HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Wants Help in Preserving Bluffs

The ocean bluffs in the northwest part of the city are endangered because of weather and wave erosion, and city government is considering asking the federal government for help.

A resolution to be considered tonight by the City Council asks the Army Corps of Engineers to help stabilize the bluffs on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway, north of Golden West Street.

Louis F. Sandoval, director of public works, said in a recent staff report that about 1.2 miles of bluffs along the shoreline are threatened by the constant erosion. “This erosion, if left unchecked, will destroy existing (street) security lights, safety railing, and the bike trail,” Sandoval said. “Ultimately the bluff face could erode far enough inland to preclude the full use of Pacific Coast Highway.”

Sandoval urged the council to pass the proposed resolution. He said it is the necessary first step toward engaging the Corps of Engineers in solving the erosion problem.

The area suffering erosion is the northern gateway to the city, bordering on Bolsa Chica State Beach. Until recent years, the bluffs were pockmarked with oil rigs and littered, unkempt open land. But during the mid-1980s, the city began making a landscaped park on the bluff tops, including a bike trail. This year, the city persuaded the last oil company still active in the area to remove its derricks from the bluffs.