Environmental review still needed for breakwater plan protect the pier.
Plans to bring sail boats and sport fishing back to the Santa Monica Pier will remain alive as city officials this week secured more than $2 million for the project.
About $2.1 million earmarked to help the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rebuild the breakwater north of the pier was in jeopardy because city officials considered using the money to either offset a projected $11 million budget deficit or use it to help pay for the new Main Library.
But the project is important to elected leaders, who voted on Tuesday to keep the money intact even though it could take years before it is fully funded or completed.
With a growing deficit in the national budget, City Council members fear that federal funding will disappear if Santa Monica pulls its matching funds for the project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has committed $4.5 million toward rebuilding the breakwater and Santa Monica is required to match it. The city has currently secured only $2 million.
The breakwater project was on a list of potential capital improvements that the Council considered diverting to free up $21 million for the Main Library project. But nearly all council members agreed that the money for the breakwater should remain.
“We should keep that project alive,” said Councilman Ken Genser. “We might never get $4.5 million in federal grant money again.”
Over the past few decades, the 2,000-foot-long sea wall has slowly deteriorated, now leaving only a glimpse of it at low tide. Rebuilding the breakwater includes a harbor and dock for boats, which is required by the Army Corps as part of its funding.
The Army Corps plans to repair the existing breakwater, rebuild 900 feet of it and construct a small boulder field to restore the rocky habitat.
Not only will the breakwater provide recreational opportunities, but it also will protect the pier.
City officials believe both are equally important. Some say a boat harbor will reconnect the pier with the ocean through maritime activities. Others favor the breakwater because it can save the pier’s pilings from eroding by constant waves crashing against them. The breakwater minimizes the wave energy before it comes to shore.
Council members recalled a 1983 massive storm that came in and wiped out much of the pier.
“What’s it been, 20 years since the greatest storm of the century?” said Councilman Bob Holbrook. “The same storm will absolutely wreck the pier.
“What’s it been, 20 years since the greatest storm of the century? The same storm will absolutely wreck the pier.” — — BOB HOLBROOK Santa Monica City Councilman
“Every year we delay this, we run the risk of losing the pier.”
Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown said he remembers standing at 20th Street and Colorado Avenue, watching 20-foot-high waves wash the pier pylons down to Pico Boulevard.
McKeown said he thinks the breakwater is important because it would protect the pier and clear up confusion about activities there. The sign at the entrance to the pier advertises the area as a yacht harbor yet there are no boats.
“There is a certain flavor and attraction for that,” McKeown said.
The breakwater also is designed to protect the shoreline, said Don Spencer, project manager for the Army Corps.
The Army Corps was ready to begin the project several years ago, but the City of Santa Monica held off on completing a state-mandated environmental review, Spencer said.
Army Corps engineers had estimated that the environmental review would be completed by July 2002. However, it has again been delayed and the report may not be ready until later this year, officials said.
If Santa Monica doesn’t complete the report, certify it and come up with the necessary funding within the next two years, it appears likely that the Army Corps of Engineers will torpedo the project and use the funds elsewhere.
“If we let this money go, the project is over,” said Mayor Richard Bloom.
If installed, the breakwater would have 12 moorings, where recreational boats could dock temporarily. It would also allow some fishing boats or party boats to take people out throughout the year.
Others envision small ferries that could take people from the pier to Marina Del Rey, Malibu or Catalina Island.
But there could be significant environmental impacts, too. Studies have shown that bacteria levels are higher in areas with breakwaters because the man-made barriers prevent the ocean’s waves from washing unhealthy waste out to sea. Shoreline erosion and other environmental degradation is also possible.
Councilman Mike Feinstein said he’s never been a fan of the breakwater mainly because of the water pollution it would create.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 28, 2003. Read the original PDF.