Miramar Beach Erosion

Miramar Beach residents are urging beachgoers to use the Miramar Hotel’s public access to the beach instead of the Eucalyptus Lane entrance due to safety concerns regarding the erosion at the base of the stairs. Currently, at high tide beachgoers must walk over a mound of rocks atop the sand in order to reach the beach, which may be dangerous for elderly people and small children. It is believed that these rocks travelled down the cleared-out creeks and debris basins during the major storms that occur every winter. Longtime residents explain that in the past, the sand usually returned by July; this year, though, has been the worst they have ever seen. The City of Carpinteria has faced its own trouble with beach erosion and is currently working to fix the issue. The California State Coastal Conservancy granted $1.62 million to the city’s Carpinteria Living Shoreline Project, which will help with “Beach Nourishment and Dune Restoration.” The County of Santa Barbara does not work directly to fix erosion issues due to the strict protocol that California’s Coastal Act and Coastal Commission have when dealing with beach erosion. Therefore, the issue must be dealt with and approved by the Coastal Commission. BEACON (Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment) is a joint powers authority that works to carefully study and devise strategic plans to fix erosion issues found on beaches along the Central Coast. Currently, the county of Santa Barbara is working with BEACON to include Montecito’s erosion issue in its next meeting, which will take place on September 20th. County parks staff have also been informed of this issue and are working on a temporary aid for beachgoers that will not interfere with the Coastal Commission’s protocols.