Sand Replenishment Flooding to Appear on Jan. 23 City Council Agenda

Problems resulting from last fall's sand replenishment project will appear on the Jan. 23 City Council meeting agenda, City Manager Gary Brown said Wednesday.

It is not yet known if an ordinance will be proposed, if City Council will receive a report from staff or how sand replenishment will be placed on the agenda, Brown said.

The public is free to attend the meeting and comment.

A final copy of the agenda will be released Friday, said City Clerk Jacqueline Hald.

The regional planning agency SANDAG brought 450,000 cubic yards of sand to the IB shoreline south of the pier for a sand replenishment project last fall.

The sand is at a higher elevation than the beach, but water pools in the sand during high tide in what some have come to call a lake or lagoon. Over time, waves battering the sand are expected to deplete current elevation and return the beach to its natural grade.

But since the project concluded last October, residents have complained about water flooding parking garages, seeping out of Seacoast Drive sidewalks and elsewhere. Some residents are concerned about damage to elevators and even home foundations.

Bulldozers working for SANDAG were on the beach multiple times last December and earlier to regrade, push sand against sea walls and dig a hole to catch the water before it reaches homes and condos.

Last week, city and SANDAG crews hit the beach to dig trenches and try to drain water back into the ocean as IB saw its tallest high tide of 2013. Click here to read more and see photos by local residents.

Additional options may be considered in the future, Assistant City Manager Greg Wade said last week, like regrading again or moving some of the sand north of the pier.