County Employee's Email Contradicts Last Year's Commitments

The following email was sent from a staffer for Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to local residents on November 12, 2013. It completely contradicts assurances [about the permit expiring] and commitments [about involving the community] that were made by the same staffer in December 2012.  You can contact Zev's office here to let him know how you feel about this, though you may want to take anything they tell you with a healthy dose of skepticism:

The Department of Beaches and Harbors will be constructing the Venice Beach seasonal sand berms beginning in early November.  The berms will be substantially the same as in previous years, and no changes are proposed that would warrant another round of discussion.  The purpose of the berms was explained at our meeting last December, and the same reasoning continues each storm season.  

The berms are covered by a Coastal permit which is up for renewal next year.  The Coastal Commission understands the critical need to protect public resources and supports the County’s seasonal sand berms on Venice Beach as well as several others under our jurisdiction.  All conditions of the permit are followed, including the presence of a biologist on the beach during construction, to ensure that environmental concerns are heeded and habitat protected.  As I am sure you are aware, Venice is a fully urbanized beach, and could never be returned to a fully natural state without banning public use.  As such, the beach and its support system must be properly and responsibly maintained.

I have included below the written response [redacted] received from [redacted] of Beaches and Harbors just prior to our meeting last year.  I trust this will help refresh everyone’s memory of the County’s duty to protect beach access and amenities for everyone that wishes to visit the coast.  There is ample evidence that beachgoers easily access the water during the winter months, and many enjoy the uniqueness of the berms for the short time they are up.

Should there be any significant change in the County’s seasonal sand berm program, the department will  communicate with the surrounding community as appropriate.

Thank you,

[redacted]