Final Design of New Ocean Beach Pier to Be Showcased at Workshop — Saturday, Oct. 26 at Liberty Station

The City of San Diego has finalized the design for the new Ocean Beach Pier and it will be showcased at a community workshop on October 26. The workshop will be at the Liberty Station Conference Center at 2600 Laring Road.

In a news release, the city announced:

“During this workshop, the city of San Diego and its consultants will share updates to amenities and features of the preferred pier design concept released in April, based on public input received since its original release.”

This will be the fifth workshop on the pier and is scheduled for 3 hours, from 12 noon to 3 pm on Saturday, October 26. Officials from the city and the consultants are expected to give a short presentation at 12:15, and then invite attendees to some interactive stations and a video display. Public comments will also be taken, it’s assumed. 7NBC

The finalized design was crafted from those other workshops held over the last few years. Community residents and people from San Diego at large were given the opportunities to voice their opinions about various options and elements of a new pier. However, there never were any price tags listed on the options and elements — so presumably, public opinion was swayed by a lack of any realistic costs being considered as part of the options. An oft-repeated criticism of  the process was heard in these pages, as writers and readers opined, ‘Of course, people wanted the Cadillac version of a new pier.’

Yet, here we are.

A year and half ago, it had become clear to community leaders, Councilmember Campbell’s office and city officials, that the only real option was to rebuild a brand, new pier, as the Rag announced.

Of course, to the Rag and its loyal readers, we knew two years before that —  in April 2021 — that the iconic structure had to be replaced, not just patched up.  In his seminal April 13, 2021 post, Rag writer Geoff Page proclaimed, “Unless there’s a miracle, the Ocean Beach Pier is history.” No miracle was expected. It was Page who eventually forced the city to cough up, via public disclosure requests, the ultimate damning consultant report that had claimed the pier had reached the end of its service life.

As early as February 2021 Page had raised questions about the viability of the pier and its future. This was after the city had consistently downplayed and even mislead the public about the crumbling status of the pier. The Rag also went after local mainstream media for getting the story about the pier all wrong.

At a June 2022 meeting of the OB Planning Board, Page – reporting for the Rag – stated:

It seems the city and the community have come to an informal consensus that the pier needs to be replaced, not rehabbed. Replacement would mean demolition of the existing pier at some point. …

Before a new pier can be built, everyone needs to decide what needs to go into the design. To that end, [city official James] Nagelvoort said the scope of the new pier will need to address things like climate change and sea level rise. The scope will need to include things the community wants…

Finally, in August 2022, the City of San Diego announced it would  have to replace the Ocean Beach Pier. And on October 11, 2022, the San Diego City Council approved an $8 million contract to start working with a consulting firm to replace the Ocean Beach Pier. Moffat & Nichol began the process of planning for a brand new pier with the city’s engineering team. Page reported:

The consultation company expected to begin an evaluation of the pier and to have construction begin on the new pier by 2026. The cost ranges from $40-$60 million with a life expectancy of 50 to 75 years. The $8 million was a grant by the State of California.

Currently, the city believes the safest and most cost-effective option for the Ocean Beach Pier is to keep the structure closed to public access while the city moves forward with a long-term solution to replace the pier, the city said. Some believe,  however, a portion of the present Pier could be opened to the public — particularly the section closest to land.

While the pier does not pose an immediate threat to public safety, additional signs have been posted reminding visitors to be cautious when visiting the area, the city report said. The San Diego Municipal Code states it is against the law for anyone to swim, wade, surf or skin dive within 75 feet of any fishing pier owned or operated by the city.