Cameras installed to monitor beach for Oceanside’s sand project

Oceanside has installed cameras to monitor surf conditions, sand movement and more at the site chosen for a multi-year pilot project to restore the city’s eroding beaches.

“The baseline monitoring program … called Surfline Coastal Intelligence, or SCI, captures existing surf conditions and tracks use (i.e. surfers, beach goers),” said Oceanside’s Coastal Zone Administrator Jayme Timberlake in an email Friday.

“Camera data can be analyzed via machine learning algorithms in order to produce a count of surfers and beach users, as well as provide data for surfing, including the length of a ride (distance and time), speed, peel angle, and number of turns,” Timberlake said.

Surfing is a vital part of Oceanside’s culture. The information collected will help determine how more sand might affect the size and shape of waves, as well as where on the beach they break.

“By utilizing existing Surfline cameras and installing new cameras (three have been installed at the reef location within the project area), a baseline for surf resources in the local area can be gathered,” she said.

Information about the monitoring program and other aspects of the Re:Beach sand replenishment and retention project were presented Thursday at a public scoping meeting for an environmental impact report to be prepared be the city’s consultants.

“The scoping meeting is the first of several chances that the public will get an opportunity to weigh in on (people’s) wants and desires from the Re:Beach Project environmental assessment,” Timberlake said.

The city has been working several years on an independent pilot project to place as much as 1 million cubic yards of sand along a six-block segment of beach between the ends of Tyson Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

Sand replenishment is hardly new for coastal cities with eroding shorelines. However, the Oceanside project includes what would be a novel approach for San Diego County — adding artificial headlands and an ocean reef to help keep the sand from washing away again.

Skepticism has been widespread about building hard structures to hold sand on the beach. People at the scoping meeting said they were eager to see what the environmental report says is likely to happen in Oceanside.

“What would be the trade-offs” between conflicting goals such as surf conditions and sand transport, asked Jim Jaffe of the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

Another person asked how much the California Coastal Commission, which regulates coastal development, would be involved.

Coastal Commission staffers play an advisory role, said Nick Larkin of Recon Environmental, Inc., one of the city’s consultants. And before construction begins, the project will need a coastal development permit from the commission.

For years, the Coastal Commission opposed the construction of hard structures such as jetties, groins and seawalls on beaches. Studies show they can cause erosion in places outside the areas protected and stop the migration of sand to places nearby that need it.

Yet as coastal erosion increases and the need for sand grows more dire, the commission’s staff has altered its position.

“We will continue to work with the city and encourage their creativity,” said Kate Huckelbridge, the commission’s executive director, in a 2023 discussion of the Oceanside project. “It’s exactly the approach that we want people to take, to bring all the ideas to the table as we are trying to figure out how to adapt to sea-level rise.”

In April, the commission approved a $1.8 million grant to cover the costs of baseline studies for project.

Total costs are expected to be more than $50 million and so far remain largely unfunded. Multiple permits and approvals will be needed from local, state and federal agencies.

Re:Beach has strong support from many Oceanside residents and the local group Save Oceanside Sand.

“The beach is our identity, our economy and our life’s blood,” said Charlie Bowen of the SOS group at the scoping meeting, adding that the city has taken “a science-based, sustainable approach” to its erosion problem.

Scoping comments will be accepted through Nov. 17 and can be emailed to Timberlake at jtimberlake@oceansideca.org.

The next step is the preparation of a draft environmental impact report, which could take up to a year. The release of the draft EIR opens a new 45-day public comment period. Those comments will be addressed in the final EIR.

Construction could begin in 2028 if funding becomes available.