San Clemente voters reject sales tax hike to fund beach, wildfire protection
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Whether by waves or wildfire, San Clemente found itself under a local state of emergency in the lead up to Election Day.
Voters had a related opportunity to approve a 1% sales tax increase through Measure M to fund projects aimed at preventing future coastal erosion and wildfires, but soundly rejected it at the ballot.
The measure is trailing by a roughly 63% to 37% margin with the ballot count not yet finalized.
“It’s just disappointing,” said Cameron Cosgrove, a proponent of the ballot measure. “I thought with the recent weather events, it would make it easier for voters to understand the challenges San Clemente faces.”
Councilmembers approved a local emergency called by the city manager as the Norte fire broke out. The council also unanimously approved another emergency declaration citing the impact of Tropical Storm Rachel earlier this month.
City officials have declared two local emergencies in recent months after an offshore hurricane and tropical storm whipped up swells that further eroded its already battered beaches.
In October, the Norte fire erupted in San Clemente’s hillsides and prompted another local emergency. Warm, dry Santa Ana winds fanned the blaze’s flames into San Juan Capistrano, where seven homes burned. By the time it was extinguished it had charred 570 acres.
An extreme El Niño is also expected to intensify king tides over Thanksgiving and again during Christmas.
But former San Clemente mayors Brian Rice, Kathy Ward and Bob Baker joined Councilmember Zhen Wu in opposing the measure.
“The measure had no spending plan upfront and no anti-supplantation clause to make sure new revenue added to existing funding rather than replacing it,” Wu told TimesOC. “Heavy spending by special interest groups and the involvement of some public officials deepened voters’ distrust.”
Cosgrove hoped that the measure would have given city officials greater flexibility to approve sand replenishment projects like the urgent $2-million effort that restored a severely eroded North Beach two years ago, while taking wildfire prevention beyond weed abatement.
Proponents also argued that additional sales tax revenue would have helped cover San Clemente’s increasing cost-sharing commitments for a decades-long sand replenishment project at the pier overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, one that aims to deliver 2 million cubic yards of sand by 2074.
The ballot measure sought to raise an additional $15 million annually dedicated specifically to sand and wildfire projects. Initiated by citizens, it only needed a simple majority to pass.
A similar measure in 2024 fell just shy of a required two-thirds majority vote, a threshold triggered by the City Council’s decision to put it on the ballot. Measure BB had proposed a half-percent sales tax increase dedicated to beach maintenance projects only and earned nearly 65% of the vote.
Why the vote swung dramatically the other way on Measure M is something Cosgrove is still trying to understand.
“What is different from two years ago is the economy,” said Cosgrove, who also chairs the city’s planning commission. “Prices are higher and people have economic concerns that, perhaps, were a reason not to support increasing the sales tax.”
Wu also pointed to the high cost of living as reason for the steep drop in support for the tax measure.
The California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved an extensive package aimed at fortifying the vulnerable railway along San Clemente’s coast, while also attempting to protect the area’s shrinking beaches. A hallmark of the permit includes a historic replenishment of sand.
Sand is coming to beaches in San Clemente, even with the measure’s failure.
Shortly after Election Day, the California Coastal Commission approved a 10-year permit that will allow for a major sand replenishment project aimed at protecting San Clemente’s coastal railroad tracks.
The permit paves the way for 690,000 cubic yards of sand to nourish sand-starved coastlines.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, who also sits on the Orange County Transportation Authority’s board of directors, hailed the plan as the “region’s largest beach nourishment effort in decades.”
The permit also allows for the construction of a 1,200-foot-long seawall to protect San Clemente’s coastal segment of the larger 351-mile Lossan corridor.
For Wu, the permit and the Army Corps project comprise the “city’s most important tool against erosion for decades to come.”
Cosgrove understands how some residents may look at the project as proof the ballot measure was not needed, but begs to differ.
“It doesn’t reflect the reality that the sand replenishment needs to be ongoing,” he said. “Our deficit is between 2 million cubic yards and 4 million or more. This is a one-time placement. The majority of it — 450,000 cubic yards — won’t even be placed on San Clemente city beaches. It’s going to San Clemente State Beach in the south.”
Even though Cosgrove still sees a need for local revenue to shore up San Clemente’s beaches, it’s too early to contemplate another ballot initiative.
“The voters have made it pretty clear,” he said. “The message they’re sending to the City Council and to the city administration: figure it out with the revenue that you have.”
