County approves CAFR permit for 7 Presidents Park walkway; city officials flag access and view concerns

Administrator Shirley told the workshop that the county issued a Coastal Area Facilities review individual permit (referred to in the meeting as "CAFR") for a walking path at 7 Presidents Park that will run inside the park's fence line and connect the city promenade to USO Beach.

Shirley described the design as a 10-foot-wide, bike-and-pedestrian pathway with ADA-compliant crossings, high-visibility crosswalks, buffering and landscaping to reduce pedestrian exposure to nearby traffic. "They're creating a pathway that'll connect you from our promenade all the way down to their USO Beach," she said. "It's a 10 foot wide pathway." She also said the county approval applied because the project does not add new buildings or obstructions.

Committee members asked whether the new path would change public access or increase beach entry; Shirley said many beach entrances are controlled at gatehouses and that the walkway will include fencing on either side. She noted a nearby bird sanctuary and said stricter state review would apply only if structures such as restrooms were proposed.

Shirley described the county-level permit as an individual CAFR permit that generally requires less review and said permitting timelines vary—"three months to five years" was discussed during the meeting. She said she will circulate project slides and a more detailed timeline when county staging and design details are finalized.

The workshop recorded questions from council members about meter relocation, access control, and how gatehouse collections would be managed; Shirley said some entrances are locked and that county operations would handle gatehouse procedures.

The council then closed public comment and later adopted a resolution to move into executive session.