New State Parks Chief Agrees Sites Need Upgrading

San Buenaventura State Beach has fallen on hard times.

Much of the sand dunes are bulldozed, the sewage system is old and needs upgrading, and the beach is dominated by a sea of asphalt.

Then there is the nearby Omer Rains bike path at Surfers Point, one of the most popular recreation destinations in the county. Over the years, the pounding breakers have chewed away at the paved path, making it increasingly dangerous for cyclists.

This is a coast that needs help, said Rusty Areias, newly appointed director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Areias toured the beach Friday at the invitation of state Sen. Jack O’ Connell (D-San Luis Obispo), who grew up riding his Schwinn and swimming at the beach.

O’Connell hoped to persuade Areias to send some of the $155 million that his department has set aside to catch up on improvements that have languished at state parks for over a decade.

It was Areias’ first visit to the county since he was appointed three months ago. After his hourlong tour of the beach and bike path, Areias left to visit other needy parks as far north as San Simeon.

The two men discussed problems as they walked, accompanied part of the time by Ventura Mayor Jim Friedman and an entourage of staff.

No decisions were made, but Areias indicated that money needs to flow to those places where people frequent state lands. And the two Ventura County sites he visited score high, he said.

Fixing what ails San Buenaventura State Beach would cost $8.2 million, said Richard Rojas, chief ranger for the 14 state-run parks in the west county.

The 30-year-old restrooms are decrepit and need replacing. Picnic grounds, built for a 1950s family with 1.5 children, need to be augmented to accommodate extended families that visit the beach in groups.

The concession stand needs an overhaul, the park wastes drinking water to irrigate plants because there is no money to connect to an irrigation system using reclaimed water, the dune habitat needs better protection and the entrance needs a make-over to attract visitors, officials said.

“It’s not meeting anywhere near its potential,” Friedman said. “It’s a sea of asphalt. It’s not a place where people say, ‘Hey, let’s go have a picnic.’ ”

The bike path, by comparison, involves less fuss. The solution is apparent: pull the path away from the coast a few dozen yards onto adjacent fairgrounds property. It is a strategy called “managed retreat,” increasingly used for threatened properties along the coast.

Trouble is, it would cost nearly $5 million to design and build. And no one knows where that money would come from. The city recently received $874,000 in state and federal funds to begin an environmental review that will precede the work.

Areias said some could come from the extra budget money the state parks department is getting to pay for deferred maintenance. A more likely source, he said, is $500 million in federal highway funds earmarked for environmental restoration projects. Projects popular with recreational users get priority.

“We’re just here to learn,” said O’Connell, the only man in a suit on a beach full of surfers and joggers, “and look at what needs to be done.”