BEACON to hold Meeting on Sediment Deposit Operations at Goleta Beach and Carpinteria Beach

By the City of Goleta

The Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment (BEACON) will hold a public meeting this Friday, March 17, at 9:00 a.m. both in-person and via Zoom. BEACON is a California Joint Powers Agency established to address coastal erosion, beach nourishment and clean oceans within the Central California Coast from Point Conception to Point Mugu. The member agencies of BEACON include the Counties of Santa Barbara and Ventura as well as the coastal cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Ventura, Oxnard and Port Hueneme. The BEACON Board is made up of two Supervisors from each county and one Council person from each coastal city for a total of ten. Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards is the representative for the City of Goleta and the BEACON Vice Chair.

On the agenda for the March 17 meeting are presentations on Science of Regional Sediment Management and 2023 Emergency Beach Sediment Deposition Projects at Goleta Beach and Carpinteria Beach which are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. The Board typically meets every two months at the City of Carpinteria City Council Chambers, but this meeting is available for the public to attend in-person at one of six locations on the Central Coast, including Goleta City Hall. If you are not able to attend in-person, you can join via Zoom here.

The full agenda, including all six in-person locations, is available here.

The presentations will cover recent science activities supporting Regional Sediment Management and related Sea Level Rise Adaptation. There will also be a summary from the Santa Barbara County of Public Works and Flood Control District on the 2023 Emergency Beach Sediment Deposition projects at Goleta County Beach Park and at Carpinteria City Beach undertaken by Santa Barbara County Public Works.

Regional beaches, including regional recreational dry sand beaches, are at increasing risk of loss. The best available science estimates that 1/3 to 2/3 of regional beaches will be lost by the year 2100 without heightened intervention and management actions to address the threatened landscapes.

Regional beaches have been threatened with coastal erosion for decades requiring interventions, including large scale harbor dredging and creek and stream sand excavations, including debris basin clean-outs.

Since 2019, BEACON has been working more closely with Santa Barbara County officials and city officials to undertake additional analyses of regional sediment and coastal beach ecology to support improved management strategies and actions. BEACON is eager to continue to work with a broad community of participants to develop and implement the best Regional Sediment Management system with the best coastal resource protections and community multiple benefits, acting in partnership with Santa Barbara County, the cities of Goleta and Carpinteria, community stakeholders, local affected residents, and the public.

Comments may be submitted via email to Staff@Beacon.ca.gov prior to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Additional information can be found in the agenda here.

To learn more about BEACON, go to https://beacon.ca.gov/.