Pillar Point Harbor boat launch ramp dredging permit is scheduled for the June 14 Coastal Commission meeting in Long Beach, after being pulled from the April agenda due to public concerns about diminishing coastal access at Perched Beach dredge disposal site in the inner harbor where the kayak stand is located.

Staff report recommends permit approval for a reduced scale alternative that limits dredge disposal to half of the upland area at Perched Beach.  The amount of dredge will be reduced from 5,600 to 3,500 cubic yards, which is said to be the minimum necessary to clear all the launch ramps.  The footprint for placement on Perched Beach would be reduced from 2/3 of an acre to less than 1/5 of an acre (per modified site plan).  The material would be placed up against the berm on the east side and no closer than 100 feet from the water’s edge, instead of within a few feet from the sandy shoreline.

After the 30-day dewatering period, the material would be spread within the reduced footprint to form a slope, rather than a large step down, from the access road and Coastal Trail on the east side.

Coastal Commission staff considers protecting the eroded section of West Shoreline Trail a potential good use for harbor dredge material, but permitting for aquatic (rather than upland) disposal would take at least a year. 

Other nearby sites for beach nourishment are more complicated.  Surfer’s Beach alternative awaits results of the Army Corps of Engineers lengthy ongoing study in a cost share arrangement with the Harbor District.  Alternatively, the Harbor District could potentially fund the disposal of material at Surfer’s Beach, but additional Corps and Marine Sanctuary approvals would be needed.  Princeton Shoreline alternative awaits completion of the County’s shoreline plan just getting underway, which may take several years.

UPDATE:  6/14/13 Coastal Commission approved the permit for reduced scale dredging with conditions per the staff report described above.  The staff report has been updated with additional correspondence, including letter from Supervisor Horsley and 6/12/13 MCC slide presentation.

UPDATE 6/17/13:  In order to secure permit approval, at Coastal Commission staff request, Harbor District General Manager, Peter Grenell, submitted 6/13/13 letter outlining plans for dredge disposal going forward, assuring the CCC that alternate disposal sites would be sought with “particular attention to beneficial uses, such as sand replenishment for eroding beaches.”

Per 1/30/13 CCC email, Coastal Development Permits were not obtained for the two previous launch ramp maintenance dredge disposal events (1998 & 2006) at “Perched” Beach, which was not considered a dredge disposal site by CCC.