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Committee backs Western Shoreline LCP amendment to address coastal hazards at Ocean Beach
Summary
The committee forwarded a local coastal program amendment that adds coastal‑hazard policies including managed retreat south of Sloat to protect Ocean Beach, critical infrastructure and public access; planning staff said the change follows years of public and interagency work and requires Coastal Commission certification after local approval.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee voted Jan. 8 to send to the full Board a local coastal program (LCP) amendment to the Western Shoreline Area Plan that adds objectives and policies addressing coastal hazards, sea‑level rise and erosion affecting Ocean Beach and adjacent public lands.
Planning staff explained that the Western Shoreline Area Plan serves as San Francisco’s local coastal program under the California Coastal Act, and that the plan — last amended in 1986 — needs a coastal‑hazard section to guide both near‑term responses (including managed retreat south of Sloat Boulevard) and longer‑term standards for the coastal zone. Staff said the amendment was developed through a multi‑year process that included grant support from the Ocean Protection Council and repeated meetings with the State Coastal Commission and local stakeholders.
Speakers from the Surfrider Foundation’s San Francisco chapter supported the amendment and urged attention to erosion drivers and related planning issues, including concerns about recent development at the zoo bluff and the need to plan for relocated parking consistent with the Ocean Beach master plan. A community group (SPEAK) asked staff to consider a U.S. Geological Survey study on sand mining contributions to erosion and a Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary review that could affect waters off San Francisco.
Supervisors thanked staff and community participants, noted the amendments’ focus on protecting public access and infrastructure, and moved the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation. Planning staff and supervisors reminded the committee that local approval will be followed by submittal to the California Coastal Commission for certification; if the Coastal Commission rejects or requests modifications the local approval process would need to restart.
The committee’s recommendation advances the city’s efforts to incorporate projections of sea‑level rise and coastal erosion into land‑use planning for the western shoreline and Ocean Beach.
