Thursday, February 18, 2016

Esplanade Avenue apartments torn down


ABC 7 News/Weather/Chris Nguyen, 2/18/16, 9:00 p.m. "Pacifica apartment red-tagged 6 years ago finally gets demolished."
Image result for 330 Esplanade apartment tear down picture
 330 Esplanade Avenue apartments were
red-tagged 6 years ago, taken down today, 2/18/16


....  Demolition crews hope to be out of the area Friday afternoon. So far, it's been a pretty smooth process. Built back in 1962, but deemed unsafe in 2010, neighbors say they're glad that something is finally being done.

....  Questions remain about what'll happen next to two of the adjacent properties managed by a different owner who recently declared bankruptcy. 320 Esplanade was red-tagged in 2010, but the city does have approval from the council to take emergency action on it, if necessary. 310 Esplanade, which was just evacuated in late January, is also teetering on the edge."   Read article.

Related articles -  Curbed SF/Mary Jo Bowling, 2/18/16, "Pacifica Apartments on Crumbling Cliffs are Being Torn Down." "For weeks, apartment buildings hanging over the edge of a deteriorating cliff have been teetering toward the ocean. Today, perhaps prompted by the strong El Niño storms that swept through the region this morning, the city is tearing the buildings down before they fall. Mike Nicco with ABC7 News is reporting more showers and wind tomorrow. Those kinds of forecasts may have caused Pacifica city officials to tear down the apartments, some of which were hanging over the cliff by a foot.  .... KPIX Assignment Editor Amal Hassan tweeted video of the demolition this afternoon. As we reported earlier, the apartments were evacuated in late January. At that time, there was reported resistance from occupants, some of whom reported they had nowhere else to go."  

Note:  photograph from the ABC 7 News article. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

The location of the library at the old sewer plant is just a deal breaker for me.

It's hard to get to off the highway driving south there and the whole block is falling into the ocean almost every day on the television.

Move it higher, dryer, and closer to the highway.

Anonymous said...

It would take another big storm that flooded up to Palmetto to change anything.Council is fixed on this site,regardless of what falls into ocean,or floods nearby.

Truth Police said...

The City's insane fixation with putting a library on the Beach Blvd. property will ultimately be what dooms the entire project to mediocrity.

The library bond doesn't have enough voter support to pass. FULL STOP. But for some reason, everyone is pushing ahead with a development which has a library anchor like it's a done deal!

Hello? It's not going to happen! And if Tinfow tries some fancy-schmancy trick like a revenue lease bond that doesn't require a vote of the public to fund it, you can bet your ass there's going to be a riot in council chambers when that $30 mil bond agenda item comes before them.

Meanwhile, what developer is going to be interested in a property that has a loud, smelly sewer pump on the site? And does the city think developers don't know that the property's library centerpiece doesn't have enough public support to even be built?! C'mon, this is basic stuff, council!

Seriously, the Beach Blvd Library ain't gonna happen, folks. Move on to Plan B.

Not as much Truth as you claim (to Meeh) said...

1224, apparently 10 developers are interested as you speak, and don't forget the second Leland Study, 2/11, pdf pages 40.

Truth Police said...

Gee, thanks for the 2011 Leland study analyzing a project that no longer exists.

I have no doubt that developers are interested in Beach Blvd., but if you think the property is going to command the dollar figures the city envisions, I've got another 2011 "rah-rah" report to sell you.

The conversation will go something like this:

DEVELOPER: "I'm interested in the property and building the hotel portion that you're selling for 1.5 million. I see you have plans for a library anchor. Do you have the funding lined up for that?"

CITY: "No. We need to pass a bond."

DEVELOPER: "Do you have the needed support to pass that bond?"

CITY: "Not right now."

DEVELOPER: "Um....then since we don't know what the anchor will be or if there even will be an anchor, that's quite a risk your asking me to take. I'll give you $750K for the parcel."

Repeat 6X for the other parcels.

Not as much Truth as you claim (to Meeh) said...

116 not so Truth buddy, the Leland studies of Beach Blvd development were made in 2011 and 2007. Since we all paid for these studies (our use of City money), a little more respect for those studies from you would be appreciated (lol).
And, if you viewed these relevant 2011 professional analysis studies (of course you didn't bother), you would discover the property will be purchased at discount, the result of the sewer pump station vibration and noise. (The sewer pump station was estimated to cost more than $15 million to move.)
The several year considered library location would occupy the designated potential civic, retail or housing location.

I'm pretty sure your fictional City/Developer conversation cost of the property numbers are way too low, (reflecting whatever jaundiced NIMBY mythology you seem to be promoting).
Meantime, the potential Beach Blvd/Palmetto Avenue vision and development will work its way through the regulatory process, and the outcome will evolve (or not). So, we'll see.

Truth Police said...

Why do you keep bringing up a site feasibility report that is out of date and which is no longer being used or relied upon?

Subsequent reports and EIRs have been done which accurately reflect the proposed site plans as they exist today. The Leland report is for a project that has since changed -- a lot.

Not as much Truth as you claim (to Meeh) said...

336 not truth troll-- hey, post any valid report you're referring to. Knock yourself out, be productive for a change.

My 1256 comment link was initially posted at 1248 for the Follow the missing City Fund money.. article.
The Leland Group evaluation, 2/11 graphics shows the overall space allocation for each proposed project. Those spaces, that information, and the sewer pump station have hardly changed in 5 years since the Leland Report.

Anonymous said...

Ocean looked higher than Beach Blvd ,and on a perfect day,20 Feb,splashing over sea wall.It is a magnificient place for economic development.Needs a 100 year sea wall!San Francisco is going re-locate Great Highway because of sea level rise.

Anonymous said...


Why Beach Blvd? Seems like the whole world saw that street fall apart last month.

There are so many more convenient places Sharp Park is always backed up after work.

Anonymous said...

Beach Blvd is always packed with people enjoying area on nice days, and not so nice days.Pacifica needs to get as much recreation money it can!

Anonymous said...

@Truth Police (3:36, 1:16, 12:24)-

If you are going to steal that pseudonym, you will need to add at least 50 IQ points to your posts.

Anonymous said...

Beach blvd residents need help from the federal government immediately.
We have sustained millions of dollars in damage to our street and homes and the failed seawall puts our property and lives are in danger.

We don't accept that because its private property our homes and families shouldnt be protected.

We trusted Pacifica government would protect us when we bought here.
We trusted we would be safe. We were wrong.

Anonymous said...

I was watching channel four tonight and they showed the demolition.
Seems to me if the contractor work on the cliff had held up in 2010 that building would still be fine.

Aren't libraries dead? I know everyone wants free fishing tackle rental, but instead of a new library why don't we just negotiate a book and dvd delivery contract with Netflix and Amazon?

It would be cheaper than a library. It wouldn't increase traffic in Sharp Park.
Seniors wouldn't have to leave the house to get their books or movies. No shuttle service would be required and we could transfer librarians to other jobs in the city. Its more earth muffin friendly and we get more hotel room space.Sales tax from the hotel would then pay for the cost of Netflix and Amazon.

Anonymous said...

No dice 921

Commie Keener would never let you fire union librarians.

Anonymous said...

8:47. If you "trusted" that taxpayer money would be spent to protect your risky investment, then I hope you were wrong. Anybody who bought beachfront property in Pacifica without considering past history of destruction by high tides and high surf plus sea level rise should be responsible for their own actions. The taxpayers should not be expected to protect property owners from their own decisions and the risks they choose to take.

Anonymous said...

Live by the sea and gamble. Must be hard to see the value of your real estate disappear while you can do nothing. And you trusted Pacifica to protect you? You really are a gambler.

Anonymous said...

9:49
There are cliff top/inaccessible beachfronts and then there are gentle grade public access beach fronts. Two very different animals. A public access beach front is just that, accessible to the public which is in the DNA of the CCC. Letting that land/sand wash away for no other reason than you don't wish to pay for it is the reason you should cease to be a resident of California and never, ever, ever visit the ocean again.









two very different animals

Anonymous said...

949 Good to see the CCC making new friends.

Anonymous said...

"Letting"? that land/sand wash away? You think you can stop it? That ocean is the biggest and strongest thing in the world. It was here long before there were humans and it will be here long after humans are gone. The ocean has all the time in the world and we have a short life span. Seawalls destroy the beach and do not protect the shore from erosion. Sea level rise is going to change the shoreline and take out all the houses eventually. What you obviously don't understand about the ocean would fill several texts.

Kathy Meeh said...

1151, other parts of the West Coast, and much of civilized world, holds back the oceans with seawalls and other defensive measures.
131 got it right for this hour in human history.

But, your several eco-select text books told you to let the ocean take this city, cut and run? That's wild!

Anonymous said...

11:51 is correct. Seawalls hold the ocean back temporally ("temporary" could be decades, but it is still temporary). In doing so, seawalls transfer the ocean's energy to other parts of the coast, resulting in denuded beaches and other issues. Accordingly, one can't just build a seawall without careful engineering that looks at the entire area, not just the small patch that needs a (temporary) fix. And, again, even if we built the most well engineered seawall, it won't be a forever fix. While some may refer to a seawall as a "permanent" solution, that word is used to distinguish a seawall from a sand bag or other truly fleeting methods of redirecting the ocean. So, just because the "West Coast and much of civilized world" relies on seawalls does not mean 11:51 is wrong.

Anonymous said...

The Beach Blvd. seawall has been so effective at holding back the ocean that we need to spend millions more to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

Anonymous said...

The temporary nature, unintended consequences, and huge ongoing expense involved in building sea walls and maintaining them has led quite a few countries to include a managed retreat approach along with other stategies. Even the Netherlands with all their experience with this issue has evolved in their approach. They relocate what they can and discourage new building in coastal zones. Mother Nature is going to win. It's just a question of how stubborn we are and how much money we want to waste in the war.

Anonymous said...

Pacifica as a case study in effectiveness of seawalls:

"Coastal managers realize that in many situations attempting to stop erosion through structural or non-structural solutions is a losing battle. Shoreline protection efforts and/or their repeated maintenance would be too costly and ultimately ineffective at preventing further erosion."
See the case study of Pacifica State Beach.
http://www.beachapedia.org/Managed_Retreat
February 16, 2016

"Seawalls are often harmful in that they block our shorelines from migrating inland. When this happens, beaches become submerged as the tidal zone advances to the wall. This has already occurred along much of Pacifica’s beachfront."
http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Coastal-communities-should-adopt-managed-6731307.php
January 3, 2016

Science Fair said...

The Dutch had to deal with flooding for many years. The built giant dikes to protect their low lying lands. The link provides a photo of the massive structures they built to save property and lives. Maybe similar structures could help save low-lying Pacifica as the sea level rises. I am not being sarcastic.

http://www.ecofriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/dutch-dikes_1_TDDE8_69.jpg

Anonymous said...

Golly never knew we had so many experts on hydraulic engineering in Pacifica. They must have all gone to school with the economic engineers who have done such a fine job of keeping Pacifica financially viable. With so many experts in this town, especially Pacificans for Sustainable Development you'd think this place would be like living in Shangri-La.
Please do tell us what we need to do next. Lay out your master plan so none of us have to think anymore.
Make sure you go tell the Dutch that even though they've carved a nation out of below-sea level living for 1,000's of years next to the North Sea no less, it's time to follow your superior intellect and cut and run.
Let's demolish all bridges, dams and tunnels since they all defy nature. And by golly no more food, water or medicine remediation since that's fucking with nature too.
If frogs can live without housing and transportation we should easily be able to do the same.

Anonymous said...

1:34 Logical fallacy of appeal to extremes: Erroneously attempting to make a reasonable argument into an absurd one, by taking the argument to the extremes. See also reductio ad absurdum.

Anonymous said...

134, don't forget new orleans
that below sea level living didn't turn out so well.

don't think theres any chance library bond would pass this fall.
our bankruptcy will make a bond too expensive and the $29 million in emergency money city mgr promised from the state can't be used for a library, even if we see a dime of it.

Anonymous said...

New Orleans fail was the result of assholes in Congress who denied funds for routine maintenance that the Army corp of engineers had requested.