Oceanfront Headache: The Lagunita Seawall That Won't Go Away

Laguna Beach CA

05 November, 2021

4:10 PM

Description

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — The seawall in front of 11 Lagunitas still stands, and current owner Jerry Stanley is over five months delinquent in its removal, according to reports. The California Coastal Commission is frustrated with the lack of movement in violation of the 1976 Coastal Act. The lengthy story of the Victoria Beach 11-foot by 80-foot faux rock seawall, along with its fines by the Coastal Commission and headaches for the current over, is not yet over. Built out of necessity in 2005, the wall was permitted to protect the 1952 home from immediate threats of huge winter waves on Victoria Beach. Then-owners Jeff and Tracy Katz bought the home in 2013, with its temporary sea wall already in place, according to previous reports. By 2015, they attempted to submit significant remodeling plans. Instead, city repair and maintenance plans were approved, as was the permit for a "temporary seawall." California Coastal Commission photo of the 11 Lagunita property during "repair and maintenance" work. In 2018, neighbors alerted the California Coastal Commission to extensive remodeling at the historic property, work large enough to be construed as new construction. According to previous Patch reports, neighbors said the house was taken down "to the studs" and "all but rebuilt." The case of the Katz seawall went to court and earned a $1 million fine, which they battled into 2019. In December of 2020, that fine appellate court reimposed the fine. The Katz family has since purchased a home next door to the property in question, now considered an "investment home." According to the OC Register, no one is currently living there. Seawalls may protect homes, but they accelerate beach erosion, according to California Coastal Commissioner Donne Brownsey. Pounding waves drag sand away from the base of the walls, removing sand from already narrow beaches like this one in Laguna Beach. The Coastal Commission Attorney, Alex Helperin, tells reporters that removing this wall is "more complicated" than it seems. 11 Lagunita Site (California Coastal Commission photo). The current seawall doesn't just buffer the property from the ocean. It also provides "crucial support" to the home it was built to protect, according to Helperin."The whole house could collapse" if they just ripped it out, he said. Engineers were brought in to determine what to do next. That was in May of 2021. "We said, 'We'll let you figure out what you're going to do with the house,'" he said. Lawyers for the homeowner had planned to "raise the house," which, according to Helperin, was not part of the setback requirements. Already, the home sits at the bluff's edge, which was permissible in 1952 when the original structure was built but did not comply with current setback requirements, according to the LA Daily News report. According to attorneys, the homeowner is working with the Coastal Commission to meet the requirements. Seawalls prevent sand from reaching the beach, damaging the beaches and causing them to shrink to the point of disappearing, Brownsey said. With changing climates, this case is an important "harbinger" of challenges coastal communities face with sea-level rise, and he continues to maintain "seawalls are harmful to beaches." Read also: Lagunita Seawall Must Fall, Coastal Commission, State Court Says Seawall Battle: Family Seeks To Protect Laguna Beach Home Laguna Beach Couple Fined $1 Million For Victoria Beach Seawall Delay In Million Dollar Sea Wall Fine, Judge Says Seawall Removal Could Leave Laguna Beach Home Vulnerable