OCEANSIDE — The city continues to advance its RE:BEACH pilot project after the City Council approved nearly $700,000 in additional funding last month for further studies and analysis to complete the initiative’s second phase.
The council unanimously voted on Dec. 18 to increase the contract with GHD Inc., the project’s prime consultant, to nearly $3.3 million. Hired in early 2023, GHD has spearheaded the second phase, which included a design competition for innovative concepts appealing to residents.
In January 2024, the council approved Australian firm International Coastal Management’s “living speed bumps” concept, allowing staff and GHD to proceed with the second phase. The plan involves constructing two small headlands with an artificial reef between them, a project set to take place along the coastline near Tyson Street Park and Wisconsin Avenue.
Additional funds will support enhanced engineering and modeling to refine the final design. Specific allocations include:
- $24,000 for a sand bypass feasibility study to explore transporting sand from the harbor or areas further north, like Camp Pendleton.
- $50,000 for landscape architecture and programming to integrate the project with the existing coastline.
- $345,000 for advanced numerical modeling to evaluate how the artificial reef design interacts with the shoreline.
- $279,000 for detailed engineering design and cost estimates due to the reef’s complexities, which exceed initial planning resources.
Oceanside Coastal Zone Administrator Jayme Timberlake stated that GHD and International Coastal Management, the Australian firm behind the “living speed bumps” idea, will collaborate on the sand feasibility study, which is expected to take four to six months.
Charles Bowen of Save Oceanside Sand, a local advocacy group, urged the council to approve the funding, emphasizing the regional significance of the project.
Bowen said that soft costs remain within 10% of the estimated $30-50 million construction costs and highlighted that much of the additional funding comes from federal COVID-19 relief funds, which must be allocated by the end of 2024.
“Oceanside RE:BEACH project can potentially pave the way for an innovative sand retention and beach restoration solution that could be adapted as needed in our city as well as the region,” Bowen said. “The beach is important to Oceanside – it always has been and always will be – therefore, it needs to be a top priority for the city to fund RE:BEACH and follow through by completing the project.”
