ENCINITAS — In an effort to stabilize the coastline, the Encinitas City Council approved a contract to move nearly three Olympic-size swimming pools’ worth of sand to Beacon’s Beach.
The $350,000 contract with Whillock Contracting of El Cajon will allow the city to relocate about 9,400 cubic yards, or 700 standard dump truck loads, of compatible sand sediment to Beacon’s (Leucadia State Beach) from a 19-acre site off Manchester Avenue near the Interstate 5 interchange and north of the San Elijo Lagoon, according to city documents.
The site at 3111 Manchester Avenue has been approved for the private development of Greystar/Belmont Residential Care, a 200-unit senior living facility.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers said that while other projects have moved larger amounts of sand, this one was worth supporting because of the location’s sensitivity and the need to mitigate cliff erosion.
“Right at Beacon’s is a very, very crucial place to put sand right now to support that seawall,” Ehlers said. “Whatever we can put there, we should.”
Whillock Contracting is currently in the second year of a three-year agreement with the city, not to exceed $90,000, for as-needed beach maintenance and general services, according to city documents. Due to the size of the project and the equipment required to complete the sand relocation, additional funding was necessary.
The $350,000 will be paid from more than $480,000 available in the Opportunistic Beach Fill Program/Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program capital improvement project budget, according to city documents.
Several projects currently under development include conditions requiring developers to pay for sand relocation when appropriate, but the senior care development site in question did not include such a requirement.
“We want to keep the sand in Encinitas,” Ehlers said. “Going forward, it sounds like we should be more disciplined in how we get our conditions attached to project approvals that have this opportunity.”
