San Clemente Locals Fight to Stop Controversial Erosion Control Measures

In March, The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) proposed a project to place walls and riprap along the San Clemente coastline. The plan is intended to counteract the coastal erosion that has adversely affected the rail line that runs through San Clemente (and indirectly lends Trestles its name). However, the proposal’s reliance on hard armoring has drawn criticism from activists and concerned citizens, who say it will actually exacerbate erosion. In response, the organization Bring Back Our Beaches has started a petition in opposition to the measure.

Since 2021, landslides and ocean waves have led to five closures of the rail line through San Clemente, reports the OC Register. According to OCTA, seven areas need monitoring and four require immediate action. The proposed solution is to add a half-mile-long retaining wall in the North Beach area and add larger boulders, in addition to the existing riprap, to other problem areas along the beach. They say the  project would cost an estimated $200 million and could be completed as early as the summer.

However, while hard armoring is a common tool for protecting coastlines, it can also be a double-edged sword. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Armored shorelines can prevent sandy beaches, wetlands, and other intertidal areas from moving inland as the land erodes or sea levels rise, but they also have the potential to eliminate habitat for marine organisms and beach front for the public by restricting the natural movement of sediments.” Instead, NOAA recommends a more nuanced approach, saying, “The key to shoreline stabilization, if it is required, is to use a site-specific stabilization method that balances the needs of the public and the needs of the natural system.”

In response, the organization Bring Back Our Beaches is attempting to stop OCTA’s proposed plan. To that effect, the group of “citizens, business owners and visitors of Orange County, California,” has created a petition in opposition of the measure.

“We urge a reevaluation of the proposed investment in these hard-armoring projects, which are detrimental to our coastal environment and beaches,” reads the petition. “Instead, we support and advocate for the restoration of our beaches through sand replenishment.”

OCTA’s proposed quick-fix measures lack long-term sustainability and would threaten to damage our beloved beaches permanently, accelerate coastal erosion, limit public access and render nature-based solutions like sand replenishment and living shorelines less viable.”

Beyond the demand that sand replenishment, rather than hard armoring, be used to protect the railroad, the petition requests that OCTA “collaborate with state and federal agencies as well as local officials from Orange County and San Clemente to develop and implement solutions that address imminent threats to our railroad infrastructure and foster resilient, long-term coastal-management strategies.”

So far, the initiative has amassed over 5,600 signatures, as of publication. It’s also gained the endorsement of some notable San Clemente locals, including Kolohe Andino, who wrote on his Instagram, “If you are an SC OG, a five-year local or vacation here or just hate idiots ruining beaches, please read the link in my bio and sign the petition. Show these rail road kooks who they are messing with… spread the word.”

The Bring Back Our Beaches petition can be found here.

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