Planning commission reviews draft EIR for Ocean Beach adaptation; staff flags unavoidable traffic and habitat impacts

Planning department staff on Jan. 6 presented the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the SFPUC’s Ocean Beach Climate Change Adaptation Project and asked the Planning Commission to comment on the document’s adequacy and accuracy under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Julie Moore, the department’s environmental coordinator for the project, said no approval was requested at the meeting and that written comments will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2022.

The draft EIR describes a multi‑agency strategy along roughly one mile of South Ocean Beach, from Sloat Boulevard south to the Fort Funston bluffs. Major components include managed retreat in places, long‑term beach nourishment, removal of rock and rubble revetments, construction of a buried wall to protect wastewater infrastructure (including the Lake Merced Tunnel), removal of some pavement, and a multi‑use trail with plazas, restrooms and coastal access parking. The project would permanently close the Great Highway between Sloat and Skyline Boulevards to public vehicular traffic while retaining a service road…