Community Corner
Oceanside Residents Express Concerns Over Beachfront Plans
The City of Oceanside's first community meeting for the Pier area Beachfront Improvement Plans was packed with concerned residents. -VIDEO
OCEANSIDE, CA — The first Oceanside Beachfront Improvement Feasibility Study Community Meeting was held last week in the City Council chambers. The packed crowd of residents included dozens that expressed concerns about potential plans for the beloved Junior Seau Community Center Amphitheater, Bandshell and the Pier Plaza in between.
The meeting was started by Project Manager, Darra Woods, assistant engineer for the City of Oceanside, who explained what the study is and clarified what it is not.
“There have been no plans to demolish these facilities and replace them with a parking structure,” said Woods, “I want to start off the meeting with that clarification. I'm not sure where that misinformation came from but there are no plans for that.”
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Next, Steve Johnson, the architectural consultant hired by the city, explained that the reason for the study is to understand the issues with the aging facilities since the Amphitheatre was built in 1937 and the Community Center in 1955.
The beach facilities are no longer up to code and the extent of renovation needed has to be accessed before any plans are made. Johnson made it clear that they were not in backrooms making deals but planning and assessing. No options or proposals have been developed yet and the process is at the beginning.
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The presentation outlined the three phases of the project.
Phase 1 - Discovery and Public Outreach - Ongoing
Phase 2 - Option Development - November - February -- This phase will present various options for the community to consider.
Phase 3 - Final Documents - March - April
After the presentation, dozens of residents got up to speak and ask questions. Many residents were concerned the city would demolish rather than renovate the facilities. For details of the community outreach meeting, the video is below.
Related article:
Oceanside Seeks Public Input On Beachfront Plans At Tues Meeting
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