San Clemente asks residents to help pay for replenishing city beaches

To address coastal erosion that has been washing away San Clemente’s beaches for years, the City Council voted Tuesday to place a sales tax increase on November’s ballot to help pay for sand replenishment. 

If the measure passes, the current sales tax would increase from 7.75% to 8.25%. The city estimates it will generate around $6.7 million annually.

The money will also be used to maintain the San Clemente pier, improve lifeguard infrastructure, and repairs for trails and stairways leading to the coast.

The money, though, might not be enough. City officials anticipate it will cost San Clemente about $10 million a year to improve and maintain the beaches.

Officials will seek to close the funding back by tapping county, state and federal resources. The city has a sand replenishment project in the works with the US Army Corps of Engineers to place about 2 million cubic yards of sand on the beach between T Street and Linda Lane. The federal government is footing 50% of the bill for that project.

How did we get here

Because of the lack of sand, San Clemente’s North Beach no longer has a lifeguard tower and the playground and volleyball courts have been closed. Satellite imagery also shows a receding beach at Cotton Point.

A study from the University of California, Irvine showed that new sand dumped at beaches can result in the sand not washing away and instead widening the beaches.

In 2024, the city dumped around 250,000 cubic yards of sand on San Clemente’s beaches, but the city needs around 5 to 7 million cubic yards to fully restore the shoreline.