City, State, and Federal agencies continue to carry forward the ideas in the Ocean Beach Beach Master Plan (OBMP) which charts a course for adapting to sea level rise and coastal erosion.
The San Francisco Planning Department is releasing draft policy language for an amendment to the Local Coastal Program focused on concepts from the OBMP, and invites the public to a workshop on November 17th to discuss the proposed amendment.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is working to implement the coastal management approach outlined in the OBMP, which combines managed retreat, beach nourishment, and low-profile hard structures where needed to protect critical wastewater infrastructure. These concepts were detailed in our engineering report, published last year. The PUC has received a coastal development permit for six seasons of softer measures like sand placement and sandbags if needed, while the long-term approach is implemented. To that end, the SFPUC is now conducting a formal Alternatives Analysis Report, looking at both the OBMP concepts and other approaches, as detailed in its recent annual update to the Coastal Commission. The AAR is expected this winter, and sets the stage for further action.