California homeowners clash with authorities over seawall construction

California residents have clashed with authorities over the construction of a permanent 257-foot-long concrete seawall along the coast in Half Moon Bay.

Sea level rise along the California coast threatens to destabilize homes in several areas, with Half Moon Bay one of the most vulnerable areas. After a storm in 2016, residents called on the California Coastal Commission to build a seawall to protect the area from further erosion.

However, the commission denied the request, arguing that seawalls could only be used to defend properties built before the California Coastal Act took effect in 1977.

The homeowners association then sued the commission and won, but the commission appealed the decision and sent it to a San Francisco court. According to local media reports, the court has announced that it will overturn the original ruling, side with the commission and block construction of the seawall.

Levees and other forms of erosion control cover approximately 33 percent of Southern California’s coastline. Dikes prevent cliff erosion, but they also prevent beaches from naturally migrating inland, making much of the coast less accessible.

This has led campaign groups like the Surfrider Foundation to oppose the construction of seawalls along the coast, arguing that it limits Californians’ access to the ocean for recreation.

Surfrider’s San Diego office opposed the homeowners’ proposal to build the seawall, saying it wanted to prevent the “seawall precedent” from extending further.

In November, construction of a 3,200-foot wall along the San Francisco waterfront faced opposition. A Surfrider spokesperson said: “Every time a seawall is approved, the likelihood of more seawalls being approved increases and the more we guarantee the loss of our beaches.”

Jennifer Savage, deputy director of California policy at Surfrider, said Newsweek that seawalls affected public access to beaches, saying: “When you build the seawalls, you essentially kill the beach because it destroys the natural interaction between the waves and the natural landscape, so the sand is scoured away because the sea just bounces off .” of the embankment.

“Every time a seawall is approved, we are saying that the person or company whose property we are protecting from the ocean is more important than the public’s right to the beach.”

Savage said alternative methods of combating coastal erosion, such as restoring naturally occurring dunes, are a better approach because they use natural landscapes as buffers rather than artificial walls.

Newsweek contacted the California Coastal Commission via email outside of normal working hours for comment on the process.

A final decision on the matter will be made after a hearing on December 11th San Diego Reader reported.

Concerns about sea level rise along the West Coast have increased recently due to prolonged extreme weather events. Last month, a bomb cyclone caused dangerous weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest, causing power outages for more than half a million residents and killing at least two people.

Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir, saw a huge rise in water, rising nearly 18 feet after several atmospheric rivers overflowed California in November.

Do you have a story we should cover? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact [email protected].