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UPDATE: Breakwater Report Coming Monday, Councilmembers Taking Sides by Ryan ZumMallen | Archive | 06.18.10 |
+  Long Beach City Councilmembers Robert Garcia, Patrick O'Donnell, and Gerrie Schipske3:00pm | Long Beach Government Affairs Manager Tom Modica has issued a statement that the Army Corps will release their long-awaited report on Monday, not today as previously expected. The report will indicate whether or not there is Federal interest in pursuing reconfiguration of the Long Beach Breakwater. If so, and the City Council approves the plan to move forward, the Corps will begin a feasibility study that will cost the City of Long Beach $4 million and could last up to four years to complete. Modica said that as of now, the City Council still expects to discuss the item during Tuesday's meeting. Need more breakwater? The Long Beach Art Theatre is hosting a breakwater film contest tomorrow and a long-awaited documentary called Mother Wants Her Beauty Back will be making its premiere there at 12:00pm. Visit arttheatrelongbeach.com for more info, and click below to see the trailer. Mother Wants Her Beauty Back Preview Two from Grant Eads on Vimeo. 9:45am | Though the presentation is still five days away, it's almost a foregone conclusion that the Army Corps of Engineers will reveal their support for an extensive study of reconfiguring the Long Beach Breakwater during next Tuesday's Long Beach City Council meeting, and some are beginning to take sides. The feasibility study will be a thorough, detailed examination of the options and potential benefits that reconfiguration will provide to the ocean and shoreline of Long Beach, taking up to four years and costing the City of Long Beach about $4 million. The two camps that have begun to form consist of Bring waves back to Long Beach and We don't have $4 million. Councilmembers Robert Garcia and Patrick O'Donnell sent out a joint press release yesterday, calling for support of the feasibility study and encouraging supporters to spread the word by attending the Council meeeting. "This will be a historic vote, and decide the future of our local beaches," reads the statement.  It also touts the benefits of cleaning up local water quality and restoring waves to Long Beach, two ideas that another Councilmember - the 5th District's Gerrie Schipske - says will not be included in the feasibility study.Schipske posted on her personal blog late last night that not only does the city not have the money, but "The Army Corps of Engineers is not willing to include in its study the very thing the City was interested in finding out about: 'economic analysis and wave monitoring and water quality.'" Well, no, the Army Corps will not include wave monitoring and water quality in the study that will likely be released today. That report will probably only express whether or not the Federal Government has an interest in moving forward. But those aspects will be central to the larger feasibility study - the one that Long Beach will be asked to pay for - should the City agree to move forward with it. Regardless, Schipske reminds readers that the City cannot afford $4 million for the study, let alone the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars that would be required when a construction plan is presented. She suggests putting the issue to the voters in a ballot measure this November that would ask whether Tidelands funds should be used to fund the study. "I am no longer convinced that spending money on a study (that now does not include water quality, economic analysis and wave monitoring) is prudent," she writes. We are awaiting comment from Councilmember Schipske. Meanwhile, the Long Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is encouraging their large group of supporters to attend the City Council meeting and spread the word about reconfiguration. The Army Corps report is expected to be released sometime today. We will have the report and analysis available as soon as it has been released. Where do you stand on the issue? Follow the LBPOST.com on our Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages. Click here to read our policy on covering the Long Beach City Council.
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30 Comments so far.
Money The port has the money and should pay for this project. The LA River was redirected for the port and the Pier J expansion is a significant reason the water doesn't circulate. The port should not only pay for the study but also the eventual reconfiguration. Correction for Ms. Schips The Army COE did agreed to use the city's economic, wave, and water quality analysis in the upcoming Feasibility Study. At least that is what the memo says on Ms. Schipske's blog. Nice concept but Nice concept but to much money in this time of budget limitations. I say the Council should just say no this time. And the surfrider foundation should limit their mob action to ONLY LB residents. We don't need more OC, West LA and Santa Monica yahoos telling us what is best for OUR city. hey hey, too much money we don't have. people that do studies always recommend doing studies. I have never heard of any of them not recommending a study. We need a water treatment plant at the end of the river. terry spend money to make money. bettering our water quality and bringing waves back will boost our local economy greatly. we need something like this to put us back on the map. @Nice concept but Reconfiguring the breakwater is specifically for the benefit of LB residents. Dave in Alamitos Beach I don't think we can afford NOT to do the study. This is the easiest financial decision to make. Dan The Long Term Benefit of a clean beach is HUGE. Economically speaking there is NOTHING the City of Long Beach has in its arsenal that would match a clean beach with waves. The economic benefit is astronomical revenue which would be generated by huge capacity in hotels, restaurants full and tourists spending dollars. Schipske is so small minded it is ridiculous as she cannot look past her hand at economics. Spend the money! Grant Eads The most comprehensive film about surfing history in Long Beach, local surf culture, and the facts surrounding the Long Beach Breakwater is premiering Saturday, June 19, 12pm at the Long Beach Art Theatre on 4th Street as part of the Surfrider Foundation's Film Festival. It's FREE, brews will be in hand. Just bring and open mind your eyes ready for entertainment. dbakerlaw Schipske is right. We don't have the money. But more importantly, lowering the breakwater will not accomplish the goals of cleaning up the water or creating surfable waves. It will, however, endanger the homes on the Peninsula, lower the local property tax base when those homes become uninsurable, and thus unsellable, and cost the city a lot of money down the road when, due to rising sea levels, homes on the Peninsula are damaged and lawsuits are filed against the City for its role in this goofy plan. The Corps of Engineers has acknowledged that they are going along with O'Donnell's group because "That's what the community wants" and not because it makes sense. The Corps of Engineers guidelines include a requirement that they consider rising sea levels in all future projects, so it is likely that after wasting this money the report will conclude that the Breakwater should be retained in its present state in order to protect shoreside development. That_LB_Guy You can't just say NO because of the budget issues of Today! This is a four-year-long process. Who's to say that the budget will not be better over the 4 years. If the Police Dept and the Fire Dept cut back on half the OVERTIME, the money would be readily available. And, we must remember that portions of the $4million can be in "in-kind" services. That being the case, the bill will be much smaller than $3million. With that in mind, the City Council owes it to its over 500,000 residents to investigate the ability to INCREASE ALL PROPERTY VALUES in LB. Focusing on the notion that property values in the Peninsula MAY BE diminished IF the Breakwater is COMPLETELY removed is not a good enough reason to forego this opportunity to study the PROPER RECONFIGURATION of the Breakwaterl!! observer Taking down the breakwater isn't going to make the litter that comes down the LA River go away. We need to address the real problem upstream rather than spend million of dollars to just let the trash mix around a little more. DoYourResearch $4 million for research that will increase tax revenues by billions in long run plus dramatically increase the quality of life for all is a great investment. Besides if the city has $9+ million that will only benefit Naples residents and a small percentage of outsiders who enjoy that community every great once in a while then they have the money to research the greatest improvement in LB's infrastructure. Jon I'm tired of reading fact after fact only to have morons spout off "there's no money" or "the ocean will destroy all peninsula homes". I'm just so tired of all those lies. If you have an argument then provide some facts for them or shut up. Go do some research, read up on the subject, then come back and tell us what you found. Just like a question on a written math test, if you can't explain your answer then it does not count. BoatingNSurfingLB Why weren't these people screaming we don't have the money during the Naples Seawall topic? Huh? Where were they last week? First the opposition said the Peninsula would be destroyed, once the studies presented a situation where that would not happen, then there was the stupid argument that the Port needs the breakwater, it then came out that wasn't true. Then some boaters came up with some dumb argument that boaters needed the breakwater. So far that has got to be the dumbest, boaters NEED a breakwater? Should we build a breakwater to Catalina? Now you're saying we shouldn't spend the money on this GREAT INVESTMENT which will pay back in a huge way in the long run. Why are you really against this, just to be against something? Why do you hate this great idea so much? HIN @Jon: You are so correct. We even have councilmembers not doing their homework. The study clearly will include "water quality, economic analysis, and wave monitoring" yet we get quotes like the one in the above article. I'm tired of it too. CHARLIE Your right, Jon, but it sounds like City Council will be going ahead with the Corps study - Thank God; And it'll be another four years plus before the reconfiguration could even be started, meanwhile back at the ranch, you still have that LA River dumpping all it's crap into Long Beach waters, problem, that still needs to be dealt with a solution NOW, eh eh eh? PDQ They need to be sure to include something about how they'll handle all the tourists, surfers and Long Beach residents who come to the beach. They certainly won't all be walking, biking or taking the bus. They'll need parking, restroom facilities, restaurants, etc. I can hardly wait to see how those who live along the shoreline react to having to share it with the masses. Jon Yes, the new visitors will need parking, which the city make money off of, some will even need a hotel room, which the city will also make money off of through hotel taxes. Oh, and they'll need a place to eat, which again the city will make money off of sales tax. Many will enjoy their time here so much that they'll want to move here, that will increase property values, which will increase property taxes, that the city will make money off of. But it'll become more expensive, so the stipend those section 8 residents get may not be enough, and if they're not here police services will not be as in demand, which the city will make money off of. And hey, if there are no more government checks coming in, I guess the landlords will have to fix up those ratholes to attract tenants that pay there own way. Plus I can walk down the stairs to tower 9 and surf. I can't wait to share it with the masses. Joan I agree with Terry. We need to clean up the LA river and our beaches to revive our tourist trade. If you clean it they will come and bring their money with them. Joan Oh, yes my son keeps making this point. Now is a good time for Long Beach to look for tourists because the oil spill has dirtied the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. As I said before, if you clean it they will come! Jon We need to do both, clean up the river AND reconfigure the breakwater, to maximize this resource. The water here is not as warm as say Florida's to just float around in without waves so even if the water was clean the beach will still not be a big enough draw. Do both, clean up the river and reconfigure the breakwater. Joan Yes to the above. And what about the LA River bike path? It would give a lot of impetus to the West side if it ended in a nice park. It's only by developing the Westside that we'll ever see a sustainable downtown Long Beach. We need every tourist we can get. By the by, people actually do swim in downtown Long Beach. A couple of 4th of Julys ago I met a young man on the Blue Line who came down regularly and swam at our local downtown beaches. And he hadn't dissolved! Long Beach needs venues for the poor as well as for the rich and hoity toity. Isn't that what capitalism is all about--getting a few dollars from the masses? Downtown Dweller Ryan, if possible, could you tell us how much the city spends each year to clean up our beaches after it rains, and the total amount spent, since the breakwater was configured? Also, could you tell us the average number of beach visitors pre-breakwater and post-breakwater? I agree w/ also mitigating the trash issue related to the LA River, so in tandem w/ lobbying for our breakwater to be modified, the community should be lobbying the continued efforts to clean up the LA River. paul "I am no longer convinced that spending money on a study (that now does not include water quality, economic analysis and wave monitoring) is prudent," she writes.Schipske. How much "study" did she do about economic costs with her plan to bus into town, everyday, almost 100 homeless mental cases. The word and thoughts, "Prudent" are not in her soul. Eagle Eye I'm no expert, but whatever gets us clean water and waves. Clean water should be the first priority, and the second should be the waves. I'm all for cutting spending, but in THIS case, we are investing in something that will actually increase revenues in the future. That's quite a distinction from 99% of other government spending. Dave in Alamitos Beach I had thought that Gerrie Schipske might be a good mayor, but she has dragged her heels at every turn with breakwater reconfiguration. She is becoming a major obstacle. I think now I will direct my money more towards Robert Garcia & Patrick O'Donnell. Talking about lies How about the lie that "wave action will clean the beaches"? This is just fiction - look at Dockweiler Beach. I guess it is fine if you swim in wet suits. Paul Before you decide, look at some other beaches. The north end of Carpenteria Beach has houses at the high tide mark. They built a rock jetty directly in front of the houses. The jetty is a private board walk for the homeowners. The beach crowd has their beach. Everybody got something. Or look at Rincon, the point there gets waves like we will never see. Again houses at the high tide mark. I have never seen any of those houses wash out to sea. Check it out. Waves build up sand. They don't take it away. P. Kelly The breakwater is located on an area known as the 'tidelands.' It is owned by the state and the decision as to what to do with it was delegated to the City by a statutory grant. The money that went to build the breakwater came from the Port, as will the money that will be used to re-model it. The Tidelands Fund was designed to finance projects such as this. Thus, the money will not come from the City. The main worry would be that it will affect Port operations. But if the study says that it will not, then we should believe them. But do not believe the hype that there is no money to finance this. The Port's revenues are held in trust for the people, not for the shipping and distributing companies, to be used for purposes of 'navigation, commerce, recreation, and the environment.' In that sense the City has the duty to clean the tidelands. If the Harbor Department (who is elected by the City of Long Beach) allows for the use of money to fix our beaches, then it is about time they do so. These are our beaches!
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Ryan ZumMallen has served as the managing editor of the LBPOST.com since 2007. He graduated from CSULB with a degree in Print Journalism in 2008 and is a member of the 2009 class of Leadership Long Beach. You can find him on various basketball courts around the city.
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