Take Action Now! Send a prewritten letter to Oceanside city officials urging high level of funding for beach restorationΝβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 

URGENT CALL TO ACTION!

Contact Your City Leaders and Urge High Level Funding for Beach Restoration

Fellow Beach Restoration Advocates,

Save Oceanside Sand continues to partner and collaborate with the City of Oceanside to restore shoreline resilience to our city beaches through sustainable beach nourishment and retention projects.   Without proper committed and recurring funding, this goal is clearly in jeopardy.  

After observing the City Council’s budget workshop on April 17th,  SOS became concerned over the absence of, or even serious consideration given to, budgeted funds for coastal management and beach resilience projects.  As a result,  SOS commissioned a survey to determine the degree of public support for allocating funds on a recurring basis in the City’s budget for such projects.  The survey was conducted by telephone May 14 – 17, 2024 by a survey firm via professional live interviewers with a 95% confirmed level of confidence.  

A summary of the survey follows:

  • Sand replenishment is a very high priority for Oceanside registered voters. (Similar to the results of multiple surveys conducted in recent years, only the issue of homelessness ranks higher) 

  • 86% of Oceanside registered voters support sand replenishment with 91% support in council District 4.

    • Support is consistent across all Council Districts, including those without shorelines, particularly in Council District 4, establishing that the issue is of city-wide importance and goes beyond shoreline districts.

  • When posed with a $3M annual budget allocated to beach restoration, 71% of respondents would approve with a high of 77% approval in Council District 4. 

The Survey leaves no question as to the high priority placed on beach restoration by likely voters. SOS solidly supports the viewpoints expressed in the survey. We believe the City Staff and Council should ensure the budget reflects these findings. 

By failing to allocate adequate recurring funding and support for coastal management and coastal resilience projects, we risk losing the pilot project (as well as other key coastal projects). Our coastal sister cities of Encinitas, Solana Beach, and San Clemente have large and recurring coastal projects because of their commitment to establishing funds for cost-sharing of these projects.  Without Oceanside having established coastal funds on hand to show our commitment to cost-sharing, funding agencies will pass us by to team with communities willing to make this type of commitment.  To this end, SOS recommended immediate action to allocate funds in the following manner:

  1. Allocate $250,000 this year, with an increase to $500,000 annually, for Coastal Administrator support services. This investment will enhance capability in planning, permitting, and executing projects outside the scope of the pilot project, ensuring long-term resilience and sustainability.  These projects include SCOUP, RBSP3 and others.  

  2. Redesignating the β€œSand Replacement” budget line in the Capital Improvement Program budget to Sand Nourishment and Coastal Resilience Projects, and increasing the funding to $1.6 million this year, with subsequent increases to $2.5 million in following years. This substantial funding is crucial for planning, permitting, and executing projects that protect our coastline from erosion and storm surges, and that also support tourism and the local economy. 

  3. Consider allocation and/or reallocation of the City’s General Fund budget, Measure X budget and the use of the Total Occupancy Tax (TOT) budget plans to support these recommendations.   

Click here to send a prewritten letter to city officials urging high level funding for beach restoration!

Lastly, SOS recommended that Oceanside should plan and execute immediate and recurring beach sand nourishment projects in parallel with the pilot project.  This can be in the form of either working to accelerate the Regional Beach Sand Project III or by embarking on our own city-led dredging and nourishment events.  

This past week, SOS board members met individually with each council member and our city manager to strongly advocate for increased funding in this budget and recurring funding for an Oceanside shoreline resilience budget line.  The result was the following narrative added to page 3 of the staff report (Item #23), adopting the FY 2024-25 operating budget, etc.

β€œSince the Workshop, staff has identified a need for additional gopher control in parks and funding for the National Night Out event for a total of $83,000 in additional one-time costs. An additional one-time cost of $75,000 was added for additional KOCT funding, as well as $100,000 in seed money for a new Beach Restoration fund, which staff intends to supplement in the future, subject to City Council approval. 

While establishing a new fund is a step in the right direction, the committed level of funding is woefully inadequate for supporting the work ahead.  The City has a $600K amount set aside for annual dredging sand, which we didn’t use this year - that money could be immediately put in the fund.   Additionally, there is a surplus of $1.02M, some of which could bolster the Beach Restoration Fund as well.

SOS intends to continue engagement with city leadership this week.  We request  your assistance in this call to action by reaching out and contacting our city leaders via email using the link below, showing up in person to speak at the June 5th City Council meeting,  or both!    

Sincerely,

Bob Ashton

President/CEO,

Save Oceanside Sand

bashton@sosoceanside.com

(808) 429-1770

Please forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in Saving Oceanside Sand.

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Save Oceanside Sand is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization
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1831 Andy Lane, Oceanside, CA 92054, USA

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