What's next for Easton's Beach after facility demolition? Next steps start to form

The evening before Easton’s Beach’s historic carousel horses were carefully removed from their home of over two decades, a building which is slated to be demolished by the end of this June, Newport City Council voted to take the next steps to outline the future of amenities on the beach.

“This is to take the next step,” Director of Public Services William Riccio said at the council's regular meeting on May 8. “The first step, as we all know, was to try to replace everything and when we brought forward a $35 million plan, with reason, we realized we need to take a step back and figure out what’s next.”

In more specific terms, the council voted at its Wednesday meeting to approve a supplemental agreement to its contract with DBVW Architects, the firm that first detailed the poor conditions of the Easton’s Beach buildings in an April 2021 report, for them to assess the condition of the bathhouses, take a more in-depth look at the Rotunda building and develop a resiliency plan for beach facilities and beach nourishment. The addition to the contract totaled $673,720.

This supplement is the latest action the city has taken to better clarify the future of Easton’s Beach following its decision to demolish the snack bar and carousel buildings this summer. While city administration and the council had been undergoing discussions about removing the buildings since 2021, several councilors raised concerns that the demolition was going forward without a solid plan for what might replace the lost amenities in the future. The council passed a resolution in March requesting city administration and the Beach Commission develop a plan for facilities for this summer, the following summer and longer term plans for “first-class facilities” on the beach for years to come.

Previous work with DBVW Architects

This is not the first time DBVW Architects has taken a look at the future of buildings on Easton’s Beach, as Councilor David Carlin pointed out at the meeting. In addition to the conditions report, DBVW was also the firm that put together the November 2022 Planning Study that envisioned a conceptual design for new, permanent buildings to replace the carousel and snack bar facilities. The city decided to step away from that plan, as the $35 million price tag was too expensive.

With the new contract supplemental, DBVW will be looking into the conditions of the bathhouses, which were excluded from the original conditions study, as well as the restroom building, the elevated structure supporting the buildings, the elevated walkways and ramps next to the buildings, the east parking area and the adjacent seawalls. Their report on these facilities will include a cost estimate for renovations and the recommended next steps for the buildings.

Additionally, although the Rotunda building was a part of the original conditions assessment, its relatively good condition compared to the snack bar and carousel buildings spared it from demolition. However, the city is asking DBVW to develop a scope of the work that would be required to fix up and reuse the ground floor of the building, which was recently vacated by the Save the Bay aquarium.

Since two of the main facilities on the beach are already slated for removal, the firm is also tasked with developing a program for amenities at the beach and the square footage needed to provide these amenities. DBVW’s proposal to the city lists lifeguard facilities, parking, restrooms, showers, food service, the carousel, play equipment, a picnic area, and event space as all possible amenities to be included as a part of the programming plan.

Keeping Easton's Beach sandy

Finally, the firm is being asked to develop a plan for beach nourishment, a concern that was championed by Councilor Mark Aramli at a recent workshop on Easton’s Beach concerns. Beach nourishment is the official term for replenishing the sand that has been lost over the years due to erosion from the ocean waves, adding more space along the shore for visitors as well as protecting surrounding areas from the impacts of storms, according to a 2007 report from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The basic idea behind the climate resiliency benefit of beach nourishment is that more sand between the ocean and the coast slows and weakens the impact of storm waves. This is important for Easton’s Beach specifically, as the beach serves as the barrier between the ocean and Memorial Boulevard, but also Easton’s Pond, one of the city’s main sources of drinking water. While several beach communities have nourishment programs, some groups, such as the National Park Service and the University of Santa Barbara, warn against its use as a permanent solution to beach erosion, as the sand has to be continually replenished and may impact the local ecosystem. The majority of the cost of the contract supplemental is going toward development of a beach nourishment plan, to the tune of $455,000.

As a part of its scope of services, DBVW plans to host two public meetings and a public community planning workshop to engage the public with the proposed projects, none of which have a set date at this time.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: DBVW Architects hired to develop plan for Easton's Beach future