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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-11-07; Beach Preservation Committee; MinutesMINUTES BEACH EROSION COMMITTEE Summary of the meeting - November 7, 1985 Council Chambers The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M. Jack Gulshen and Ed Martinet were absent. The minutes of the October 17 meeting were read and approved. Mario Monroy made a report to the committee on the Beach Erosion Conference in Santa Barbara. One of the main points was to consider the public and private beaches together. John Gray remarked that beach protection is a community concern. Santa Barbara is spending $750,000.00 annually to keep their harbor open. Carlsbad needs to face the fact that the City may need to spend money regularly on the beach erosion problem. Mario Monroy went on to state that if we want funding, we need to allow plenty of time. State Parks and Recreaction policy seems to be let nature take its course except in the case of special needed protection. Gene Donovan reported that the Seawall is going to Council on the 26th to award the design contract and the contract with the State. Later, the City must apply for easements. The City has also applied for block grant funds for storm drains along Carlsbad Boulevard, but our application is one of many, so we may not receive any money. A discussion ensued about how one of the problems in Carlsbad is that we have no true bedrock base, only sandstone which may affect the seawall. Sally Vigil feels the Council needs to know that any solutions may not be permanent. There was a discussion of groin fields and the possibility of building small groins. The Army Corps of Engineers could do a quick, preliminary study on extending the jetties on the cooling inlet, but we must have continuous replenishment to keep sand on our beaches. John Gray reported that Bill Dyson of SDG&E said that we would have to go 300 feet further out with the jetties to be effective. The Army Corps of Engineers had remarked that Carlsbad never had a nice, wide beach. The Corps will help maintain a beach, but they will not build a beach. Dr. Douglas Inman, Director for Coastal Studies, Scripps Institute of Oceanography spoke to the committee about the California coastline. Beach Erosion Committee Minutes November 7, 1985 Page: 2 He said we live on a collision coast, a coastal terrace. What we call bluffs are really sea cliffs, cut by wave action. There is a southern migration of about 270,000 cu. yds. of sand annually. Carlsbad is located in the Oceanside littoral cell. This cell goes from Dana Point to La 3olla Canyon. A cell is a coastal area which contains sand transport paths and sand sources. Dr. Inman remarked that we can't solve the erosion problem in just part of a cell. He believes it's absolutely necessary for coastal communities to get together to solve their problem. Since our sand supply comes 99% from the rivers and dams have cut off this source of supply, he suggests a water tax be imposed to help the beaches. He went on to emphasize the need for a long range plan for the whole littoral cell. Technology is available to get the river sand, but it will take a coordinated effort to accomplish such a t ask . He felt that if a groin field were constructed, we would need 56 miles of groins. When asked if he could develop the long range plan for the cell, he said yes. The cost would be around $500,000.00 for the study, but it is going to take coordination and cooperation of political bodies to fund the study and to implement a long range plan. Mario Monroy remarked that the committee can come up with the ideas and costs, but can't come up with the money. He felt that the committee needs information on the SANDAG and BEACH groups - what they are doing. He will speak to Mary Casler and Ann Kulchin about this. He is the the . s convinced that the only thing we can do locally is dredge lagoons. SDG&E is considering leasing their dredge. Perhaps City should look into the possibility of leasing. The committee meeting was adjourned at 9:20 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ELIZABETH FAIRCHILD EF:lch