Pier Review
A year-long structural assessment of the Hermosa Beach pier comes to City Council Tuesday — with a cost-benefit analysis that could reframe how the city thinks about the structure's future.
City Hall
Pier Review
A year-long structural assessment of the Hermosa Beach pier comes to City Council Tuesday — with a cost-benefit analysis that could reframe how the city thinks about the structure's future.
1 min read
The Hermosa Beach pier has needed serious structural work for years. On Tuesday, March 24, the City Council will get the most comprehensive update yet on where that project stands — and, for the first time, some hard numbers on what the pier's long-term future actually costs.
Public Works Director Joe SanClemente gave the Public Works Commission a preview Wednesday night. The news is cautiously encouraging, with some caveats.
Where things stand
The city has been working through a detailed structural assessment of the pier for over a year. That report is nearly finished and will include something that's been conspicuously absent from public discussions so far: a cost-benefit analysis weighing the current repair against what the city will eventually need to spend on the structure long-term. One commissioner asked Wednesday night, only half-joking, how much a new pier would cost. SanClemente's answer: that's exactly what Tuesday's presentation will address.
On the design side, plans are close to final. The city is simultaneously working through a permitting process that involves multiple outside agencies — the Water Board and Army Corps of Engineers are done, but the Coastal Commission is still reviewing. It recently required a biological dive assessment of the area under and adjacent to the pier, which was completed Monday. The city is pushing to get on the Coastal Commission's agenda as quickly as possible to secure the coastal development permit.
The window they're trying to hit
The target construction start is October or November — deliberately timed to take advantage of the quieter season at the pier. It's a narrow window. Start too late and you're working through winter swells; start too early and you're disrupting the summer. SanClemente was direct about how important hitting that window is to keeping the project on track.
A grant application to the L.A. County Parks and Open Space District came back unsuccessful due to competition for funds, but the city has money in the budget to proceed regardless.
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