The owners of a seaside apartment complex in Pacifica will pay $1.45 million in penalties after a state agency said they failed to maintain the seawall and public access stairway to a local beach, as well as carried out unauthorized construction at the site in an attempt to fix it.
Board members of the California Coastal Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the settlement agreement with a group of companies affiliated with OceanAire Apartments, which sits on properties at 100 and 101 Esplanade Avenue in Pacifica.
The owners’ violations varied from dumping boulders that weighed up to six tons on the beach, grading and trenching the land and blocking public access to the beach — all without a coastal development permit, according to a report from the commission.
“Having a public hearing on an item like this with a serious resolution and a serious amount of penalty sends a message that people need to take their (California) Coastal Act permit requirements seriously,” said Lisa Haage, chief of enforcement for the commission. “We’re hoping this kind of casual response wouldn’t happen in the future.”
The public access stairway to the beach ultimately collapsed in December 2016, in part due to winter storms, high tide events, structural issues and a lack of maintenance on the part of the owners.
Posted by Steve Sinai
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