Every week, Santa Monica Next republishes an article from the City Manager’s Weekly Newsletter.
This past week, our spectacular Public Works crews began repairs to the beach south of the Pier, where the impacts of Hurricane Marie over Labor Day weekend eroded the site of the inaugural Ocean Way Festival and forced the cancellation of this year’s event.
Of note, the City shared additional details this past week regarding the damage that Hurricane Marie caused on our beach, complete with a fact sheet that includes photographs, drone video, and site plan overlays showing the extent of the damage. In particular, the storm did two things that severely impacted the festival site.
First, storm surf stripped sand from the beach south of the Pier, pushing the high-tide water line 96 feet inland of the festival’s planned fire lane.
Also, runoff through the Pico- Kenter Storm Drain outfall cut a channel across the southern end of the site, right where the event’s main entrance was to be located. Together, those two impacts left no footprint that could safely hold a two-week build and a two-day festival for tens of thousands of people, particularly with load-in and construction activities scheduled to begin on September 15.
Two exhibits in particular highlight the new high-tide line, as outlined below.
Additional details can be found online here!
Given the impacts from Hurricane Marie, our Public Works team has engaged a repair effort that involves the following work.
- Moving sand from other areas of the beach to the Pico-Kenter outfall area using the City’s front loader and dump truck, and regrading the area with a tractor and rake.
- Building a protective berm along the water’s edge ahead of the upcoming king tide and full moon.
- Opening and maintaining all five beach storm drains ahead of the anticipated El Niño winter, so that runoff drains to the ocean without cutting new channels across the sand.
- Coordinating with Los Angeles County and private contractors to bring in larger equipment that can grade the sand more quickly.
- Evaluating whether additional sand will need to be imported.
These repair efforts are especially important in light of the major events that the City is set to host over the next two years!
February 2027 – Super Bowl Week, Live From Santa Monica
ESPN will base its Super Bowl LXI coverage at ESPN Beach in Santa Monica, with daily programming live from the Pier beginning Monday, February 8, and free fan activations in the days leading up to the February 14 game at SoFi Stadium.
2027 – Ocean Way Returns
We’re already working with Goldenvoice on logistics for launching the inaugural Ocean Way Festival in 2027, including evaluating site options and layout considerations.
Goldenvoice will announce dates, programming, and ticketing when details are available, and the event is still anticipated to be a two-day, all-ages celebration of live music, local artists, food, and community programming on the beach adjacent to the Pier.
2028 – Welcoming The World
During the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Santa Monica will host a number of national hospitality houses, welcoming delegations, athletes, and fans from around the globe.
With Club France and House of Switzerland already announced, and with many more national teams in conversations with the City, Santa Monica is establishing itself as a hub for hospitality houses during the Games, and a restored and protected shoreline is part of that work plan.
As this repair work at the beach unfolds, we wanted to remind everyone that the beach in Santa Monica is open and safe for everyday use, and we hope that folks will take advantage of these last remnants of summer weather as we prepare for the fall and winter months! More to come on all of this soon, and of course, don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions
