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May 9, 2002 Cardiff Reef is a surfer's dream and coastal engineer's nightmare: a State Park-owned beachside parking lot right on the sand next to one of Southern California's most celebrated and consistent waves. Perfect for barbeques, frisbee, and checking the surf; not so good for longevity. It was inevitable that the lot would start eroding, and the storm surf of the '98 El Nino tore out big chunks of beach by the lot's driveway, destroying the entrance kiosk. Since then, it's been one of the only areas in SoCal where SUVs could conceivably kick into four-wheel-drive. Last year, the State Parks department decided the best solution would be to build a small retaining wall parallel to the shoreline to protect the kiosk and the south end of the parking lot from further storm damage. "It's not a sea wall," John Quirk, Chief Ranger of the San Diego Coast State Parks Department quickly pointed out. "I don't want people to get the wrong idea. It would've been a subterranean sheet piling, and hardly ever been above the water." But any coastal armoring near a renowned surf spot, whether it's called a seawall or not, is bound to meet with some serious criticism. California surfers haven't exactly benefited much from coastal structures, and, hell, Cardiff Reef is a damn fine wave already -- why even risk it? Any kind of hard structure parallel to the beach has the possibility of creating backwash in the wave. The San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, led by chairman Marco Gonzalez, started a campaign in early spring to raise awareness about the possibility; an April 22nd surf film benefit in La Jolla raised over $7000 for the cause and former Longboard World Champ and Cardiff local Joel Tudor was quoted as saying, "It's ludicrous to ruin a surf spot that gives everybody so much happiness. You can't put cement where the ocean is meant to be." Last week, due to a combination of public pressure and budget cuts, the State Parks Department decided to shelve the sea wall idea -- for now. "We're going to do minor improvements to the parking lot and the kiosk sometime this summer," explained Richard Risner, State Park's landscape architect and Cardiff local. "But if we get another El Nino next year, we'll just have to rebuild it again." And as Dave Skelly, coastal engineer and Surfrider member points out, "what happens if -- or when-- the parking lot erodes all the way back? Do you think Caltrans will bother to consult surfers about how to protect Highway 101? No way. They'll just throw something in there, and it could be a lot worse than a small sea wall -- I don't think it would've significantly affected the surf anyway, though of course it was worth further study." But as Chad Nelsen, environmental director for the Surfrider Foundation, maintains, every time surfers have a voice in coastal issues, it's a victory. "I'm glad to hear that the Park Service is listening to the voice of the local surfers who use Cardiff State Beach more than anyone else," he said. "Beach access -- including parking -- is very important, but the defense of a parking lot with a seawall just isn't worth the risk of potentially altering this great surf spot." --Marcus Sanders  |
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