How To Save Capo Beach? County Must Come Up With Solution By 2021

CAPISTRANO BEACH, CA — The pounding surf is a steady, constant reminder that the shore is a gift the ocean intends to take back. A small group of south Orange County residents is working with Orange County Parks to ensure that Capo Beach, their slice of the coastline, is not taken from them any time soon.

On Wednesday that work was under question at a California Coastal Commission hearing. In the meeting, the CCC addressed the County’s application to approve rip rap boulders, sand cubes, and other temporary mitigations installed in the past few years. Many times, the measures were put in place on an emergency basis, as the county seeks to protect what’s left of the beach while completing a Master Plan due in 2022.

Capistrano Beach, part of the City of Dana Point, is contained in County-owned Capistrano Beach Park. This section of the South Orange County shoreline sits between Doheny State Beach to the north and Poche Beach to the south.

To Capo Beach residents, as well as visitors from inland Orange County and beyond, this beach is one of the few that allows people to drive right up to the water’s edge, park for free, and enjoy recreation and respite along with gorgeous views, according to resident Toni Nelson.

The beach itself is at risk of eroding away. In jeopardy are about 200 beachfront homes, sewer and storm drain infrastructure, plus the railroad and PCH immediately behind. The erosion threat is "very real," Nelson says. She founded the Capo Cares resident watchdog group that focuses on securing their beach for generations to come. County engineers say the beach suffers a 50,000 cubic yard annual sand deficit. "Something must be done to save it," she says.

Two years ago, Capo Beach suffered massive damage due to storms in the region. No match for the relentless ocean, a row of stately palm trees fell. A popular boardwalk was reduced to splinters and restrooms and a popular basketball court had to be demolished.

In years past, this area housed the Capistrano Beach Club and a public swimming pool built by the Doheny family in the 1920s and demolished in the late 1960s.

According to Nelson, the Club was once protected by a wooden sea wall. Remnants of that wall are now visible, revealed by recent erosion. A century-old coastal trail traces the coast from the harbor down to Cotton Point at low tide. The Capo Beach section of that trail is in jeopardy, steadily eroded along with what was once a wide swath of beach. At one time, the beach was supplemented by over 2 million cubic yards of sand deposited in 1970 after the Dana Point Harbor construction.

That sand lasted four decades, but without replenishment, the beach shrank, according to Nelson. Most evidently after 2010.

How to fix it has long been the question.

This week, the California Coastal Commission, after two hours of testimony, voted 8-2 in favor of giving OC Parks more time to figure out how to save this stretch of coastline. They have two years to finalize their Master Plan and will be required to come back for reevaluation in one year.

The CCC is tasked with working with stakeholders to develop a better solution than emergency "armoring" measures that have become the norm. Those huge boulders and giant sand cubes are all that stand in the way of saving the beach and parking area—one of the few handicap-accessible beach access points in south Orange County.

Nelson released a petition earlier this year, supporting the Orange County Parks for doing what they can to halt the destruction. "While we recognize that coastal erosion will continue, we applaud OC Parks for their willingness to spend public funds on reasonable efforts to keep this path intact for the next few years or more so that our kids and grandkids can continue to enjoy an uninterrupted path to both beaches for as long as possible," Nelson wrote on her petition site. "Without this path, pedestrians would be forced to climb a bridge and hike along busy PCH to travel between these popular beaches. Bicyclists, families with strollers, and the disabled would have NO uninterrupted access."

Those boulders and sand cubes, according to the Surfrider Foundation, will perpetuate erosion. Spokesperson Mandy Sackett called for the beach to be returned to its "natural state" with a "living shoreline" of cobblestone, sand, and native plants, as it was before the beach club, the courts, and the parking area.

"What are we really saving here? A beach or a parking lot?"Sackett said.

According to Nelson, the Surfrider Foundation's call for immediate removal of protections along with the entire sidewalk was "shortsighted and reckless."

"We all want environmentally sensitive solutions, but a narrow sand berm with native grasses is no match for wave action that can move boulders and toss concrete benches like toys," Nelson said during the meeting. "This is not only a beloved beach but a vital buffer protecting the critical infrastructure that has no retreat options. Saving Capo Beach saves so much more than a beach."

Homeowners along Beach Road privately own a little slice of land that Commissioner Mike Wilson wants to "look at" for walking, jogging, and bike path.

Decision-makers are left with difficult choices ahead for Capo Beach residents, surfers, and beachgoers for the next two years as a Master Plan is developed. "This is a classic example of the present and future impacts of sea-level rise," Vice-Chair Donne Brownsey said during the meeting. "Clearly, (OC Parks) is committed to this community, committed to try and find the right solution to find an answer to an unanswerable question – which is going to face so many of our communities up and down the state."

Read:

Clean up Begins at Capo Beach Park – Again

Capo Beach Lovers Seek To Preserve Historic Coastal Trail