Breakwater plans docked, but a new plank could still serve boating activity
SM PIER — The tide appears to be shifting on a plan to bring sport fishing and boating back to Santa Monica.
A decades-old plan to restore the breakwater just north of the Santa Monica Pier to accommodate commercial boating and a harbor has been docked to make way for an easier and less expensive gangway that may achieve the same goal.
A gangway could be substantially less expensive than the estimated $13 million to rebuild the breakwater. In July, pier officials plan to review an economic feasibility study that could result in a potential leasing agreement that would allow operations such as sport fishing, whale watching, water taxis and environmental tours to operate off of the Santa Monica Pier. A recommendation could be presented to the City Council as early as August.
“We’ve sat on this idea for a long time,” said Ben Franz- Knight, executive director of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 25, 2005. Read the original PDF.