Coastal Development | Access

January 28, 2025

NASA’s UAVSAR airborne radar instrument captured data in fall 2024 showing the motion of landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula following record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and another heavy-precipitation winter in 2024. Darker red indicates faster motion. (courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory via JetPopulsionLab website).

A coastal California community is sliding 4 inches a week toward the ocean – SFGate

Excerpt:
Residents in scenic communities along the coast of Southern California have known for years that the Palos Verdes Peninsula is prone to landslides, but new research from NASA reveals a startling speed at which the Los Angeles subregion is shifting into the sea. …

According to data captured by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory using airborne radar, a portion of the Palos Verdes Peninsula is slipping towards the Pacific Ocean as much as 4 inches per week.

The peninsula, located in southwest Los Angeles County, is home to a cluster of coastal cities including Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and San Pedro — where in 1929 a slide in the area forced the abandonment of about 14 homes. It’s now the site of the “Sunken City” that draws oglers to a graffiti-covered concrete pile along the shore.

Although the coastal communities have known for decades that parts of the landscape is compromised, the Palos Verdes Peninsula underwent accelerated activity following Hurricane Hilary’s record-breaking rainfall totals in 2023. Last year, in response to increased slide activity, the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes closed while the city council voted unanimously to prohibit bicyclists and motorcyclists from using an inshore roadway after it buckled from the shifting ground. Some homeowners were offered a buyout for property that was “damaged or threatened by land movement…”

More on Problematic Coastal Development . . .

North Miami Beach (by Daniel Piraino CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr).

Dozens of coastal skyscrapers in Miami are sinking – earth.com

On the barrier islands of Miami, a troubling phenomenon is unfolding. Since 2016, construction has contributed to subsidence, causing 35 high-rise buildings, including Trump Tower III, to sink as much as eight centimeters into the ground…

Nap Time, Punaluu Beach, Hawaii (by Al Case CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr).

Controversial Punalu‘u project on Big Island set back as contested case moves ahead – Kaua’i Now

The developer of a controversial proposed Ka‘ū residential and commercial community on the Big Island will have to wait to find out if it will be approved for a special management area use permit to move forward with project — or if it will be considered at all — following a special meeting Monday of the Hawai‘i County Windward Planning Commission in Hilo…

The City of Fira, - Santorini, Greece - at Dusk © 2023 D Shrestha Ross

As Development Alters Greek Islands’ Nature and Culture, Locals Push Back – the New York Times

As a proliferation of pools threatens some water supplies and housing costs skyrocket, people of the Cycladic islands say the Aegean islands’ character is being lost to real-estate homogenization…“It’s very easy to talk about sustainable development, but all they actually do is approve new investments,” said Ioannis Spilanis, a former general secretary for island policy at Greece’s shipping ministry and now head of the Aegean Sustainable Tourism Observatory…

Jakarka, Indonesia - Above and Below (by Chandrahadi Junarto CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED via Flickr).

The World’s Fastest-Sinking Megacity Has One Last Chance to Save Itself – Bloomberg

Venice is sinking. So are Rotterdam, Bangkok and New York. But no place compares to Jakarta, the fastest-sinking megacity on the planet. Over the past 25 years, the hardest-hit areas of Indonesia’s capital have subsided more than 16 feet. The city has until 2030 to figure out a solution, experts say, or it will be too late to hold back the Java Sea…

San Diego - Paradise Point Resort, Mission Bay (by K M CC BY 2.0 via Flickr).

Luxury California resort accused of restricting public beach access – SFGATE

A California Coastal Commission report reviewed by SFGATE accuses Paradise Point Resort of numerous violations that “impede public use of the area and reinforce the impression that the entire area was private…” Alleged violations included the failure to put up a single “public access” sign, blocking public pathways to the beach, and the installation of a kiosk and security guard at the primary parking entrance. Another allegation states that the resort built or placed uncovered dumpsters and an event tent on public pathways and parking spots.

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