Beachgoers Beware of Rocks at Eucalyptus Entrance

Montecito Journal staff urges Miramar beachgoers to be cautious at the Eucalyptus Lane entrance due to a mound of rocks atop the sand at the base of the stairs. As one who has been running/walking and observing the local beaches for more than 50 years, I can assert the annual littoral sand movement toward Ventura was radically different this year.

Typical winter storms erode beach sand, sometimes washing out many feet of it. That’s why the City of Carpinteria builds a large sand berm each year to protect buildings. This year, sand was not taken away – and rocks from nearby creeks were deposited at the high-tide level.

See photo taken this past January at Biltmore Beach, which is 1.5 miles west of Miramar Beach, showing the radical rock deposit.

During the summer months, offshore sand is redeposited on our beaches. The next photo, taken last week at Biltmore Beach, shows summer sand deposited on top of the rocks from last winter.

Finally, a current photo at the Eucalyptus Lane entrance to Miramar beach indicates the rocks likely deposited by Montecito Creek, which is but 1/4 mile away. That creek helped build local surfing spot Hammond’s Reef. See the gray-haired surfer walking across the rocks? Note how high the rocks and sand are under the houses at Miramar Beach.

My point is, this is not an erosion issue, but an accretion of sand. BEACON (Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment) will deal with the Coastal Commission on Sept. 20 as an erosion issue. Whether the taxpayer must spend more to solve a crisis that did not happen is questionable.