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By
Kevin Clerici
Ventura County Star
February 1, 2008
Beachfront
homeowners in Ventura, tired of dealing with mounds of sand
that buckle fences and damage property, are upset with new
rules drafted to give them some relief.
Residents in the Pierpont Beach neighborhood say a
city-produced Sand Management Plan is flawed, unfairly saddles
them with the cost and was drafted without their input,
despite repeated pleas to city leaders to participate.
"We disagree with the process and certain aspects of the
plan," said John Whitman, chairman of the Pierpont
Community Council, a neighborhood advocacy group. "Worse,
our efforts to try to participate were pretty much
ignored."
City officials defended the rules as "mostly
science," therefore not open to debate.
The intent of the plan, the city said, was to introduce clear
rules on how homeowners can move encroaching sand in a way
sensitive to the beach environment — not appease all of the
residents' desires.
"There are definitely some things we could clarify,"
City Engineer Rick Raives said. "But, overall, it's a
good plan."
The city has scheduled a public workshop in March to have
ecologists present their recommendations, answer questions and
try to quell residents' frustrations.
Sand issues, from debris to excessive buildup, stretch back
decades. The problem of too much sand escalated most recently
after an unseasonably mild winter in 2006 left a deluge of
sand along the beach, followed by high winds that drove sand
against million-dollar properties and overtopped public
stairways.
The weight of the dunes buckled a homeowner's glass-paned
retaining wall and damaged several fences outside homes. At
least one homeowner has sued to recover his expenses.
City leaders agreed something had to be done and gave the city
staff $40,000 last spring to work with experts to craft a plan
so homeowners could get immediate relief and dunes could be
established to better control future sand movement.
Homeowners say it was during a beach walk with city and state
parks leaders in July that they first requested to be included
in the plan's creation, and asked then-Mayor Carl Morehouse to
form a special task force.
Neither happened, residents said.
Deserved to be included
The city's decision to exclude residents from the writing
process and its incomplete efforts to clear sand-covered
public walkways have puzzled and incensed some homeowners, who
say their involvement could have a produced a better, more
palatable document to Pierpont residents. "The Pierpont
community deserved to be included," homeowner Murray
Robertson said.
Further aggravating residents, the city initially scheduled
the evening public workshop on Valentine's Day, before
agreeing to reschedule to March 4.
Morehouse didn't recall being specifically asked to form a
task force, though he acknowledged the residents wanted to
participate. "I left it up to the staff," he said.
Raives said residents were always going to be allowed to offer
input. He said he now would take the plan before the City
Council, in response to residents' protests of the plan
needing only staff-level approval at an administrative
hearing.
Much of the disagreement is the result of differing views on
the beach environment.
The 41-page document, written by state parks and California
Coastal Commission scientists, describes the mile-long stretch
of sand outside homes as a dynamic environment, home to rare
dune habitat and sensitive species that must be protected.
The plan presents a golden opportunity to bring restoration
and an environmentally responsible approach to control the
natural ebb and flow of sand delivered from the ocean, said
Coastal Commission ecologist Jonna Engel, who holds a
doctorate in ecology.
Homeowners look out their windows and see fields of trampled
sand, with trash and debris from illegal fires, and struggle
to grasp the area as a sensitive habitat.
"It is an urban beach and recreational area,"
resident Terry Foley said. "There are hundreds of
thousands of visitors using the beach each year."
Steps at homeowner expense
The sand plan calls for various actions, largely at
homeowners' expense.
Residents who want to move sand encroaching on their property
would need to apply for and pay for a city permit. By hand or
using designated equipment, workers could move the sand 10
feet to 20 feet away from the owner's property line, depending
on the distance the home is from the ocean.
The sand would have to be built into a mound sloped between 20
degrees and 30 degrees, with the backside of the slope planted
with native vegetation to help stabilize the sand. The
perimeter of the new dune ultimately would be outlined by a
thin cable, similar to what is currently used on nearby state
beaches. A qualified biologist would be required on-site
during all work.
September to May work
The sand work would have to be performed between Sept. 15 and
May 15 to avoid affecting "visitors, grunion and
potential nesting birds," the plan says.
The city has about $35,000 to establish a demonstration
project outside homes between New Bedford Court and Kingston
Lane — a row of several houses that have experienced
property damage and whose owners have agreed to the project,
officials said. The city also plans to use some of the money
to address the sand buildup at the end of the lanes, but has
little more to dedicate to the situation at a time of needed
spending cuts, Raives said.
Lisa Stern, who owns a one-story house at the end of Bangor
Lane, said she plans to fight, even if it takes legal action.
She doesn't think it's fair to ask the community to pay to
move sand on city property for something that ultimately would
restrict public access to the beach.
"I'm sure as heck not going to pay to create a visual
barrier that will devalue my home," she said.
"That's crazy."
Contact Kevin
Clerici
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