The California Coastal Commission has agreed to reconsider Carlsbad’s approval of extensive repairs proposed for a 60-foot stairway down the bluff to South Carlsbad State Beach.
The Terramar neighborhood’s concrete steps are undermined by waves and in danger of collapsing. Although built on private property, the steps provide the only public access to a small “pocket beach” popular with families and surfers a few blocks south of the Encina power plant. Beaches north and south of the pocket are accessible only during mid or low tides.
The Carlsbad Planning Commission approved the project in December. However, two Coastal Commission members appealed the decision. They contend that the plan is flawed because, among other things, it includes adding seawalls and that there could be less environmentally damaging alternatives.
At a meeting last week in Santa Cruz, the Coastal Commission found a “substantial issue” had been raised and that a hearing should be scheduled. No date was set.
“Alternative solutions did not include stabilization measures to the stairway itself or redesigning the staircase without constructing new shoreline protection or other lesser measures,” said Karl Schwing, district director for the San Diego County coast.
Carlsbad Senior Planner Shannon Harker, in a March 10 letter to the Coastal Commission, said the project is consistent with the city’s local coastal program, which the commission allows to cede some of its authority to local agencies.
“The proposed work … will both improve public safety and improve public access to the South Carlsbad State Beach, a recreational and scenic resource,” Harker said.
The city issued a construction permit for the seawall in 1996. A blufftop house adjacent to the stairway was built in 2005. Carlsbad issued an emergency permit to build a seawall just north of the stairs and below the home in 2009.
The proposal calls for repairing the step surfaces and filling in a cave that has eroded beneath the steps with concrete designed to match the color and texture of the surrounding bluffs and seawall. Any sand removed during the construction would be placed on the beach.
The work is expected to take three to five months to complete and would be paid for entirely by the property owner.
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