City of Santa Barbara Evaluating Options to Protect and Enhance the Waterfront

The City of Santa Barbara is developing a Waterfront Adaptation Plan to identify practical solutions to address coastal flooding and erosion over the next 30 years while enhancing beach access, recreation, and boating. The City will be seeking community feedback over the next three months on a variety of preliminary options being considered for further evaluation.

Staff presented these initial options to City Council on March 10 and will present at City Board and Commission meetings and host several community events through May. Community input will help refine the options as they are developed into a Draft Waterfront Adaptation Plan, anticipated for release in early 2027. 

The City of Santa Barbara’s Waterfront, from Leadbetter Beach to East Beach, is a cherished community resource and cornerstone of the local economy. It faces growing challenges from beach erosion and flooding during major wave events, which are causing millions of dollars in damage, disrupting recreation and operations, and rapidly narrowing East Beach. As sea levels rise, these problems will get worse. 

“These are issues we’ve been dealing with for a long time, but they’re becoming more costly and disruptive,” said Mike Wiltshire, Waterfront Director. “We need to take proactive measures to protect our beaches and avoid the damage and disruptions we are now experiencing year after year.”

The City is evaluating a range of adaptation options that prioritize sandy beaches and recreation, protect the Harbor and inland areas from flooding, and improve the overall experience.

Some of the initial ideas include: 

• Strategically relocating some features at Leadbetter Beach and East Beach inland, including parking, restrooms, paths, park areas, and commercial facilities, to protect and preserve them and create space for wide sandy beaches. 
• Adding sand, berms, and dunes to build up and maintain sandy beach areas. 
• Upgrading West Beach with better stormwater drainage to improve sand quality and adding amenities such as restrooms and showers to make it a premier beach destination. 
• Protecting the Harbor Commercial Area with a revetment that reduces flooding and erosion and is topped by a pedestrian promenade that improves public access between the Harbor and Leadbetter Beach. 
• Creating a safe, continuous, and separated walking and biking path along the entire Waterfront that is gradually elevated to protect the path and inland areas from flooding. 

“We see this as an opportunity to not only tackle flooding and erosion challenges, but also to enhance recreational opportunities, make it safer to walk and bike, and improve Waterfront parks at the same time,” said Jill Zachary, Parks and Recreation Director.

Funding for this project is provided by the California Coastal Commission, California Coastal Conservancy, and City of Santa Barbara. 

To learn more and to sign up for email updates, please visit the Waterfront Adaptation Plan (SantaBarbaraCA.gov/WaterfrontAdaptation).