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A sales tax increase ballot measure that would have earmarked millions of dollars in funding for sand replenishment projects in San Clemente is likely to fail — based on current results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
“It is discouraging that we couldn’t get that supermajority,” Councilmember Mark Enmeier said in a Nov. 13 phone interview. “I think that was a high bar to reach.”
Now, officials are likely to focus on making some cost-cutting decisions over the next several years in order to afford sand replenishment efforts they say are critical to restoring San Clemente’s dwindling beaches and maintaining the city’s status as a beach town.
According to the most recent election results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters, the ballot measure secured approximately 64% “yes” votes — over 23,000 San Clemente residents cast their vote in support of the measure.
But it isn’t enough to pass because an earmarked sales tax — like for sand replenishment — requires a supermajority vote, or at least 66.7% of the vote.
The ballot measure outlined a new 0.5% sales tax increase that staff estimated would have generated approximately $6 million annually.
Despite this, city council members still say the results show public support for sand replenishment efforts.
“The fact that it’s going to probably end up with 64% really indicates that the residents in our city are invested in putting sand on our beaches and willing to make the sacrifice of putting a sales tax on themselves,” Councilmember Rick Loeffler said.
“So with that in mind, I think it’s going to make it a little easier for us to go to the county and the state and say, ‘Look, yes it didn’t pass, but it nearly got its two-thirds, which is phenomenal,” he said.
Now What?
Without the guaranteed funding from a sales tax increase, council members will need to find other ways to find money for sand while coastal erosion continues to chip away at the coastline.
[Read: San Clemente Needs More Money For Sand]
There are a couple of paths forward for the city to fix its sand loss problem.
San Clemente residents could return with a new voter-led ballot measure in 2026. In that case, the measure would only need a simple majority — above 50% — to pass a similar measure.
In order to get a voter initiative on the ballot, residents must gather the signatures of at least 10% of the city’s registered voters.
Cameron Cosgrove, a San Clemente resident and planning commissioner who helped run the campaign for the current measure, said this would likely be obtainable since about half of the city’s registered voters already went for the earmarked sales tax.
“That’s why we’re so encouraged,” Cosgrove said. “If we can restructure that initiative and qualify it back for 2026, then we think our chances are pretty good.”
San Clemente Mayor Victor Cabral said he remains hopeful for the future.
“We’ll find a way to get it done in the future, for the long term,” Cabral said. “The silver lining for me is that we raised the issue that hasn’t been raised for a long time.”
OCTA Secures $305M to Reinforce Train Tracks, Some Sand Replenishment Expected
In late October, Orange County Transportation Authority officials announced the agency had received over $300 million in state and federal grants to reinforce the train tracks that run along South Orange County’s coast.
Coastal erosion in south OC has gotten so bad that waves are often seen crashing against the train tracks and bluffs that run adjacent to the ocean, resulting in cliff failures and five different train closures since 2021.
[Read: Is Orange County’s Coastal Train Entering its Final Days?]
OCTA — which owns a seven-mile stretch of train tracks that run directly adjacent to the San Clemente coastline — has been working to stabilize some of the city’s slopes and cliffsides vulnerable to landslides and erosion.
While the train line extends from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, the breakdowns have all occurred on a portion of tracks from San Clemente to the edge of San Diego County, most of which is less than 200 feet away from the ocean.
Landslides and coastal erosion forced the train tracks to close for a combined 12 months over the past three years.
The funds to OCTA include $100 million from the Federal Railroad Administration, $125 million from the California State Transportation Agency and $80 million from the California Transportation Commission’s Trade Corridor Enhancement Program.
OCTA has also secured about another $300 million from various sources, including the county’s sales tax measure for transportation improvements.
The Transportation Authority is slated to use the grant money to protect the train tracks by building a reinforcement wall and placing rocks nearby — along with sand replenishment.
[Read: Environmental Groups Say Saving Train Tracks Harms San Clemente’s Beaches]
Construction is expected to begin by summer 2026 and finish by the end of 2027.
Enmeier said San Clemente officials will advocate for as much sand placement as possible from OCTA while the transportation officials focus on reinforcing the train tracks.
“What’s going to stabilize the railway the most is going to be sand replenishment,” Enmeier said. “That will be the best protection from the encroaching water line.”
Even with the help from OCTA, more sand will be needed to restore the coastline.
Sand Replenishment Success at North Beach
San Clemente’s North Beach sand replenishment project was completed in early October after four months of construction — one of the city’s first major steps in its ongoing effort to combat coastal erosion.
The disappearing coast left people unable to enjoy the beach and posed a threat to the coastal infrastructure, including public restrooms, homes and the train tracks.
The city council, alongside environmental groups like Save Our Beaches, has been working to obtain permits for emergency sand placement and figure out long-term solutions for replenishment.
About 37,000 cubic yards of sand were just placed on North Beach. The project was completed in half the time than originally anticipated, allowing the council to add additional sand to the project at no additional cost.
Although the project was a success, it cost the city approximately $2 million to place 37,000 cubic yards.
In order to combat the significant loss of sand across all of San Clemente’s beaches, the coast needs an estimated five to seven million cubic yards of sand to make up for what’s already been lost.
But those efforts might die out without some additional funding.
“To pay for [the North Beach sand project] we had to use funds from the general fund,” Enmeier said. “And going forward, we can’t do that anymore without refurbishing those general funds.”
“So it was absolutely a huge, 100% amazing success,” he said. “But if we don’t get a measure passed, I don’t see many more of these projects happening.”
[Read: Bolstering South Orange County’s Coastline]
Other projects are also in the works within the Spanish Village by the Sea.
The city’s first project is a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and California State Parks to place two million cubic yards of sand over the next 50 years. The project is estimated to end in 2074.
Sand is expected to be placed at the San Clemente Pier between Linda Lane Beach and T-Street Beach.
The Army Corps project is currently ongoing, with around 114,000 cubic yards of sand already in place — but the city is required to match funds with the Army Corps to pay for the project in several payments over the next five decades.
“I’m incredibly thankful for the sand and I’m incredibly thankful for the Army Corps of Engineers, but we also have to come to the reality that these things cost money,” Enmeier said.
[Read: Bringing Sand Back to San Clemente’s Beaches]
Another project involves the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), which is early in the planning stages.
Additionally, this project is not just focused on the city of San Clemente — SANDAG is also working with other coastal towns struggling with beach erosion.
“Our city council is doing everything they can,” Save Our Beaches President Suzie Whitelaw said.
“Every single council member, our city manager, our coastal administrator that we didn’t have. Everybody’s doing the maximum amount that they can.”
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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