Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Public Meeting on Sand Management Plan for SF to Pacifica Shoreline

 
The Association of Bay Area Governments and the Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup invite the public to provide input on a Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan being developed for Fort Point, San Francisco, to Point San Pedro, Pacifica, at two identical meetings to be held in July, 2012. “Regional sediment management” refers to sand.
 
These meetings will:
·        Describe erosion issues affecting ocean beaches and coastal infrastructure, such as parking lots, highways, structures, storm drains, and sewage outfalls
·        Present implementation options (proposed solutions such as beach nourishment, multi-purpose reefs, allowed erosion, and managed retreat) and concepts for a regional plan
·        Solicit public comments on plan concepts

Thursday, July 12, 6:00-8:30pm       OR
SPUR 2nd Floor Public Assembly Hall
654 Mission Street, San Francisco
Exhibition opens at 6:00; meeting begins at 6:30
 
Thursday, July 19, 7-9pm
City Council Chambers
2212 Beach Boulevard, Pacifica

All are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to Athena Honore: ahonore@waterboards.ca.gov or 510-622-2325. Individuals requiring special accommodations to access the meeting should contact Ms. Honore at least five business days prior to the meeting.

The plan will address geological and geomorphic processes (movement of water and earth affecting sand), habitats and plant and animal species of concern, infrastructure at risk, economic costs/benefits, public access, sea level rise, and policies affecting sediment (sand) management. 

ESA PWA, an environmental hydrology firm, is completing this CRSMP for the Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup, a task force co-chaired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the California Natural Resources Agency. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is providing a governance structure for the effort. 

The CRSMP is being developed now, and a draft CRSMP will be available for public review in the fall of 2012. Public meetings to solicit feedback on the draft will be held at that time. 

The public’s views and comments on the plan concepts and this project are welcomed. Those unable to attend the meetings may submit written comments, which must be postmarked or submitted by e-mail by August 20, 2012, to Doug George, ESA PWA Project Manager, 550 Kearny St., Ste. 900, San Francisco CA 94108; or dgeorge@esassoc.com

For more information, contact Athena Honore at ahonore@waterboards.ca.gov or 510-622-2325. 

Posted by Steve Sinai
 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This meeting is actually concerning a coastal erosion plan. The group is proposing planned retreat in some areas and the Brent Plater group of biological Diversity. I would be very wary of this plan. Come one come all - this impacts your future and for some of you it impacts your property. Sand Management sounds so benign - it is not!

Anonymous said...

what are you trying to say in that 2nd sentence? plater's retreating?
sounds fine.

Anonymous said...

Planned retreat is a way of deciding whose property, house and all, gets left behind. They want the golf course - hence planned retreat might be the way. Help us all! Please attend and fight them!

Steve Sinai said...

I went to the one in SF last week. There is no specific plan that ESA-PWA is putting forward, and I didn't find the presentation to be all that politically-charged. The state wanted to learn more about coastal erosion, and commissioned a set of studies that covered the coast of California.

ESA-PWA is doing the study for the SF and San Mateo coasts. They didn't say much about the golf course. If you're interested in the geology of the coast, you might want to go to the meeting.

They said local coastal erosion patterns weren't well understood. Something that I found surprising was that they said most of the sand on the beaches in Pacifica probably came from the land and cliffs right off Pacifica. I'd thought most of the sand on our beaches had been swept down from the Northern California coast, or came from the bay.

While their presentation was interesting, I suspect this is one of those studies that will end up on the shelf, with nothing coming of it. They were pretty open that no matter what the studies found, cities and local governments don't have the money to actually implement anything.

ABAG was supposed to post a link to ESA-PWA's presentation, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll post the link if I come across it.