A short update for those who have asked:
Pierpont homeowners didn't get all the answers they were looking for at Monday night's City Council meeting, but residents and city staff did have the opportunity to provide input on the Coastal Commission's controversial Sand Management Plan and who is responsible for paying to implement it.
City Attorney Ariel Calonne weighed in on who owns the strip of land near the beachfront homes where large, problematic sand dunes are forming: "My job is to advise the city: do you have a duty to remove the sand from along the walls on Shore Drive? My advice is no."
Calonne explained that the city has easement rights only to the area for maintaining public utilities buried underneath. "We don't own the land."
City Engineer Rick Raives told residents that major changes to the plan requiring stabilization of the dune area were not likely to be forthcoming from the Coastal Commission, which is the ultimate arbiter of what's done there. The commission halted the use of heavy equipment on the state-owned beach in 1999. "Most people are looking for us to go back to the way we were so we could have the full recreational beach, and the Coastal Commission over and over has stated that they protect dunes that look worse than these do," Raives said.
Six residences in Newport beach, for instance, were recently fined $45,000 each for leveling a small naturalized dune area, which is protected under the Coastal Act.
A parade of Pierpont residents posed questions to the Council. In order to answer questions more fully, the Council tabled the discussion for a later meeting, possibly in April. It does appear hopeful, however, that the city will be maintaining the lanes and stairs more carefully in the future.
Council members were sympathetic to the many complaints over the Sand Plan, but stressed their hands were tied by the Coastal Commission, which was established in 1976 as part of the Coastal Act to balance the needs of private property owners and the environment.
"There are powerful agencies in this state that have a mandate and a passion that may not be shared by people in this room," City Manager Rick Cole told the crowd.
The Planning Commission is set to weigh in on the Coastal Permit Approval on May 6.
It's time for some contemplation by all. I had a blogger email an interesting suggestion to me tonight: Have the city turn Shore Dr. back into an unpaved road and let the trash trucks and emergency vehicles use it on the beach. Then the city could continue to maintain it and the Coastal Commission would most likely have to approve it. Also this would make a natural buffer between the Pierpont Community and the dunes.
What do you think?
Would the city have the money in the budget to turn Shore Drive back into an unpaved road? Was it one before?
In the future, the City Council might consider hearing some public comments before their presentations to avoid being caught in embarrassing situations as they were Monday night. The CC members discussed at length the virtual "paper street" which connects the lanes at the beach. They seemed amazed when Mr. Dalton presented to them an actual photograph from the early 1920's clearly showing cars on that PAVED boulevard, which was washed away a few years later by a storm. That, and similar photos have been available as posters, greeting cards, etc. for years. Additionally, many Pierpont residents remember one of the earlier (failed) dune management experiments when deep trenches were dug into the beach in a futile attempt to control sand movement. What they uncovered was asphalt pavement, still intact in certain areas, which was the remains of that paved street. And what else didn't that photo of Pierpont Beach in its original state show? You guessed it - those invisible dunes and "natural vegetation."
The next speaker, Mr. Davis, suggested that our city leaders go directly to the State Legislature to see if they could get any help from Sacramento. Of course, this was met with obvious fear of higher authority, as the CC (in unison) seemed to wilt like a shy puppy. Maybe they're saving their energy for the really important issues, such as re-painting that beautiful bus stop "artwork" at the mall, or a review of when our investment payback of the Olivas golf course will occur (hint: the century starts with a 3.)
And, sincerely, a big hats-off to Councilman Monahan who, with a single, relevant question to staff, proved to be the only CC member actually listening to public comments. He asked how other beaches in the area are allowed to perform more extensive sand management and maintenance programs. Well, buried in one of those PowerPoint presentations was the answer: Do whatever it takes to become a Level 1 (high usage) recreational beach. Let’s at least seriously investigate this possible solution to our problem.
And, finally, to our Mayor who insists on the waving of hands in place of applauding because it somehow is bad for their sound system (read: policital career): Obviously, it’s a blatant attempt at controlling the spontaneous reaction of the audience, and to limit exactly what the television audience is viewing at home. If there’s a problem with the sound system, just go down to Radio Shack and purchase a Db limiter ($25 over-the-counter; $62,500 if purchased through City channels, including the appropriate study and recommendations by Staff.)
This is yet another unfunded mandate from the state.
Interestingly, at the Sand Management Plan Meeting on March 4th, Rich Rojas stated that he had the CA State Parks attorney investigate whether State Parks owned Shore DR and the answer was no. According to the deeds of the beachfront owners, they too don't own Shore DR. And the City says it doesn't own Shore DR. So no one claims ownership of Shore DR? Interesting...and we wonder why the beachfront owners are upset and will probably have to file a lawsuit to get this issue resolved. At some point the City needs to take the moral high ground and do the right thing for its residents instead of hiding behind their version of ownership and responsibility.
The city attorney, in his presentation Monday night, said the Pierpont residents owned to the "centerline" of Shore Dr. But then he didn't say who owned the other half. I heard Rojas say the state didn't own any part of it, too.
It's a mystery.
Hey, has anyone noticed there is a bunch of sand accumulating on the beach in front of the Pierpont neighborhood? And, further, no one is doing anything about the sand blocking the roads and the alleyways in this neighborhood.