The agency is hoping to duplicate its 2001 project that spread enough sand on a dozen beaches from Oceanside to Imperial Beach to fill Qualcomm Stadium. The wide beaches that resulted from that $17.5 million effort have since been eaten away.

"We got a lot of sand six years ago and, as I understand it, about 5 percent is left," said Oceanside Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, in an address to the board.

The agency estimates it would cost about $25 million for a similar project.

Kim Sterrett, manager of beach restoration for the California Department of Boating and Waterways, said the state could help fund the project, but only if the San Diego region is willing to put up a substantial amount of money.

"I would love to tell you, 'I'm from the state government and I'm going to solve all your beach erosion problems,' " Sterrett said. "But that's just not in the stars."

Sterrett was one of two beach restoration experts brought in to frame the two-hour-long workshop. The other was Reinhard Flick, a researcher at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Flick said North County's beaches are narrower than those in other areas because they take the full brunt of Pacific waves. Santa Catalina Island shelters Orange County and Los Angeles but not North County, he said.

Most urban North County beaches are well away from the few remaining natural sources of sand, such as the San Onofre and Torrey Pines bluffs and free-flowing rivers on Camp Pendleton, Flick said.

A well-funded restoration program could offset those factors, he said.

But climate change presents a new threat.

Over the last century, the ocean along California's coast rose about eight inches, Flick said. If global warming increases the rate to a foot and a half per century, the region won't be able to keep sand on the beaches, he said.

That concern notwithstanding, some officials suggested some kind of regional fee be instituted. Officials pointed to Solana Beach's and Encinitas' decisions to increase their hotel taxes to fund beach restoration as examples of what could be done regionally.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts said he was disappointed no one came prepared to discuss specific projects or the drawbacks of sand replenishment efforts.

"I sort of feel like the cheerleaders are here," Roberts said. "I was just assuming that this was going to be more comprehensive."

The board plans to revisit the subject in the fall.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com.