Update 11 a.m. Monday: An item was added to the commission’s agenda for its meeting Wednesday. The board will consider beach bulldozing amendments.
Original post:
Sponsor Spotlight
The state Coastal Resources Commission meets at 1 p.m. June 8 by web conference to consider a variance request to add oversize sandbags to an existing structure in a 10-lot Sunset Beach subdivision.
The public may join the meeting online or phone by calling 1-415-655-0003. Use access code 2432 940 8070 and password 1234. The sandbag variance is the only action item on the agenda.
Petitioners, the Palm Cove homeowners association and owners in the 10-lot subdivision, are seeking the variance. Located on the east end of Sunset Beach, five of the lots are developed with homes. An access road built in 2005 bisects the subdivision.
Erosion along the northern shoreline of the project area has increased in recent years. In early 2020, a 6-foot by 20-foot sandbag wall about 1,000 feet long was permitted and developed along this shoreline as a temporary measure, according to the Division of Coastal Management.
The existing sandbag revetment runs east to west along the eastern channel of Jinks Creek.
Sponsor Spotlight
The division denied the application in December because the proposed sandbag structure would be larger than rules allow, leading to the petitioner asking for this variance.
Division staff say granting the variance would be consistent with the spirit, purpose, and intent of the rules, but recommends that the commission consider adding conditions that any sandbags that are above grade must be removed within six months following the completion of any future project to address erosion in the area — such as a channel realignment — and that the sandbag wall be limited to an overall maximum height of 12 feet, regardless of the location of mean high water.
