Let Aliso Pier Fade Into History

Several years ago, Aliso Pier in South Laguna was taken down after one too many rounds of storm damage. Local environmental groups and county officials have good reasons for doubting now whether the pier should be rebuilt. Any money spent at Aliso Beach would be better used to upgrade existing facilities.

The pier took a pounding over the years from winter storms. Built in 1971, it was the focus of a recreation facilities project that included putting in a parking lot off South Coast Highway. The site covers 4.2 acres.

El Nino storms in 1983 and 1986 caused extensive damage, and then cracked concrete forced closure for more than two years starting in 1987. Reconstruction cost $1.2 million, but storms in 1997 did the most damage of any during the pier’s life.

The wave action at the pier was found to put extreme stress on any structure in that area, and the pier eventually was taken down. It began to look as if having a pier at the site was defiance of nature.

The question recently before the county has been whether to spend an estimated $5 million to rebuild a structure that keeps giving way to ocean forces. The only way to ensure a resistant pier would be to rebuild with sequoia wood, an option acknowledged by county officials to be expensive and environmentally undesirable.

While there was some sentimental value for visitors in being able to walk out to a diamond-shaped fishing area, many local residents and environmentalists questioned the old structure. Some saw it as an eyesore, and others suspected that it was an obstacle to the cleansing action of the ocean currents at the site. Aliso Beach has endured some of the worst ocean pollution along the coastline, and it needs any help it can get.

Reinforcing the pier, and then rebuilding it, has been expensive. Now the prospect of spending heavily to rebuild again is dubious. The idea received a serious setback when the Federal Emergency Management Agency turned down a county request for funds, so revenue sources would have to be found elsewhere.

Officials still are hopeful that FEMA will provide $400,000 to demolish the outmoded concession stand and restroom building and construct a new one. That kind of improvement would be worthwhile for those visiting a breathtaking spot along the Orange County coastline.