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County presents Zuma Beach living‑shoreline plan; concept includes 500,000 cubic yards of sand placement
Summary
LA County Dept. of Beaches & Harbors presented a living‑shoreline concept for Zuma Beach that would use sand nourishment and dune habitat restoration to protect infrastructure and expand public access. The conceptual plan includes emplacement of roughly 500,000 cubic yards of dredged sand and a subsequent phase of design, permitting and environmental review.
Emiko Ines, Coastal Resilience Project Manager with the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, briefed the council on a county coastal resilience initiative that includes a living‑shoreline project for Zuma Beach. The project would widen the beach by placing approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from Santa Monica Bay in a preselected receiver area and then restore and enhance dune habitat and public access features. County staff said the sand placement design must avoid marine reserve areas (Point Dume side is a state marine reserve where construction below the mean high tide line is prohibited) so nourishment would be placed on Zuma Beach and rely on natural cross‑shore transport toward neighboring beaches over time.
Ines described the broader SCOOP (Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program) permitting framework that preapproves receiver sites and enables opportunistic nourishment when beach‑quality sand becomes available. The county expects to complete the current feasibility phase and begin preliminary engineering, environmental review and permitting in the next planning phase; the county also said it would coordinate with State Parks and local stakeholders and planned a public stakeholder meeting tentatively scheduled for Oct. 20. Several councilmembers and residents asked about coordination with local dune restoration work (Bay Foundation) and potential impacts on surf and local restroom and access infrastructure; county staff said the project is large, expensive and regional in scope but is intended to sustain sandy beaches and reduce pressure for armoring.
