Santa Cruz Pier Collapse Linked To Enviroweenies Suing To Stop Repairs

Not as many people were Blaming global boiling for the collapse of the pier, but, they were out there

https://twitter.com/RepJimmyPanetta/status/1871338402588840093

Panetta was just one of many. The reality

Santa Cruz Wharf Collapses After Environmental Lawsuit Delayed Repairs

Repairs to the historic wharf in Santa Cruz, which collapsed in heavy swell on Monday, were reportedly delayed after an environmental and preservationist group’s lawsuit delayed changes to the 110-year-old structure by several years.

Waves were unusually high on Monday up and down the West Coast, bringing Christmas joy to surfers, who flocked to popular surf spots, north and south, to catch the swell.

I’ll disagree with Breitbart on the waves: there was nothing unusual about the wave heights. This happens all the time, which is one of the reasons why California has long been mentioned as the surfing mecca of the continental US, and one of the best spots in the world. Heck, looking at the two videos in the article I see some basic waves. Good ones, maybe 3 footers (wave height is half the face height). The ones up in Santa Cruz were bigger, but, nothing out of the norm. Just strong winter waves

The San Francisco Chronicle recalled Tuesday that the city had planned to reinforce the wharf, but that the proposal had faced a lawsuit by a group of environmentalists and preservationists called “Don’t Morph the Wharf,” which caused repairs to be delayed and also caused part of the project to be abandoned.

The Chronicle reported:

In 2016, the city had proposed another plan: create a below-deck walkway wrapping around the wharf’s western side, creating new space for pedestrians while providing the piles a buffer against incoming waves. The plan would have extended the wharf in some new places and added new buildings — including one directly atop the section that collapsed.

Opponents of the additions, assembled under the name Don’t Morph the Wharf, sued in late 2020, arguing the city hadn’t done a proper environmental review of the plan.

The city countered that the new “Westside Walkway” was necessary to mitigate damage from waves during storms, as it would extend past the current wharf and act as a break for waves, preventing them from hitting the wharf and the buildings on it, protecting the pilings on the west side of the wharf and providing additional lateral stability.

The enviroweenies won their suit in 2022, meaning that any plans to protect the old pier were put off for years. Plus, it was just old, and had taken a beating over all those years. It is in the ocean, after all. Waves happen. Big waves happen. Because ocean. Heck, you get huge, strong waves in the Great Lakes. That’s the way it works.

Going back to Panetta’s tweet, this is a problem with Democrats thinking every problem requires federal money, rather than state and local money.

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