Seawalls

Quackenbush Inc.
Marine & Watershed Resources Consulting

October 6, 2014
City of Solana Beach Resident
Seawalls, Seawalls, and More Seawalls
1234 Bluff Top Drive
Solana Beach, CA 99999
Dear Resident,
The right to protect ones property by armoring the shorelines can be a highly
controversial and complex issue. This is especially true in the City of Solana Beach
where local policy makers are struggling with managing the continually eroding
seashore while balancing homeowner needs and public access. There are both physical
constraints and legal issues that can affect landowner decisions to construct a seawall.
Physical constraints of seawalls, such as increased erosion rates, loss of beach sand,
and native species habitat, can have substantial impacts on beachfront access and
recreation. Additionally, though there is currently no cases in California that directly deal
with the denial of seawalls, examining local and state law reveals a complex array of
policy issues and limitations to take into account when considering shoreline armoring.
The seaside City of Solana Beach, located in northern San Diego County, lies
entirely within Californias designated Coastal Zone, accordingly the Local Coastal
Program (LCP) Land Use Plan (LUP) covers the entire city. Shoreline management and
protection is an important issue is Solana Beach. The Cities 1.7 miles of coastal
Email: aquackenbush@csumb.edu
Office: (206) 251-5691
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beaches are backed by +75 foot high seacliffs, which are developed with residential
homes, and actively eroding at an approximate rate of 0.4 feet per year (City of Solana
Beach 2014). Solana Beach is contained entirely within the Oceanside Littoral Cell. A
littoral cell is a natural boundary that contains a complete cycle of sedimentation. Due to
extensive human alteration in this area the Oceanside Littoral Cell does not have any
rivers, streams or cliff resources to continually replenish beach sand. Without natural
sand replenishment and in the absence of beach nourishment projects Solana Beach
continues to experience a net loss of sand and a narrowing of the beach every year
(AMEC 2003). Continued active erosion and loss of sand in Solana Beach has led to
heavy armoring to protect residential properties, currently more than 50% of Solana
Beach is protected by some type of bluff retention device (City of Solana Beach 2014).
While the construction of seawalls can provide protection against immediate
property loss, they can also have adverse physical impacts on beach dynamics. There
are three primary physical constraints imposed on a beach that result directly from the
construction of seawalls: placement loss, active erosion, and passive erosion.
Placement loss is the area of the beach that is lost under the footprint of the seawall.
Active erosion is the loss of sand as it gets pushed offshore when waves backwash off
the seawall. Lastly, passive erosion is the process by which the beach starts to become
narrower in front of the seawall. This is primarily because the seawall is fixed,
preventing erosion at the back end of the beach while the front continues to erode with
no replenishment of substrate (Cardiff 2001, Dugan and Hubbard 2006). Runyan and
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Griggs (2003) calculated that the Oceanside Littoral Cell was losing 18% of its sand
supply due to coastal armoring. Additionally, Runyan and Griggs (2003) concluded that
streams only contribute 27.9% of sand to the Oceanside Littoral Cell while seacliff
erosion is a significant contributor of sand to the cell, of which coastal armoring inhibits.
Additionally, there are ecological impacts to coastal armoring and the loss of
beaches. Dugan and Hubbard (2006) compared the ecological responses of armored
and unarmored sandy bluff-backed beaches in southern California. Dugan and Hubbard
(2006) concluded that in front of armoring structures the upper intertidal zone is lost, the
mid-intertidal zone narrowed, and wrack deposition and retention is altered. This loss of
habitat on the beach results in reduced biodiversity and abundance of
macroinvertebrates, shorebirds, gulls and other birds.
Beyond the physical constraints of seawalls there are both city and state policies
that may impede the development of a seawall in Solana Beach. First, there is the
Shoreline and Coastal Bluff Protection Ordinance (Solana Beach Municipal Code
[SBMC] Chapter 17.62.020) enacted in May 1994 by the City. The purpose of the
ordinance was to provide a regulatory framework for limiting adverse environmental
impacts seawalls may create while balancing the needs of homeowners to protect their
property. The Ordinance states Shoreline protection measures such as seacave
plugging and filling are preferred over the construction of seawalls, bluff retaining walls,
gunite covering and similar permanent armoring. In this way the Ordinance encourages
the construction of small, nonintrusive structures before erosion becomes too
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pronounced and large seawalls are needed. Additionally, the Ordinance only allows
permitting of seawalls when An existing significant structure is threatened with
imminent danger, or The shoreline defense structure is necessary to abate a public
nuisance existing on the property that cannot be reasonably abated in another manner
(AMEC 2003).
In addition to local ordinances, Solana Beach has been working toward passing a
Local Coastal Program (LCP) and Land Use Plan (LUP) in accordance with the
California Coastal Act for Solana Beach since 2000. After many revisions and
amendments in 2014 the California Coastal Commission approved the Solana Beach
LCP and LUP. The shoreline management strategy outlined in the LCP starts by
acknowledging the rights of private property owners to protect and maintain existing
blufftop homes. But the LCP limits the construction of coastal protection structures by
setting Restrictions so that no new bluff retention devices are allowed on the beach
unless all other reasonably feasible options for protecting bluff top principal structures
are deemed infeasible, and when allowed, that they are as small as possible, and
aesthetically managed and maintained to minimize their impacts. Meaning to get a
permit for a seawall property owners need to prove that all other feasible options will
not work, this includes the option to move ones home to another location all together
(LCP 2014).
If a homeowner does receive a permit to construct a seawall they will have to
Mitigate for the adverse impacts of bluff retention devices on the beach through
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payment of fees incident to permit approvals with the funds to be used for beach
restoration and related beach, surfing, recreation and similar projects. This means that
in addition to strict limitations on type, time, and placement of seawalls, home owners
will also be required to pay a mitigation fee to compensate for the loss of sand and
public beach recreational areas. The amount of the fee would depend on the number of
years the structure is leased. For example, if a seawall is constructed in 2010 and
continues through 2081 the total Land Lease/Recreation Fee would be $359,800 (PMC
2010). Additionally, the LCP stipulates that In association with approval of any bluff
retention device on public land, the City will also require an encroachment/removal
agreement to be renewed at least every 20 years. Meaning that bluff retention device
permits expire after 20 years, at which point a homeowner will need to apply for a new
permit, if the permit is not issued the homeowner runs the risk of having to remove the
seawall at the homeowners expense (LCP 2014).
In addition to local laws the California Coastal Act Public Resources Code
30235 gives property owners a statutory right to obtain from the California Coastal
Commission permits for construction of shoreline protection devices. It states
Revetments, breakwaters, groins, harbor channels, seawalls, cliff retaining walls, and
other such construction that alters natural shoreline processes shall be permitted when
required to serve coastal-dependent uses or to protect existing structures or public
beaches in danger from erosion and when designed to eliminate or mitigate adverse
impacts on local shoreline sand supply. Existing marine structures causing water
stagnation contributing to pollution problems and fish kills should be phased out or
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upgraded where feasible. However this policy is somewhat vague allowing for
construction of seawalls under certain circumstances. For instance, the use of the
phrase existing structuresin danger from coastal erosion, currently this is interpreted
by the Coastal Commission as allowing coastal armoring to protect structures in danger
of erosion regardless of when the structure was built. But this is a contentious policy;
Cardiff (2001) argues that the Coastal Commission should take a more literal approach
to interpreting this policy and only allow coastal armoring where there is a danger from
coastal erosion to structures existing before 1976, the year the Coastal Act was passed.
Lastly, California case law is not entirely clear whether property owners have a
constitutional right to build a seawall. For example, while in Whalers Village Club v.
California Coastal Commission (1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 240, the Court of Appeals stated
It is now a fundamental axiom in the law that one may not do with his property as he
pleases; his use is subject to reasonable restraints to avoid societal detriment..." But in
this case the court was simply determining if the California Coastal Commission had the
right to require the homeowner to surrender easements so the public could access the
beach, not the right to protect ones property from damage by constructing a seawall.
For this reason there is still no direct case law in California pertaining to the
constitutional right to build a seawall to protect ones property (Cardiff 2001).
While a seawall may protect your property, often times they are detrimental to the
beach. For this reason, coastal armoring is a highly controversial issue, with many
complex local and state policies to consider. Currently there is no policy or law which
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explicitly states that a homeowner cannot build a seawall if their property is being
threatened from coastal erosion and there are no other viable options. But there are still
tradeoffs, in the City of Solana Beach a homeowner considering building a seawall
should also understand the long term cost of a Land Lease/Recreation Fee or
potentially having to tear down the wall after their 20 year permit expires. A homeowner
in Solana Beach may want to consider a more sustainable solution such as living
shorelines over hard armoring. The principal behind living shorelines is to plant native
habitat which will stabilize and reinforce the shoreline. Studies suggest that living
shorelines can be more economical than hard armoring because it requires less
construction and maintenance over time (Fletcher et al. 2013). In conclusion, there are
many physical and legal issues to take into consideration when deciding whether or not
to construct a seawall, it is important that a homeowner who is concerned about
protecting their private property understands all the tradeoffs and alternatives to hard
armoring.
Office: (206) 251-5691
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Quackenbush Inc.
References
AMEC Earth and Environmental, Incorporated. (2003). Master Environmental Impact
Report Solana Beach Shoreline and Coastal Bluff Management Strategies.
California Coastal Act. (1976). California Public Resources Code, 30000 et seq.
Cardiff, T. T. (2001). Conflict in the California Coastal Act: Sand and Seawalls. Cal. WL
Rev., 38, 255.
City of Solana Beach. (2014). Draft Local Coastal Program.
Dugan, J. E., & Hubbard, D. M. (2006). Ecological responses to coastal armoring on
exposed sandy beaches. Shore & Beach, 74(1), 10-16.
Fletcher, CS, Taylor, BM, Rambaldi, AN, Harman, BP, Heyenga, S, Ganegodage, KR,
Lipkin, F & McAllister, RRJ. (2013). Costs and coasts: An empirical assessment of
physical and institutional climate adaptation pathways, National Climate Change
Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, 53 pp.
PMC. (2010). City of Solana Beach Draft Land Lease/Recreation Fee Study.
Runyan, K., & Griggs, G. B. (2003). The effects of armoring seacliffs on the natural sand
supply to the beaches of California. Journal of Coastal Research, 336-347.
Office: (206) 251-5691
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