Beachside owners fined for violations
The owners of a seaside apartment complex in Pacifica will pay $1.45 million in penalties after a state agency said they failed to maintain the seawall and public access stairway to a local beach and carried out unauthorized construction at the site in an attempt to fix it.
Board members of the California Coastal Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the settlement agreement with a group of companies affiliated with OceanAire Apartments, which sits on properties at 100 and 101 Esplanade Ave. in Pacifica.
The owners’ violations varied from dumping boulders that weighed up to 6 tons on the beach, grading and trenching the land and blocking public access to the beach — all without a coastal development permit, according to a report from the commission.
“Having a public hearing on an item like this with a serious resolution and a serious amount of penalty sends a message that people need to take their (California) Coastal Act permit requirements seriously,” said Lisa Haage, chief of enforcement for the commission. “We’re hoping this kind of casual response wouldn’t happen in the future.”
The public access stairway to the beach ultimately collapsed in December 2016, in part due to winter storms, high tide events, structural issues and a lack of maintenance on the part of the owners.
Dave Goldberg, an attorney representing OceanAire Apartments, said at Thursday’s meeting that work is already under way to restore public access to the beach in the next few weeks, with more permanent fixes expected in the coming months.
“This enforcement case is somewhat atypical,” Goldberg told commissioners. “Enforcement here did not rise out of an affirmative act to obstruct or remove access, rather, the events that gave rise to the obstructions to access arose from an unfortunate combination of severe weather events and — based on
(owner) FPA’s informed knowledge and belief — contractor error in constructing the seawall.”
In the five months after the stair collapse, a commission report stated, repeated requests from staff to restore public access went ignored. The commission said it received a response only after informing owners in June 2017 that the agency opened a violation case.
The properties’ principal engineer responded that the storm caused seawall damage and did not warrant an investigation.
Both parties started exchanging information, but the owners of the properties did not go through with the commission’s requests to provide more information and develop a plan to mitigate the violations, according to the report.
Instead, without seeking permits, the property owners began construction on the site at the end of October 2017 in an attempt to make the repairs. They did not contact the city of Pacifica, nor the commission.
The apartments, originally known as the “Land’s End Apartments,” were permitted by the city in 1972 with a requirement that the owners build and maintain a public access stairway down the coastal bluff.
It’s not the first time the stairs have given way. They washed out from erosion in 2004 and again in 2008, which closed access through 2010.
Commissioners, aware of the ongoing erosion and bluff instability, issued a permit in 2013 permanently authorizing construction of a stairway and seawall. It included conditions to provide for potential erosion, structural failures and maintaining public access.
The commission could have fined owners $11,250 per day for each violation, which would have led to a $5,220,000 fee for one violation alone. The OceanAire Apartments are owned by FPA Multifamily; FPA/WC Lands End LLC; and FWC Lands End LLC. Trinity Property Consultants and Redwood Construction manages the complex.
Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network, said the case highlights the importance of keeping the coast clear.
“It’s always a reminder that you have to be vigilant when it comes to coastal access in our great state,” she said. “There’s always a situation that arises. Sometimes it’s out of mal-intent, sometimes it’s not, but it’s always happening.”