Comment Period Extended for Broad Beach Restoration Project

The public comment period has been extended until December for a project that aims to import sand in order to protect threatened homes and septic tanks along Broad Beach.

Any comments, concerns or questions must now be received by the California State Lands Commission by 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, according to the agency's website.

More time was given because of requests for more time and the likelihood that the State Lands Commission will not hear the project until next year.

The project is expected to provide relief between 10 to 20 years for up to 114 threatened homes, spanning from Lechuza Point to Trancas Creek in Malibu.

The plans call for dredging sand off the coast of Broad Beach from the Trancas deposit, which lies outside the littoral zone, which is closest to shore, said Dan Gira of AMEC Environment and Infrastructure, the consulting firm preparing the environmental documents for the project.

“We’re relatively confident it won’t actually affect the onshore beach areas or surf conditions," Gira said at a recent public hearing. 

The fine sand from the Trancas area would be used to create sand dunes, as wildlife habitat, and would be placed over an existing, emergency rock wall that was rushed into place several years ago to protect houses.

Plans also call for possible dredging in other locations with courser sand off Manhattan Beach, where the City Council has publicly opposed the project; off Dockweiler Beach near Marina Del Rey; and a regularly dredged area near Ventura Harbor.

About 500,000 cubic yards of sand would be scooped from a 27-acre, L-shape plot about a half-mile off Manhattan Beach, according to an initial analysis, which considered six sites off Manhattan Beach.

To get the sand to Broad Beach could take up to 500 barge trips and 270-small vessel trips, he said.

Other sources include a stockpile near Calleguas Creek in Ventura County. To move that sand would require 50,000 dump trucks to travel down Pacific Coast Highway to the site, according to Gira.

In the fall, the plans call for the use of large scrapers and earth movers or possibly trucks to move sand from the sand rich part of the beach back up to the west end, Gira said.

Environmental groups have already questioned whether the project will impact surf along Zuma Beach and other parts of western Malibu.

A public hearing on the project's Analysis of Impacts to Public Trust Resources and Values document was held earlier this month at Malibu City Hall.

Comments can be emailed to Jason.Ramos@slc.ca.gov (with "Broad Beach Restoration Project Comments" in the subject line), or sent by mail to: Jason Ramos, environmental scientist, California State Lands Commission, 100 Howe Avenue, Suite 100-South, Sacramento, CA 95825.