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Mayor: city, NPS and PUC planning to move 200,000 cubic yards of sand at Ocean Beach
Summary
The mayor told the Board of Supervisors agencies are crafting a plan to relocate sand along Ocean Beach, shifting material from areas of excess to eroding sections to protect infrastructure and improve access; the proposal still requires public outreach and approvals.
At the Board of Supervisors' question time, the mayor described a coordinated plan by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Department of Public Works and the National Park Service to relocate roughly 200,000 cubic yards of sand along Ocean Beach.
Supervisor Chiu asked about repeated closures of the Great Highway caused by sand encroachment; the mayor said the highway was closed "for more than 65 days this year" and noted the problem was "up 40% this year over previous years." He said agencies have identified a potential "soft" solution: moving sand from an area where dunes have built up in front of the O'Shaughnessy seawall to a southern area that is eroding, constructing a dune to serve as bluff protection and improve beach access.
"We could move sand from one part of the beach where we have too much of it to another part of the beach where it could have some real benefits, including protecting some of our wastewater infrastructure," the mayor said, adding the project could be cost-shared with the National Park Service. He said the partners have "sketched out what the project could look like" and plan public outreach; with public support they could complete environmental planning over the summer and "move the sand in either late summer or early fall." The mayor described the measure as a "soft solution" preferred over hard revetment.
The mayor also reiterated the city27s commitment to implementing the Ocean Beach master plan recommendations. He asked supervisors for continued engagement as the plan moves into public outreach and regulatory review, noting that next steps include approvals from the National Park Service and the California Coastal Commission.
Why it matters: The Great Highway's repeated closures affect coastal access and traffic and threaten wastewater infrastructure. The relocation plan would be a large, ecosystem-scale operation requiring interagency approvals and environmental review; the mayor framed it as potentially saving money through cost-sharing and delivering both infrastructure protection and public-access benefits.
What27s next: Agencies will undertake public outreach, pursue required approvals and consider completing environmental planning over the summer if public feedback supports the concept. Moving sand could occur in late summer or early fall pending approvals.
