Plans to truck sand from offshore Manhattan Beach to the eroding Broad Beach in Malibu has been a hot topic of discussion in the community, but it can now lay the issue to rest.
According to Sheri Pemberton, the legislative liaison of the California State Lands Commission, Broad Beach homeowners notified the commission Tuesday that they have ruled out Manhattan Beach as a potential sand source for their restoration project.
Pemberton said the applicants did not provide a reason for withdrawing consideration for Manhattan Beach.
Mayor Wayne Powell said he met with the Broad Beach homeowners last week to express City Council’s disapproval for the project, citing concern for potential adverse environmental impacts on Manhattan Beach.
“I told them and their attorney to expect a real fight, the likes they have never seen, along with a flurry of adverse publicity,” Powell wrote in an email. “I’m very proud that Broad Beach followed my advice and have withdrawn their proposal.”
The Broad Beach Restoration Project, as the proposal is officially known, is headed by a group of 124 homeowners living along the beach. It intends to protect existing homes from ongoing coastal erosion and provide a “wide sandy beach” for both public and private use, according to a commission document. The project is slated to cost about $20 million.
The proposal, currently under evaluation by the commission, calls for about 600,000 cubic yards of sand to be imported to Broad Beach from a nearby site. With Manhattan Beach out of the running, the remaining project areas under consideration include the Trancas sediment deposit site off of Broad Beach as well as Dockweiler State Beach and Ventura Harbor.
