Jamie O’Brien, with Aliso Creek at its fullest. Photo: Screenshot
The debate about whether boardriders should be able to manually breach the sand berm to surf a standing wave at Aliso Creek has, once again, bubbled to the surface. Laguna Beach City Council included the topic of an Aliso Creek estuary restoration on the agenda of a January 23 meeting. The issue attracted many stakeholders within the berm breaching discussion to attend and voice concerns.
Ultimately, the City Council unanimously decided to allow the estuary restoration project to continue with a concept review particularly focused on the hydrology of the watershed. A definitive decision on the fate of the project will be taken at a later date when more data is available. The restoration project doesn’t explicitly say that boardriders breaching the berm would be outlawed. In fact, Assistant to the Laguna Beach City Manager Jeremy Frimond specifically said the sand berm and the estuary project are being treated as “two distinct matters.” However, if the estuary restoration is approved, all signs seem to indicate that it would be a setback for surfers’ desire to continue manually breaching the berm as they please.
Ed Almanza, the Vice Chair of Laguna Ocean Foundation – the driver behind the estuary restoration – gave the presentation to the City Council. When reached for comment, he did not definitively confirm or deny if manually breaching the sand berm and the estuary project can coexist.
“The restoration seeks to restore natural ecosystem functions,” said Almanza. “That means, among other things, restoring the natural processes that affect opening and closing of the berm. Members of the project’s science team think some divergence from historical conditions can occur under restored conditions without compromising the functions of the ecosystem. We are doing further studies of coastal processes and the effects of restoration on the berm. Results of those studies will be available during the environmental review process.”
The years-long berm debate heated up again in December when local videographer Greg Viviani posted a viral Tik Tok video of a $100 citation he received for breaching the berm. The dispute is centered around how the creek’s sand berm should be managed. The main proponents of manual breaching are the local boardriders (who have started a petition with 7,200 signatures) and Aliso Beach homeowners. They say that the breaching of the creek is inevitable, reduces bacteria build up, protects beachfront homes, and is necessary due to the increased urbanization of the cities upstream. The opponents, most notably the Laguna Bluebelt Coalition and surf industry magnate Paul Naude – the CEO of Vissla and President of the Surf Industry Members Association – say that breaching the berm unnecessarily pollutes the ocean and that other measures should be adopted to reduce urban runoff and clean the creek. (For a comprehensive review of both sides of the argument, read our December 8 story on the topic.)
While the City Council agreed to let the estuary project continue in its conceptual phase, the sentiment emanating from the council members varied. Notably, Mayor Sue Kempf clearly expressed her lack of enthusiasm for the project and its associated costs, which were estimated to be around $20 million USD.
“Clearly (the city is) going to have to make a financial contribution (to the project),” said Mayor Kempf during the meeting. “We just have so many other priorities. This is not one of them. This is one of the problems we have here in this town. We put our fingers into too many things and we can’t manage them all. Unless we got one 100-percent of the money from grants… it’s just money we don’t have.”
When reached for comment about the sentiment expressed by the mayor, councilmember George Weiss underlined that approval for funding is voted on by the body as a whole, not just the mayor.
Alex Rounaghi, the Laguna Beach Mayor Pro Tem, reiterated several times that until the question of if the urban runoff from the seven cities that make up the watershed upstream can feasibly be reduced, the rest of the points are rather irrelevant.
“The question that I need a good answer for is how we are going to essentially be able to go backwards in time with urban runoff,” said Rounaghi. “If we are not in a position of having the (urban runoff) reduced to an extent that having an estuary can work here, then any other conversation even about funding (and) the other issues at play… just (seem like) a moot point.”
Almanza rebutted Rounaghi by giving the floor to Laguna Ocean Foundation’s hydrologist Nick Garrity. According to Garrity, preliminary hydrology analyses show that “restoring vegetated wetland in the estuary is feasible.”
One of the most vocal opponents of the berm breaching, Laguna Beach Bluebelt Coalition Co-Founder Mike Beanan, wasn’t fazed by any potential obstacles presented at the meeting.
“We’re up to the challenge and environmental protection has always been an uphill battle…until it is not,” Beanan told the Inertia. “We have seen this with (Marine Protected Areas) so there is a strong sense that the Aliso estuary restoration will proceed as the City Council learns more about its many benefits as a unique coastal wetland protecting ocean water quality.”
Viviani, who has become the de facto leader of the boardriders, acknowledged that no great strides were made in either direction following Tuesday’s meeting.
“It’s not a win, it’s not a loss, but it’s more of a wash,” said Viviani. “There are more steps that have to be taken. Everybody needs to gather more info and data for the City Council before anyone makes any type of decision. But I believe we still have a chance to dig this berm and ride this river wave.”
The fate of the world-renowned standing wave at Aliso Creek has been pushed back to, at least, a later date in 2024. Since Viviani received his citation in early December, surfers have dug out the berm several times with no resistance from city officials. So, until any specific city ordinance is decided – if ever – we will likely continue to see people manually creating the wave. And even if the estuary project is approved, Almanza’s comments, while vague, seem to imply it would not necessarily require a complete ban of manual berm breaches.
Viviani has a hunch that the questions presented in the meeting will eventually lead to the restoration project’s dismissal. However, both Almanza and Beanan see the challenges as normal parts of the process. For now, we’ll have to sit tight for any definitive resolution to the issue.
