That stuff is happening more frequently in California and the state isn't allowing residents to rebuild the seawall.
Eroding bluffs could send California homes tumbling into the ocean. What can be done?
Mackenzie Shuman, John Lynch
Wed, March 13, 2024 at 10:17 AM CDT
10 min read
Generate Key Takeaways
Over the past 30 years, Tony and Marilee Hyman have enjoyed the fruits of what they describe as โ10 years of doing three jobsโ to retire in their Shell Beach dream home.
Their home on Indio Drive just north of Pismo Beach proper is perched on a bluff more than 25 feet above sea level, with a lush garden backyard standing between their living room and the open ocean.
But even as little as 10 years ago, the Hymans had more backyard than they do today. The property has been victim to pounding ocean waves and storm runoff that have eaten away at the coastline over the past few years, Tony said.
They and other oceanfront homeowners have found themselves on the front lines of a fight against the worst of Mother Natureโs appetite, and in many cases, state regulators are siding with nature on whether itโs better to protect valuable property by armoring the coast or give way to the inexorable forces of the sea.
Luckily, the Hymans already have a seawall protecting their backyard โ but their neighbor to the north, John Okerblom, was denied permits to similarly armor his property. This unprotected property has allowed the crashing waves to work their way around the back of the Hymanโs seawall and erode the bluff once protecting the side of their home.
โAs this erodes, itโs getting closer and closer to us,โ Tony said of the neighborโs property. โItโs now down to 26 feet, where at one time it was more than 50 (feet).โ
The Hymansโ property was equipped with a seawall when they purchased the property for around $1.16 million in the early 1990s, Marilee said.
She said they partnered with Okerblom about five years ago to apply for the necessary permits to extend their seawall and build one in their neighborโs backyard but have been denied by the California Coastal Commission at seemingly every turn.
On Jan. 10, the Coastal Commission sent a letter to the Hymans making clear that any future armoring of the coastline along their neighborโs backyard would be prohibited โ even if it means leaving their home at risk.
โIn light of the dangers to development at this site, we advise that you pursue courses of action associated with this site that do not include shoreline armoring, and that you start planning for next steps that might be necessary in light of such dangers at this location, including potential removal of any threatened development before it falls to the beach below and creates public hazards,โ the letter read.
The commissionโs hard-line stance against seawalls has displeased some in the Shell Beach community. Homeowners want to protect their homes from falling into the ocean while the Coastal Commission says such armoring is too harmful to the environment to justify.