The county placed large white bags filled with sand, or sand cubes, as well as boulders, to try to mitigate further damage.ĭenise Denison-Erkeneff, president of Surfrider Foundation’s South County chapter, said strips of plastic torn from the sand cubes are regularly found during beach clean-ups, even elsewhere along San Clemente’s coast. Over the years, because of damage from strong winter storms and disappearing sand, the fire rings, a basketball court and the volleyball courts had to be removed along with a public restroom, more than 50 parking spots and a pedestrian walkway. The sandy landscape was created when the Dana Point Harbor was built and dredged, adding hefty sand deposits to create a wide beach. Like many other stretches of Southern California beaches, Capistrano Beach was once flush with sand, enough to hold a row of fire rings and volleyball courts. Removing the parking lot in the southern stretch would have “significant consequences,” exposing nearby homes, a private access road to the community, the railroad and Pacific Coast Highway to possible wave action. “If it were to fail, at least we will have some of the material that could benefit the south reach.” “The north reach material will disperse to the south beach, it will not be money lost downstream,” she said. So far, six of the sand cubes have had to be replaced. OC Parks has also observed beach use weekly during the summer months and monitored how the sand cubes and the rock revetment wall put in as emergency measures to block the ocean’s force were doing, she said. Of those surveyed, 60% said they want to maintain the same number of parking spaces or even increase availability, while 39% supported removing parking. Natalia Gaerlan, planning and design interim manager for OC Parks, gave a 15-minute presentation on the “living shoreline” concept for the 1,500-foot-long county beach, which is wedged between Doheny State Beach to the north and beachfront homes to the south.Ī survey was taken of beach users, she said, who listed their top priorities as having a beach area, a bike path and a parking lot. The presentation was an update to the commission and gave a glimpse at various scenarios that would install cobblestone buffers to try to save what’s left of the beach – plans that could also include creating sand dunes and planting vegetation, or taking out a section of the parking lot.Ī finalized plan is expected to be ready for a commission vote by the end of the year. 13, outlining the ideas OC Parks has to salvage, at least in the short term, that stretch of coast. Plans for a “nature-based” solution to the eroding Capistrano Beach were presented to the California Coastal Commission on Friday, Aug.
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