Beacons Money Going to Moonlight

painting by karenvlok

From the mail inbox:

They are using the seawall issue as a reason to pull 2 million from Leucadia and put it towards a concession stand, new bathrooms and a new sheriff substation at moonlight beach.

If you care about your beach, your home value, and quality of life in Leucadia; you had better plan on writing an email to council, calling council or speaking at the council meeting this Wednesday night. Contact info is below. This should get your blood pumping. If you care about the grommets of Leucadia, please Act Now!

The City Staff is proposing to move $2 million in available funding from Improvements at Beacons Beach Access to Moonlight Beach at this Wednesday night’s council meeting.


This is a huge issue for Encinitas, especially Leucadia. Leucadia Mainstreet and SPA should be all over this one. Beacons is 1 of only 3 coastal access points from our mainstreet and all of Leucadia. It is the heart of Leucadia…. Its 33% of our access and by far receives the heaviest use. Why do you think our mainstreet is special? One hint, its not our gorgeous rail road corridor……. As you all know Its the coast and beach access which is why we all live here. The current access from Hwy 101 to Beacons beach is extremely dangerous.

Link to Staff Report:

http://archive.ci.encinitas.ca.us/weblink8/0/doc/659500/Page1.aspx


Just read the staff report. This is insane. It sounds like staff may have presented a seawall was a “must” at beacons and that is why the state is not approving the plan. Many things are needed at Beacons. A seawall may or may not be one of the needed items, but we can all agree that many higher priority items are needed. You could debate the seawall issue for the next 20 years, but we don’t have too… You don’t see a seawall at moonlight beach now do you? Yet our City has spent millions and is proposing to spend Leucadia’s $2 million dollars at Moonlight beach….. One thing for certain is Beacons needs serious pedestrian access improvements, bicycle improvements, and landscaping improvements. Is the state against those improvements and aren’t they in conformance with the Leucadia State Beach General Plan?

$2 million dollars would provide for much needed pedestrian, bike, parking, landscaping and trail improvements. I feel their comment about cost to benefits received is off mark. I believe that comment was made in regards to the extensive cost for the seawall and rebuilding the entire bluff…. If we get a big storm, moonlight will be underwater and will suffer major damage more so than Beacons. Why don’t we push a big berm of sand up in front of Beacons each year, like we do at moonlight?

The beach access from Hwy101 up to Beacons is so dangerous that our family, and many others ,that live less than ¼ of a mile feels we have to drive to the beach to safely transport our children to our local beach. I see many other families doing the same. Even adults drive because they feel the walk is so unsafe.

As I said, the two million dollars could provide much needed access improvements to access Beacons beach. Improve the pedestrian access from Hwy 101 up leucadia boulevard to Beacons beach, improve the pedestrian space, parking and landscaping on the top bluff of beacons and trail improvements to make the trail more functional and stable without proposing a seawall. The access up Leucadia Boulevard is a liability hell hole that is waiting for a disastrous result. Why would they pull much needed money from our Leucadia’s beach with the greatest needs for safe beach access and give it to the City’s most maintained and improved beach access?

The grant was originally approved of the much needed Beacons Access. Don’t let it die do to the never ending debate about the need, costs, and liabilities of seawalls. From the states letter it sounds like staff may not have understood their initial constraints or direction of the grants. Why don’t they propose some improvements at Beacons that the state would approve? What improvements at Beacons beach would the state approve? Have those questions been asked to the state administrators and what’s their answer?

I bet with $2 million dollars of improvements, Beacons will much safer, encourage more pedestrian and bike access to our local beach, and look like a respectable Encinitas Beach similar to any of the other City Beach access points or view overlooks. More pedestrian and bike traffic means less car traffic to beacons, and less pollution to our ocean means a healthier Earth and a better Encinitas.

Lets keep the money at Beacons and ask the state for cooperation and direction on what type of improvements are consistent with the Leucadia General Plan.

I respectfully request Council recommend forming a subcommittee including a few councilmembers, a few parks and recreation commissioners, a few Hw101 Mainstreet Representative, and a few Seacoast Preservation Association members, along with Staff and the State Staff. I know we could provide a functional and feasible project that would meet the beacons state beach general plan and would greatly improve Beacons Access and by doing so would improve the quality of life for all in Encinitas.