HOW DO WE PROCEED TO ACHIEVE THIS GAMEPLAN?

Save Our Beaches San Clemente is a citizen’s advocacy group, and we aim to achieve our goals through sustained, methodical, and consistent messaging to our elected officials.

We wish that this pathway was straightforward and involved fewer agencies, less permitting, and much less money. However, we have to act within the framework that exists.

Below, we outline our primary advocacy goals and their status.

CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE

  1. Hire a dedicated Coastal Administrator: DONE. In mid-2023, the City hired Ms. Leslea Meyerhof, a consultant with over 30 years’ experience planning in the coastal environment.

  2. Re-Establish the Coastal Advisory Committee: DONE. The seven-member committee had their first meeting in January 2024 and is developing its Workplan.

  3. Participate in SANDAG’s RBSP III: DONE. In late 2023, the City signed an MOU with SANDAG and its consultant GHD is currently working on a Feasibility Study for sand replenishment across San Clemente’s entire coastline.

  4. Get the Federal Project back on track for 2024: WORKING ON IT. Save Our Beaches is advocating with the City and Congressman Levin to make this happen this year.

  5. Find a new borrow site for dredging, closer to San Clemente, without rock. WORKING ON IT. We understand that a grant has been prepared, status unknown.

  6. Find ways to pay for future dredging projects, and for sand on beaches not covered by the Federal Project. WORKING ON IT.

  7. Establish a pilot project for “Sand via Rail” WORKING ON IT

  8. Prepare a SCOUP permit: Up for Council vote February 20, 2024

  9. Finalize the Nature-Based Solutions project and design and fund an in-water pilot project that focuses on restoring our wide sandy beaches: IN PROGRESS

  10. Work with OCTA’s Orange County Coastal Resilience Project to persuade OCTA to stabilize their tracks through the maintenance of wide sandy beaches in San Clemente: WORKING ON IT

ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

  1. Stop dumping rocks on our beach. WORKING ON IT. We are continuously monitoring the placement of new rocks, and referring that information to the appropriate regulatory agencies. This seems to be reducing the amount of rock laid down.

  2. Use the ongoing Orange County Coastal Resilience Study to evaluate the Feasibility of protecting its tracks through the maintenance of wide sandy beaches in San Clemente. WORKING ON IT. OCTA is behind-schedule on its Listening Sessions, but has agreed to include Save Our Beaches as a stakeholder in its Environmental Group. We continue to advocate with OCTA and the appropriate regulatory agencies.

CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION

  1. For the rock dumps at the south end of town, require OCTA to mitigate the harm where it occurred, by maintaining the beach and creating a new pedestrian trail. WORKING ON IT. Save Our Beaches has been advocating monthly at Commissioner meetings, and has had several multi-agency meetings with Commission staff. Every month, the Commissioners become more aware and more concerned about the environmental damage being caused by OCTA’s activities.

  2. Do not allow OCTA to implement a city-wide revetment raising and seawall, as outlined in its 2021 Rail Defense Against Climate Change. WORKING ON IT.