Sales tax hike for San Clemente beach, wildfire projects qualifies for the ballot
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An effort to increase San Clemente’s sales tax rate by 1% to fund coastal erosion and wildfire prevention projects has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
The San Clemente Natural Hazards Protection and Resilience Act of 2026 seeks to boost the city’s general fund by $15 million a year, which amounts to a 17% increase.
On Tuesday, the San Clemente City Council considered putting the initiative on the ballot after the Orange County Registrar of Voters verified the citizen-initiated petition had gathered enough valid signatures from registered voters.
“Whether or not the initiative passes,” City Manager Andy Hall said, “these are things we need to be thinking about in our future.”
San Clemente’s beach is eroded, expert tells city officials, but future sand projects are on the way
Coastal Administrator Leslea Meyerhoff gave a ‘state of the beach’ presentation to the San Clemente City Council. While the city’s coastline has suffered historic erosion, a slew of sand projects could restore its beaches.
Last month, a “state of the beach” presentation given by San Clemente’s coastal administrator described the city’s vanishing beaches as a “critical erosion problem.”
A 2024 ballot measure effort sought to establish a special fund for sand replenishment projects, like those at the pier and at North Beach. Measure BB proposed a 0.5% sales tax increase.
But since the City Council initiated the measure, it required a 67% threshold to pass. Voters narrowly rejected the sales tax increase that year.
Cameron Cosgrove, a Measure BB campaign leader, responded by circulating a petition in August for a new ballot initiative. Since the renewed effort is citizen-led, the measure would only require a simple majority vote in November to pass, not the supermajority threshold.
“This was something that resonated with people,” Cosgrove told the City Council about the petition. “It gave a voice to what people were already thinking. It just offered a practical way forward.”
The proposed sales tax increase would have a 10-year sunset, which could be renewed by voters after eight years.
A staff report reviewed what the sales tax increase could fund, if passed, for educational purposes.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing a decades-long sand replenishment project around the pier, has a cost-sharing agreement with San Clemente that obligates the city to cover half of the expenses.
The project’s first phase, which was completed in late 2024, cut San Clemente a break as the city was responsible for only 35% of the associated costs.
State funding covered most of that obligation.
“The problem is, the state right now is [in] worse fiscal condition than it was when we started this project,” Hall said. “We’ll just have to watch and see what’s happening. One of the things we want to watch for is [if] we need to start finding revenue sources for the Army Corps project.”
San Clemente needs to set aside about $2 million annually to meet its obligations for each successive phase of the sand replenishment project that comes every five to six years.
The city has also funded a $2-million emergency sand project at the severely eroded North Beach on its own. New tax revenue would allow the effort to continue.
San Clemente council members approved a number of items to strengthen its weed abatement efforts to be better prepared for wildfire threats.
A key difference between this year’s proposed ballot initiative and Measure BB is the inclusion of wildfire protection funding after the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County.
Projects like hazardous vegetation management and trail facilities would account for the 50% of the new tax revenue collected, should the measure pass.
Some residents voiced opposition to upping the city’s sales tax from 7.75% to 8.75%, which would otherwise exclude grocery and medication purchases.
Amanda Quintanilla questioned the need for the new sand funds as the Orange County Transportation Authority has planned to bring 540,000 cubic yards of sand to San Clemente’s beaches as part of an overall effort to hard armor its coastal train tracks.
“The SCOUP permits at the county level are [also] in the works,” she added. “That can be giving [sand supply] to any beach in Orange County, even to private beaches.”
Before councilmembers could decide on whether or not to put the measure on the November ballot, Hall flagged an issue regarding how the ballot measure would appear in a voter guide.
“One of the things that’s been confusing is who qualifies to write an argument in favor or against the measure, and who qualifies to write a rebuttal for that, if any,” he said.
Hall referenced state election code that positioned petitioners as being able to write arguments in favor of their ballot measure while legislative bodies could only field arguments against it.
Measures put on the ballot by legislative bodies have a wider range of discussion.
“The plain language is clear, some of the case law is not,” Hall said. “I’m asking — because we want to be absolutely clear about who can or cannot write an argument for or against, and who can rebut — for a little bit more time to study, if that is possible.”
Councilmembers unanimously agreed to continue the discussion, which will resume at their scheduled May 19 meeting.
