Martin's Beach to be Armored

It's official: the California Coastal Commission has granted an emergency permit to construct a 963 ft rock revetment seaward of the oceanfront road along Martin's Beach.  The County of San Mateo already issued an emergency permit for the portion of the project within their jurisdiction at the end of January 2013.

In addition to the revetment, which is to be "temporarily" erected for the protection of the road and infrastructure, the road is to be widened and the existing restrooms demolished for the creation of a fire turnaround.  There is no condition of approval requiring the removal of existing unpermitted development, such as the keycard gate or the block wall at the south end of the beach.

Surfrider sent both an after-the-fact letter to the County (upon having learned that the County had already permitted the project) and a letter to the Coastal Commission highlighting various concerns with the project, including 1) that erosion here cannot be characterized as an emergency (--it has been happening for a long time!); 2) the emergency permit allows for development beyond what is needed to respond to "emergency" erosion; 3) existing unpermitted development needs addressed before permitting additional development; 4) the terms of the permit could result in serious unmitigated impacts that haven't been studied, such as loss of sandy beach due to erosion caused by the wall, and 5) the project is not consistent with LCP and Coastal Act policies.  The other concern is that the new property owner is pursuing armoring here and now in hopes of getting his foot in the door to armor for whatever development is planned in the future.

Unfortunately, emergency permitting authority is rather sweeping and tends to err heavily on the side of allowing an existing structure to be protected rather than protection of access and preservation of the beach.  So despite all these compelling issues, we have an impending revetment that is slated to be built within the next 30 days and could stand for up to 1 year before needing any additional approvals, according to the permit conditions.  Despite the permit terms, it is quite possible that the revetment could remain standing and continue to impact the beach past its permitted life.  Just look at Ocean Beach in SF or any number of other places along the California coast.  Once armoring goes in--temporary or not--it tends to remain, sometimes even after its useful life is past.

Why all the hate on seawalls and rock revetments?  Well, while they may be handy at delaying the inevitable overtake of structures by the advancing mighty ocean, shoreline armoring fixes the back of the beach and prevents it from retreating naturally, robbing the beach of sand to replenish it as it erodes, as well as exacerbating erosion of the beach seaward of the wall due to wave reflection off the hardened structure.  Seawalls are beach killers.

The elephant in the room, of course, is that the existing structures the revetment is being permitted to protect--the cabins and infrastructure serving them--are not likely to stand long after the current land leases are up.  What good will the revetment be then?  It might be good for Mr. Khosla, who will benefit from the serendipitous existence of a revetment that could protect his future development endeavors, but certainly will not be good for anyone looking to visit the beach, which in the future may ironically include current cabin owners. 

So, what's to be done now that the revetment has been permitted?

First, the revetment has been conditionally permitted.  If the conditions of the permit issued by the Coastal Commission are not complied with, such as completing construction within 30 days or avoiding grading of intertidal areas, the permit holder is in violation of the Coastal Act.  Any violations should be reported to the California Coastal Commission.  Similarly, the County has imposed conditions in their permit and any violations of those should be reported to the County.

Secondly, the property owner must file for a regular Coastal Development Permit (CDP) from the County and the Coastal Commission by July 28, 2013 for whatever long-term armoring is intended to be in place.  If the permit isn't filed, the revetment must be removed by July 28, 2014.  Surfrider will be keeping an eye on this. 

Thirdly, in their consideration of the CDP application, the County and the Commission will also consider the full range of impacts.  It will be really important to photograph the emergency revetment's impacts on the beach while it's in place so these decision makers can inform their deliberations.   Help contribute to this effort by taking photos of the beach profile when you go to visit. 

Recent Attempt to Block Access Foiled!

Under the name Friends of Martin's Beach, the firm Redenbacher & Brown LLP brought a suit against Martin's Beach I and II, LLCs seeking to affirm a provision in the California Constitution which provides for public access to the coast.  That case is underway at the San Mateo County Superior Court. 

As reported yesterday by the Half Moon Bay Review, on May 14, well over a month ago, the Superior Court denied Martin's Beach I and II's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO).  The TRO sought would have temporarily prohibited public access to the beach.

So...access is still attainable at the moment, although the gate remains.  If you visit, please enjoy the quiet natural beauty, be kind to the locals, and pack your trash.

Martin's Beach Art by Carol Rosemond

 by Carol Rosemond - www.carolrosemond.com

Although I haven’t visited Martin’s Beach for years due to the closure, images from Martin’s Beach remain fresh in my mind.  The waterfalls and cliffs on the southern end and the signature shark fin rock formation along the beach are particularly conducive to dramatic photographs and paintings.  I have many fond memories of pursuing my art there in the company of my photographer daughter.  I hope there will be future opportunities to explore those distinctive views for new paintings.  I greatly appreciate the work being done to preserve the rights of the public to enjoy this most beautiful coastal scenery.
- Carol Rosemond  

by Carol Rosemond - www.carolrosemond.com

Beach Cleanup 4/6/2013

On Saturday, April 6, several people came out to join the San Mateo County Chapter and lend a helping hand to cleanup debris at Martin's Beach.  Check out additional photos here.

Want to help with additional cleanups?  Contact us.

Seawall Update - Coastal Jurisdiction Challenged

(see first post in this series at http://martinsbeach.blogspot.com/2013/03/seawall-threatens-martins-beach.html)

South end seawall.  Photo Credit David Strohm

The latest communication from the Coastal Commission staff conveyed that an application for a Coastal Development Permit is expected, but that nothing has come in yet.  What has come in, however, is a letter from the law firm Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP, on behalf of the applicant, challenging the Coastal Commission's boundary determination.  The boundary determination is the basis for the Commission's assertion of jurisdiction in this matter, so basically the applicant is fighting the Commission's oversight of the project. 

The Coastal Commission will likely respond, but it's hard to say how the Commission will respond.  If the Commission concedes that the determination was incorrect, and if a new determination shows that the project is not on tidelands or other lands of the state, then the Commission will no longer have jurisdiction over the project and the permit already issued by the County will suffice.  This would mean that the applicant would have the ability to move forward with building the rock revetment, at the unfortunate detriment to the beach.  

Martin's Summer - 1997

Martin's Summer 1997 from konrad Wallace on Vimeo.

Pure. Unaldulterated. Fun.
Open Martin's Beach!


Archive footage of a fun day at the beach. Footage courtesy of Bruce Jenkins.

THE SEA by Ron Croci

Credit Ron Croci

           Shortly after we arrived in California, around the same time I discovered the salt flats, my Father took me to the Pacific Ocean, which was a short car ride from our house. I would have found my own way there but I was only 12 and I need a ride. My Dad was a fisherman and a sailor so he was used to seeing the Ocean, but me, I had never seen anything like it. We went there to go surf fishing; or rather my Dad did as I didn’t know how. I remember it was very cold and overcast with stormy clouds rolling overhead. The Sea was Grey, and the surf was big and churning. Sea birds and Seals were everywhere. We walked down a steep trail to a small sheltered cove, to a place called MARTINS BEACH. Behind us were tall coastal cliffs that reminded me of a giants fantasy castle. The beach sloped steeply and the shore break rumbled furiously. The salt spray mixed with the scent of the animals had a rich sharp smell that could have been called stinky, but actually fresh and alive. I was mesmerized. Sitting there on the edge of the sand, staring at the thundering surf gave me the same feeling of vertigo that a person gets when they look over a cliff and feel like jumping. It was as though I were a zombie that could walk with out blinking into the jaws of the Ocean never to be seen again. Of course I did not. I just sat and stared. After watching my Dad for a while I wondered down to a flat rocky ledge. There was a tall cliff with a sharp corner. And when I walked around this corner what I saw surprised me.

           Here was a large sea cave, about 30 feet high and a hundred feet deep. The bottom was an enormous tide pool with clear calm water gently washing back and forth.  This was Magic. The walls were dripping wet, and shimmering with silver light from the reflections of the tide pool. All over the walls crabs, snails and many large bug like sea creatures were running in all directions then stopping to stare at me with their eyes on the ends of long stalks. The sound of the waves in the distance echoed off the walls. The real treasure though lay at my feet. The water in the tide pool floor was about twelve inches deep and completely covered with Sea life. It was as though I stood on top of an enormous piece of jewelry totally encrusted with every kind of jewel imaginable. I got down on all fours and stared. Sea Urchins, tiny Eels, Star Fish, lime green Sea Grass, Snails, Crabs, little fish, and most things I didn’t even know of blanked the bottom. I waded into the icy water and was beside myself with delight. I grabbed in every direction. It was as though I wanted to embrace the whole pool. My Dad was a ways off but keeping an eye on me. It was safe in there and he knew it, so he let me play around and amuse myself. Well, amuse myself I did. Sticking my fingers in Sea Anemones and watching them close. I tried to catch little silver fish that were like swimming shards of glass. Then to my amazement I saw a little Octopus. It was only six inches wide as it sat on a seaweed covered rock changing colors.

            I spent the afternoon there among the sparkles and reflections, absorbed in all the colors of red, green, purple and black, turning over rocks to see entire colonies of living wiggling creatures. It seemed there was no end to it. Then I looked up to see my Dad peeling blue and black shelled mussels from the rocks.  We went home after that and cleaned the four inch mussels and put them into boiling water. After several minuets they opened up and I could see their orange flesh. We dropped the muscles in hot butter and lemon juice. Their salty marine flavor took me right back to that cave of jewels.

             I have returned there many times and have always delighted in observing the life in this shimmering grotto. This story has no moral or dark tale of redemption. Nothing weird really, just a wonderful experience a twelve year old boy had as he realized for the first time the power and beauty of the Pacific Ocean.