Save Trestles talking points and reminders

Here’s an update on the Department of Commerce’s September 22 public hearing on the Toll Road at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

To speak, you must submit a written request that needs to be received by Sept. 12 – two days from now. Email submissions are not accepted. The request, with your name and address, needs to be mailed to:

Thomas Street, NOAA Office

of General Counsel for Ocean Services

1305 East- West Highway, Room 6111

Silver Spring, MD 20910

There’s also an awareness demonstration Sunday, September 21st at 9 am at 2185 San Elijo Ave., Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007. Meet at the corner near the Patagonia store.

In addition, here are some talking points drafted by Surfrider and sent to me by Bob Mignogna, pictured here.

Water Quality: As it stands now, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board uses Trestles as its baseline for clean water. This is evidenced by fact that Trestles is one of the few breaks in Orange County (if not Southern California) where you can surf directly after a rain event with any margin of safety. However the current plan calls

for the construction of a six lane toll road project that will run both in parallel and through the San Mateo Creek Watershed (the principle watershed for the break). Given the massive amount of concrete and hardened surfacing involved, this project will have a profoundly detrimental impact to the creek and nearshore water quality. One only need to look at nearby San Juan Creek (approximately 7 miles to the north) and its perpetually polluted water to see the potential for harm.

Quality of surf: The ultimate impacts on the quality of surf are somewhat more difficult to predict, largely because these impacts may take generations to fully realize themselves. Worth noting however is that both an independent engineering study and the California Coastal Commission’s own staff report found that the project did in fact pose a risk to the quality of the surfing resources at Trestles; due largely to the projects impacts on the transport of sediment to the break.

Aesthetics: Similar to the contrasts between surfing town and the North Shore, Trestles is all about the experience. From the meandering sycamore-lined path in, to the view from the water, to the 11 endangered or threatened species that call San Mateo Creek home – all play a significant part of what makes the Trestles experience unique. Ask yourself, how would 14 story high-rise hotel directly across from Pipe or Log Cabins affect the vibe and experience of living/surfing on the North Shore?

External issues: It would be negligent not to reiterate all the other compelling reasons – the loss of 60% of San Onofre State Park land, the closure of San Mateo Campground, the breach of public trust by compromising existing environmental mitigation (the Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy), destruction of Native American Burial Ground, the impacts on habitat, the potential loss of endangered and threatened species within the watershed, and the list goes on… Is this all worth losing to pursue a project which, by the Orange County’s own Transportation Authority admission, will not succeed in achieving its stated goal of reducing traffic?