaches, including the beaches of Pacifica. The Coastal Commission should deny this permit due to the extensive damage seawalls have already done to the town's shoreline.  Climate change and sea level rise will only intensify erosion rates in the years ahead.  If the Sharp Park Golf Course seawall is allowed to remain, the beach will eventually be driven under water. Instead of seeking permission to maintain a seawall, San Francisco should decommission the golf course and back a plan to restore beach and the lagoon wetland. Please reject this CDP.

Sincerely,

(Your name)

Email to: NorthCentralCoast@coastal.ca.gov

Printed mail needs to be received by Friday November 3rd. Send to:

California Coastal Commission 

North Central District 

45 Fremont Street Ste 2000 

San Francisco, Ca 94105 

Re: Application No. 2-17-0702 (San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, Pacifica)

Of course, if you can attend the hearing on Wednesday November 8th, please do!  To comment, arrive no later than 8am to fill out a speaker card. 

Thank you for fighting to preserve our local beaches!

LCP Amendment Passes Unanimously

October means the surf season is back in full swing. Sloat north lot

Greetings Surfriders,

The Local Coastal Plan amendment passed through unanimously at the SF Planning Commission hearing on October 5th.  Thanks to all who sent in a comment letter in support of managed retreat for Sloat.  Here's an excerpt from our remarks:

The reason there is an erosion challenge at south Ocean Beach was because the original shoreline was filled in by more than 200 feet in this area. The erosion is due to the ocean's  attempt to regain it natural position...

In the big picture, the filling in of our City’s shorelines is now coming back to haunt us.  Along our bay waterfront and now at Ocean Beach, the payment is coming due.  The difference is that at Ocean Beach we have 30 foot waves barreling in from the North Pacific threatening our infrastructure.

The LCP amendment is important, because it meets this reality head on.  In essence, the City is moving toward a smarter policy of shoreline management by adding more distance between the water and threatened shoreline development. This is a move that also restores public access to the water and the beach's natural ecosystem.
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To help advance the cause of Sloat restoration, please sign our petition.