The Design Competition Jury consists of 5-non-voting, advisory members and 10-voting members from various governmental, non-profit, and institutional sectors , reflecting community, regional and stakeholder interests in the implementation of a pilot sand retention project. The Jurors applied to participate in this role, and the Jury’s composition was established to create a diverse portfolio of expertise and perspective that is beneficial to the final pilot project outcome. After the 3rd design round in December 2023, the Jury will review the final designs, and vote to select a preferred design. The Project Team, upon approval of the Jury’s recommendation, will then draft a recommendation to be presented to the City Council for final approval in early 2024. The Project Team recommendation will be informed by multiple reviews and feedback from the competition Jury, City Team, and input from three Public Workshops.

One of the core criteria given to each Design Team is to ensure that regional impacts are fully mitigated; including the potential disruption of sand flow to the south. This means that designs must propose solutions that result in an equivalent or greater amount of sand flowing to its neighbors to the south. This approach is also critical to identifying a design that is congruent with the Coastal Act and the desire to coordinate on regional solutions for coastal management.

A Scientific Monitoring Plan was developed as part of Phase 1 (Appendix D), which will be the framework that guides the monitoring program.

Southern California beaches are dynamic as a result of varying wave approach directions and energy, which makes the flow of sand and beach change a difficult metric to measure. A robust shoreline monitoring plan has been developed to establish today’s beach conditions that can be used to compare post-project effects and identify and mitigate any potential impacts

Surfing benefits or impacts will also be assessed through a complimentary monitoring program that will follow any implemented pilot project. Based upon the selected design, a robust surf monitoring program will be developed to assist with determining benefits or impacts from a pilot project.

We anticipate that beach sand replenishment will continue to be an important piece of the overall strategy for the City of Oceanside and the region, but the pace at which sand is eroding off our beaches is unsustainable – as evidenced by recent sand nourishment projects and annual sand placement from Harbor dredging. Retaining some of the sand that it replenished for longer periods of time will ensure that Oceanside’s beaches are preserved and continue to provide safe access to the public. Additionally, retaining sand will make existing sand nourishment efforts that the City already partakes in more efficient and effective.

The Oceanside Coastal Resilience Design Competition aims to surface an innovative, multi-benefit, sand retention project for the City of Oceanside’s beaches that provides both local and regional benefits. The Jury will use specific Design Criteria to evaluate the designs. The Criteria are meant to fulfill two core objectives: (1) provide limits to the scope of design for the proposed solution; and (2) generate a set of goals that design teams, and their solutions can be measured against. There are five specific categories that the Criteria address, including 1) physical, 2) financial, 3) environmental, 4) social, and 5) regional aspects of the design.

The detailed Design Criteria can be found on the City website in the Design Brief.

RE:BEACH needs your input and perspective to ensure the best possible designs are developed and considered throughout the competition! We invite you to attend one or more of the Public Workshops to get updates on the Design Teams’ work, and give feedback on what you would like to see happen on Oceanside’s beaches. In addition, after each Public Workshop we will be posting updates on the designs to this website. Join our mailing list to stay updated, and follow along with RE:BEACH on Instagram @rebeachoside.

Once a final design has been selected and approved by the Oceanside City Council the Project Team will develop final engineering plans and environmental review and permitting for the project. These steps are anticipated to take 1-2 years after a final design is selected. Funding for implementation and construction of the project would then need to be secured. Potential construction could begin as early as 2026.

RE:BEACH is a stand alone process led by the City of Oceanside to design and implement a solution for Oceanside’s coast. The City and Project Team are currently coordinating with other coastal projects being planned throughout the region that will overlap in some way with RE:BEACH in an effort to find complimentary and collaborative solutions. This also includes coordination with regional jurisdictions through the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)’s Shoreline Preservations Working Group (SPWG). However, these projects are led by other entities (not the City of Oceanside) and have their own schedule, goals, funding sources, and permitting requirements.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Oceanside Shoreline Mitigation Study is evaluating the coastal processes along Oceanside’s beaches while investigating possible erosion mitigation actions or projects. As the study progresses it will continue to develop and evaluate potential strategies. More information on this Study is available here.

The Buena Vista Lagoon Enhancement Project is in the design phase of the project, and is currently led by SANDAG and the Buena Vista Lagoon Joint Powers Committee. The overall purpose of the Enhancement Project is to enhance the biological and hydrological functions and recreational values of Buena Vista Lagoon by addressing increased sedimentation and invasive vegetation encroachment, as well as resulting declining coastal biodiversity, degrading water quality, water circulation restriction, and increased vector concerns. More information on this Project is available here.

The SANDAG Regional Beach Sand Project (RBSP) III is the third iteration of a regional effort focused on dredging clean beach quality sand from offshore deposits and placing it on the shoreline across San Diego. Over the past year, the Shoreline Preservation Working Group (SPWG) at SANDAG has been determining next steps in pursuing a RBSP III. The first necessary step is to prepare an updated Economic Analysis and Feasibility Study for all interested coastal communities. As was done with both prior RBSPs, SANDAG has recommended that the jurisdictions fund the cost of the next step to be more competitive for state and federal grants to cover the larger engineering and construction costs. Oceanside intends to remain as an active participant in all future RBSPs or sediment management efforts. The Oceanside City Council has already signed on to support its portion of RBSP III. More information on this project is available here.