I like to draw the analogy of a four part train to explain our situation. The Pierpont Beach sand is like a four car train on a Sand Management Plan journey. The engine is California Coastal Commission, coal car is State Parks and Recreation, the middle car is the City of Ventura, and the caboose is private property owners. Keep in mind the ownership of land from the ocean to the private property line. There is no question about ownership of property from water to 40' before private property. Rich Rojas, State Parks and Recreation clearly stated the State Parks does NOT own Shore Drive, that 40'. Private propety deeds that have been examined by experts state private property ends at property line not including the 40'. That leaves the City as owner. The engine (CCC) does not fuel, pay for, itself. The cabose does not fuel, PAY, for the engine to function. Simply we think the fiscal responsiblity is State first, City second and NOT a few Private Property owners. All State property owners have been assesed and paid their maintenance portion of public land usage fees in their annual propety taxes. When the train crashes into private property, sand encroachment, damage is done by the front of the train, not the caboose.
Furthur, when the sand is kept 10' to 20' back from turnouts and residences, the costs of access and storm drain maintenance for the City of Ventura are significantly reduced.

Rosemary, I agree that the state should bear some responsibility for the cost since the Coastal Commission (set up in 1976 by the Coastal Act) has the final say over what is done there. This body was set up to balance the needs of the environment and private property owners.

I keep hearing residents call this the "city's plan" when in fact it was authored by commission and state biologists. The city could move the sand to your liking and then get sued on the back end by the Coastal Commission for not conforming to its guidelines.

One thing I'd like to look into is how much flexibility is here.

Possibly the confusion is because the City delivered the Sand Management Plan to the community. You are correct. The California Coastal Commission is the commanding or demanding force here.

I remain hopeful that a new plan will be written based on the overwhelming opposition to the current plan! The biologist said repeatedly that this was the "best", "most biologically sound" plan...but we never heard what other options they considered. Perhaps one of those options would have been more palatable to the Pierpont Residents & Ventura. We need a plan which allows us to remedy the sand encroachment problem but does not eliminate over 50% of our useable beach! In terms of who owns the beach...if the beachfront owners own the 40 feet in front of our homes...GREAT! I will move the sand AND pay for removal...but I wont police the space in front of my home, wont pay for dune creation and I WONT keep my neighbors off of the new dunes just because they happen to be in front of my home! Pierpont is a beach community...thousands of visitors come to enjoy the beach. By creating a dune environment at the back of the beach is unsafe (no children or swimmers can be viewed!), unsanitary (ecoli, fecal matter, etc collects in the dunes) and unuseable. Let's take a logical, practical look at the problem and see if we can come up with a plan that serves the taxpayers and visitors to the area!

I can guarantee you that our liberal city government will require all beach front owners to pay for this ridicules sand management plan... What are they, the State and the City protecting? Only their pocketbooks from the expense of sand removal...I have yet to see a snowy plover or a legless lizard... Must be all the stray cats taking care of them...Or maybe they don't want to nest among the broken beer bottles, old camp fires, and used condoms... Wake up Ventura and think next time you vote for a city or state politician... There are a few that have common sense... Unfortunately I haven't found one, yet...

Danny, there were a few running in the last City election that were talking a lot more sensibly than the band of losers we ended up with. When is the next election, again? For God's sakes, a stuffed monkey would be better than the people we have in there now.

Sorry folks, I don't want to foot the bill for your sandbox. If you can afford a multimillion dollar home you can clean up a little sand. If you are fortunate enough to live at the beach you get beachgoers and their trash. We should all be so lucky. With all the projects our city has to fund, I give pretty low priority to a bunch of rich folks worried about their damn views.

First of all....many of the homes are "cottage" homes with occupants in their 60's and 70's who have lived there for over 20 years! They are not equipped physically to manage and care for the dunes! This is not about views....if YOU or anyone else want to be able to enjoy the beach you better read the plan again...you will be losing 50% of the beach and possibly more during the winter months!!! It is easy to have a cavalier attitude about this, and consider it a "rich folks" issue...but consider that IF we are talking about multi million dollar homes, then it is those homes that PAY THE MOST TAXES!!! Surely a part of that money can go to taking care of the property immediately adjacent to the homes! Next time, have the courage to post your name at the end of your comments!

Howard, your comments are well taken. We're not all rich folks that live down here at Pierpont. Now, if I could only figure out who this little critter is that keeps sprinkling sand in front of my house every night while I'm sleeping, I think we could lick this thing as a community.

I was curious about the Coastal Commission, did a little Googling and learned that its voting commissioners are all appointed. This body has the final say in how this plan is implemented.

City approval will come from our Planning Commission, which is also appointed, not elected. But it is my understanding that the City Council can provide some direction here. So it would appear that the people who actually make the decisions are staff and appointees, am I correct?

I heard them say at the meeting that the city has one-time money available for clearing beach debris every year but that they may not be able to fund that much longer. They are cutting $4 million from the budget for the coming fiscal year.

The cavalier attitude of the "rich beachowners" unfortunately has permeated and commented on by State Park officials and even by senior City management. There may be some but many like myself have lived in the area since the 70's or before when $30,0000. was a big price for a home and the Pierpont was considered lower end. Do not forget that many CITIZENS also rent. Yes, tax records also indicate that this area including the Keys is the largest taxing base.
The situation, as I see it is Ventura citizens homes are being
damaged by sand which comes directly from a State run beach and Ventura owned easement(or street, to be determined)and privately deeded property is asking for a logical, common sense chance to remove the sand that is damaging the private property as has been done for decades. The Coastal Commission is saying this is probably a "sensitive area" therefore as a MITIGATION or even some say "blackmail," the affected private property owner must pay an unknown amount to pay for engineers, consulants, plants, fencing, irrigation and then plant it and also maintain it covering and reducing the "public area" by a minimum of 42% and some say as much as 90% or more. Months have passed waiting for a resolution and many more to come all the while "ROME BURNS."
Yes, local residents get to use the beach as do thousands of City residents and thousands of County area residents and State and National and International folks. Do we shake them down for useage?
What is sane and logical answer? This proposed plan seems neither.

Jim McCaslin

Well, I think I finally got my head around this thing. I stayed up all last night on my balcony and watched the sidewalk leading to the dunes to see if I could figure out how this sand accumulation business has been occurring. Well, lo and behold, sometime around 3:00 AM, a huge gust of wind kicked up and deposited a thin layer of the silty substance over about about half of the sidewalk leading to the beach. I just about fell off my rocking chair!

I will be turning over my findings to the chief ecologist at the Coastal Commission to see what she makes of it. But, by God, folks, I think I'm really on to something here. With a little more scientific research and some additional expertise (read consultant), I think we can nip this thing in the bud!

The residences that were there when the California Coastal Commission decided to let the dunes form(after decades of annual City beach cleaning) were supposed to be considered in formulating this "best biologically sound" plan. The residences then ended up covered by the sand dunes and ruined in the process. This doesn't make sense.

This is what happens when taxpayers demand results from bureaucrats who, by nature, will cautiously tip-toe around a realistic solution to a given problem.
This plan has one inherent flaw: It attempts to restore &/or preserve to a "natural state" a beach that was man-made. Look at some of the very early photographs of Pierpont Beach. Dunes? Natural vegetation? I wish these early photos were of better quality, as they don’t clearly show examples of the ‘Legless Lizard’ or the ‘Globose dune beetle.’ (In my 30+ years of using the beach on an almost daily basis, I can’t say that I’ve ever actually seen either of these - I hope they’re not buried under those blowing sand drifts and crying out for help!)
My solution to the problem is two-fold:
1. Take a copy of the 42 page report, have all of the bureaucrats initial it as read; put various official stamps all over the cover page and file a copy at City Hall. All extra copies could quickly be made into the world’s most expensive note pads (of course, following the appropriate $50K feasibility study.)
2. Get a Cat D-8 and move the sand back to the ocean. Do this every year. Simple, cost-effective and the only solution on the table with an actual track record. This used to be done annually and I don't recall anyone complaining (even the legless lizzard and that invisible beetle somehow survived!) Maybe it’s time for Pierpont and Keys residents to consider the possibility of separate incorporation. The tax revenues generated in the beach/keys certainly warrant a higher level of response to our needs.
Additionally, those who somehow think that wealthy homeowners should foot the bill are completely missing the point. There would be no change in this argument if the homes in question were tiny cottages and land values were 1/4 the current rate. Certainly, everyone loves to hate the rich beachfront homeowners (I'm neither)feeling that they should somehow pay more than their fair share. Well, next time you see one of these homeowners moving sand away from their property, walk-up and ask them what their taxes are like. You just might end up grabbing a shovel and giving them a helping hand!
Folks, we're about one City Council meeting away from losing our beach to feeble-minded bureaucrats armed only with sand-management experiments filled with endless rules and regulations. Once enacted, we'll be permanently "protected" from our own beach. The only thing that won't change is the movement of the sand!

Access to the beach is the first issue. The stairs are so filled with sand that they are dangerous to use. My 80-year old neighbor comes out with his doggie shovel to clean off the few stairs at Bangor lane so his lady friend, who can’t climb them unassisted, can get onto the sand to watch the sunsets. This is not what I call good public relations. Then there is the dirty beach, with plastic junk and fire debris and sharp bits of wood, so that walking barefoot is dangerous, and children run at risk of nasty foot punctures.
This beach is heavily used, and as Ventura County continues to grow (just look at all those developments inland - all taxpayers and potential beach users) and as more people come here to sample the well advertised charms of the area, it will just get busier. We can’t rope off huge swaths of it and keep people on little paths. Those tourists spend serious money in the city, providing jobs for residents, and we don’t want them to be shocked and disgusted when they hit the beach. Let’s take care of this jewel.

So, Marie, what did the Council decide the other night on the Sand Management Plan? I must admit, I fell asleep while watching the public comments. Overall, it was a pretty boring affair. From what I saw though, it sounded like the Council was trying to work with the residents, to the extent possible. That was a positive sign.