Plan to rebuild Oceanside’s pier approach bridge and buildings under review

New details of the plans to rebuild the pedestrian access bridge to the Oceanside Municipal Pier and to replace or renovate several other much-loved beachfront plaza facilities are available for public scrutiny.

City officials have talked for several years about what’s next for the cluster of buildings, including the Pier View Way bridge and lifeguard headquarters, the Junior Seau Amphitheater and Bandshell, and the Junior Seau Beach Community Center. All are well past their intended lifespan and showing their age — just shy of a century for the bridge.

Key points of the projects are examined in the first draft of an environmental impact report the city released Nov. 20. Comments to be included in the final report will be accepted by the city’s Planning Division through Jan. 9.

“After the review period closes, the city will respond to any comments and bring the (report) to the City Council for consideration of adoption,” said Kymberly Corbin, Oceanside’s senior civil engineer. “In parallel, the development plan is under review and will go to the Planning Commission.”

After that, the city will seek a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission for both the Pier View Way bridge and lifeguard headquarters and the beachfront facilities project, Corbin said in an email.

The project also will add or relocate the mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure needed to serve the facilities, she said. The earliest that the pier and lifeguard headquarters project could be shovel-ready is 2027.

The 656-page report is intended to examine the environmental consequences of the proposal, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act.

The facilities have been in place many years, so any additional environmental effects from the proposal are few. However, the report includes many details about the design, types of materials to be used, and features to be added or improved to bring the beachfront facilities up to date.

Access to the Oceanside pier is from the nearly century-old bridge, a much-loved and often photographed city icon.

The bridge extends from the bluff-top Pacific Street across the beachfront road known as The Strand to the wooden portion of the pier. The bridge also has stairs and a ramp coming up to the pier from The Strand. The wooden part of the pier has been replaced several times, most recently in the 1980s.

Part of the bridge beneath the deck includes the Oceanside Lifeguard Service’s headquarters, an area that until at least the 1930s was a municipal dining hall.

Studies completed so far show it would be less expensive and longer lasting than a renovation to completely replace the bridge and lifeguard headquarters with a new look-alike building. The new bridge would keep the lifeguard headquarters in its present location looking out onto the beach, and it would add a three-level building beneath the bridge east of The Strand to provide additional space for lifeguard services.

Costs to demolish and rebuild the bridge and lifeguard headquarters were estimated at more than $40 million in 2022.

The community center just north of the pier is a relative newcomer. Built in 1955, it also is well past its prime.

Community meetings have indicated that most residents would rather renovate the community center than rebuild it, and that is the city’s preferred plan. The building would get all new electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems along with numerous cosmetic improvements. The costs for that have been estimated at $11.4 million.

The amphitheater and bandshell on the south side of the pier are not as old as the bridge, but also need replacement in keeping with modern seismic and accessibility standards. They would be completely rebuilt in the same place and with about the same configuration for $31.7 million.

So far, no money has been allocated for any of the construction. A portion could come from Measure X, a half-cent sales tax approved by Oceanside voters, and the rest probably would be from grants.

Copies of the draft report are available on the State Clearinghouse website, the city’s website, and in hard copy at City Hall and both Oceanside library branches.