The report below is adapted from from ActCoastal, a campaign to protect California’s coast by bringing transparency and accountability to the actions of the California Coastal Commission — the independent state agency responsible for protecting the coast and the public's right to access and enjoy it. Surfrider staff track and comment on issues before the California Coastal Commission at its regular meetings which occur in a different city each month.
ActCoastal Meeting overview
On May 13, 2026, the Coastal Commission approved the City of Ventura's application for rock armoring across 600 feet of public beach to protect the Promenade near Surfer's Point. The City has been armoring this stretch of eroding beach since at least 2011 with no long-term plan, and the beach has paid the price. Fortunately, the Commission used this CDP as an opportunity to require the City to draft a long-term hazards plan that evaluates feasible alternatives to armoring, which offers a glimmer of hope for the beach’s future.
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| Ventura Promenade project 2026 |
The City of Ventura's Promenade, constructed in 1969, is a pre-Coastal Act beachfront walkway that has been increasingly threatened by wave attack over the last quarter century. The approvals included formalization of previous emergency armoring, placement of additional armoring, drain repairs, and the replacement of a damaged beach access staircase among other promenade improvements.
Combined, the two permits authorize approximately 2,668 cubic yards of rock across 600 linear feet of existing revetment on the beach, roughly a third of the promenade's total length. Notably, the City's own consultants identified 900 linear feet of revetment requiring proactive attention, meaning additional armoring requests may be forthcoming.
Surfrider's Concerns
Surfrider has voiced concerns about riprap placement at this site since 2001, when the City floated the idea for riprap that was eventually placed in 2011. Chief among those concerns was that the City had not adequately considered impacts to public beach access and recreation. Fifteen years after the riprap was placed, history has proved Surfrider right. The beach continues to erode, dislodged riprap takes up ever more beach space, and the staircase and promenade foundation are hammered at high tide, necessitating emergency repairs and, now, additional armoring. This cycle of armoring and beach loss continues with no long-term plan and is happening steps away from the Surfer's Point managed retreat project, the gold standard in sustainable coastal adaptation.
Surfrider opposed additional armoring but did support the Commission's conditions for it. Most significantly, the revetment additions are authorized for a limited 10-year period only, after which the City must return with a long-term hazards management plan that evaluates feasible alternatives to continued armoring. That plan must harmonize with the City's forthcoming Beach Management and Adaptation Plan, which will guide long-term coastal adaptation for the downtown shoreline. Surfrider requested that both planning processes include meaningful public participation opportunities, and staff agreed, revising the conditions accordingly.
Surfrider also requested that the staircase replacement be moved to a safer location or set landward of the existing structure rather than merely prohibited from extending further seaward, but staff declined, citing extensive design coordination already completed. Apparently the city abandoned prior plans from 2011 which included relocating the stairs and adding a rinse-off shower at Paseo de Playa.
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| Ventura Promenade Repair plans, 2011 |
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| Previous plans to relocate stairs, 2011 |
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| Stairs @ Ventura Promenade June 13, 2026 cobble buried bottom stairs following large south swell |
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| Ventura Promenade June 13, 2026 prior riprap to be retained (A above) |
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| Stairs @ Ventura Promenade June 13, 2026 prior riprap shifted down onto beach curiously this zone is outside the permitted work zone (D above) |
The Coastal Act reserves emergency authorization for genuinely unforeseen situations
Lastly, Surfrider requested that any additional armoring requests be wrapped into the existing 10-year authorization period established here, and that any additional emergency armoring requests be denied outright. The Promenade has required armoring for over a decade, including multiple rounds authorized via emergency permits. Wave damage along the Ventura Promenade is a predictable consequence of maintaining hardened infrastructure on an eroding shoreline. Surfrider will be watching, and will challenge any additional emergency armoring at this site that attempts to bypass the careful planning standards the Commission established here.
Stay informed
Ventura's Local Coastal Plan Update will contain the city's plan for adapting to sea level rise. This includes a specific "Beach Adaptation and Management Plan" (BAMP), which will likely touch on long-term options for the promenade area. Surfrider advocates that the BAMP should rely on nature-based adaptation and retreat as much as possible to preserve healthy beaches and coastal access!
To keep informed on the City's process, subscribe to the LCP mailing list.
Source: ActCoastal Meeting Overview, San Pedro, May 2026
On this blog:
Ventura Promenade repairs, July 2010
Ventura Promenade repairs, May 2011
Promenade Emergency Repairs, May 2020
Surfers' Point emergency revetment, Feb 2016
C-St Ventura - cobble and erosion Dec 2015
