Sea levels rising

County examines impact to coastline, homes in future



WATERY THREAT—Waves batter the Ventura coastline at Mondos Beach during a 2016 swell. In the years ahead, experts say that rising sea levels could cost the county $156 million in annual revenue. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

WATERY THREAT—Waves batter the Ventura coastline at Mondos Beach during a 2016 swell. In the years ahead, experts say that rising sea levels could cost the county $156 million in annual revenue. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

A new study paid for by the California Coastal Commission predicts with 66 percent probability that sea levels along the Ventura County coast will rise 16 inches by the year 2060, threatening over $1 billion worth of private property and long stretches of Pacific Coast Highway.

Sections of the risk-assessment document, titled “Ventura County Resilient,” were shared with community members April 11 during two workshops, one held in Ventura and another in Malibu.

Paid for by a $225,000 grant from the coastal commission, the study began in March 2017 and looked at how climate change could affect unincorporated communities along the coastline through the year 2100, said Tricia Maier, manager of long-range planning for the County of Ventura.

“We don’t know how fast (sealevel rise is) going to occur, but we know that there will be global impacts as a result, so it makes sense to look at what the long-term costs are if we don’t prepare so we can make some decisions about what we want to do in the future,” Maier said at the Malibu workshop.

The complete study will be released in May and posted at ventura.org. To receive the findings by email, residents can sign up at vcrma.org/vc-resilient-coastal adaptation-project.

“It’s supposed to be a nonpolitical, unbiased summary of the hazards and impacts of the coast and what will happen with sea levels rising in the future,” senior planner Aaron Engstrom said in describing the study.

David Revell of Revell Coastal, a Santa Cruz-based coastal management firm, aided the county in the study, which examined the vulnerabilities as well as changes that could be made to protect the local coast from rising seas.

Ventura County has the most coastal erosion of any county in California, Revell said at the workshop.

“There’s a ton of stuff already at risk,” he said, noting the Pacific Coast Highway and $1.7-billion worth of private property.

He said sea level impacts could cost the county $156 million in annual revenue from tourism, public parks and beaches, and other local revenue from recreational activities such as fishing and surfing.

What the county should do to protect itself from this loss of coastline “depends on how much money we want to throw at it,” Revell said.

The coastline expert said Ventura County has three choices moving forward: relocate structures and roads inland, adapt to the rising seas by adding or reinforcing infrastructure, or “do nothing.”

The county plans to discuss potential adaptation methods with those living and/or working near the coast between now and December. After that, planners hope to be able to draft policies pertaining to coastal adaptation that will protect those affected by sea levels rising.

Community interest

In all, about 36 people attended the two workshops, with the bulk (30) choosing the earlier workshop in Ventura rather than the one held later in the day in Malibu, Engstrom said.

Allana Stepp and her husband, Tom White, who have lived in Malibu since 1984, were among the six or so in attendance there.

“I’m disappointed more of my neighbors are not here,” Stepp said. “I’m glad that the county actually is having these meetings for us.”

Engstrom said he hopes the workshops will start a conversation in the community regarding rising sea levels and what should be done, if anything, to prepare.

“(VC Resilient) will be used for adaptation strategies and then eventually we’ll draft some policy language for the local, coastal plan,” Engstrom said. “That’s when it really gets into regulations. That’s coming at a later time.”

Jane Carlson is the career education coordinator at Thousand Oaks High School. She attended the evening workshop as a Malibu resident with her husband, Tom. She said the workshop was important not only for the community but also for the students who will be affected by the study’s findings.

“I’m thrilled that local agencies are proactive in getting the community involved, and hopefully decisions can be made to move forward, to be proactive, be prepared,” said Carlson, who’s lived in Malibu for about 10 years.

Carlson was particularly concerned about disseminating the information she and her neighbors received at the meeting to the public at large, including those who commute to work along the coast and through the canyon.

“There are the voiceless people who maybe don’t speak English that could be living or commuting here, and are we hearing from them? No,” Carlson said. “They don’t even know about this.”

The workshop’s full Power- Point presentation can be found at vcrma.org/vc-resilient-coastaladaptation project.