Ventura County Harbor Department seeks to replace rock revetment
February 27, 2019
Ventura County’s Harbor Department will be in front of the California Coastal Commission, March 7, to discuss the repair and replacement 1,540 linear feet of rock revetment at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.
The revetment, according to Coastal Commission staff, has been unaltered since its original construction by the Army Core of Engineers in the 1960s.
“As a result of the wave and tidal action of the harbor waters, in addition to the natural settling of the rock rip rap and underlying earthen material, the rock rip rap has sloughed in areas throughout the revetment leading to erosion and loss of stability,” Coastal Commission staff stated in a report to commissioners. “The proposed repairs are necessary to restore the structural integrity of the revetment so that it can properly protect the inner harbor peninsula and associated coastal-dependent development in the area of Peninsula Road.”
Coastal Commission staff added the revetment project’s ultimate purpose is “to protect numerous public-access oriented amenities on the peninsula.”
“The inner harbor peninsula that the revetment protects supports a recreational boating marina and visitor serving and public access uses such as a hotel, public parking, and waterfront public promenade,” Coastal Commission staff continued. “Over the course of five decades following construction of the revetment, the wave and tidal action of harbor waters, as well as settling of the rock revetment and the underlying earthen material, has resulted in sloughing of the rock revetment and erosion in some areas. This shifting of the rock revetment and erosion has reduced the stability and shoreline protection afforded by the revetment. In addition, the sloughing has impaired the use of recreational boat slips at the adjacent Peninsula Yacht Marina.”
The Coastal Commission will meet March 6-8 at the California African American Museum, which is located at 600 State Drive in Los Angeles. The public hearing on Ventura County Harbor Department’s Notice of Impending Development will be held on March 7.
Coastal Commission staff anticipates the project would take six months to complete, should commissioners approve the Ventura County Harbor Department request.
The request to update the harbor’s revetment coincides with two other waterfront projects already on tap in the area. One of those planned projects is the redevelopment of Peninsula Yacht Marina. A hotel/restaurant redevelopment is also on tap.
