Three years after beginning discussions to build a new lifeguard station in South Mission Beach, the city is one step closer to beginning construction.
The project recently received a Negative Declaration from the city, meaning that the project will not have a significant environmental effect, according to Jihad Sleiman, the project applicant with the city’s Engineering and Capital Projects Department.
An application for the Coastal Development Permit to the California Coastal Commission has been filed.
Discussions for a new and improved lifeguard station at South Mission Beach have been going on for years. The matter was first reported in the Beach & Bay Press December 2003, when Sleiman, lifeguards and members of Dominy & Associates, the architects hired to design the new tower, met with the Mission Beach Precise Planning Board and community members to discuss the project.
According to Sleiman, the current tower, which was built in the early 1970s, was originally built as a temporary tower meant for use for one or two seasons.
“I think it outdates its use,” Sleiman said. “It’s so old, it’s so deteriorated. It no longer serves the needs of the lifeguards, nor does it serve the needs of the beachgoer. So that’s why we wanted to build a new station that would allow our lifeguards to perform their duties.”
In previous reports the lifeguards have mentioned the limited space available at the old tower. Photographs from 2003 show the refrigerator and microwave used by the staff being stored in the men’s restroom due to lack of space.
The proposed new station will include a reception area, emergency vehicle storage area, surfboard and other storage area, observation tower, second observation area and first aid room.
Sleiman also pointed out that the new men’s and women’s locker rooms would include a flexible locker room wall, allowing the lifeguards to change the size of each locker room depending on the numbers of male and female lifeguards working.
He also mentioned other improvements to the existing site, including expanding the pedestrian walkway into a paved access path safe for ambulances and fire trucks to drive on as well as for pedestrians to walk on. The project also proposes moving the existing disabled parking closer to the water and the access path.
According to Sleiman the South Mission Beach lifeguard tower should not take as long or encounter the same problems as the Pacific Beach lifeguard station, which broke ground in March 2004 and was scheduled for completion by May 2005 but did not finish until May 2006.
Sleiman explained that the South Mission Beach project is not nearly as large, only 3,125 square-feet compared the Pacific Beach’s estimated 4,200 square-feet. The Pacific Beach Station was also three projects ” the lifeguard station, the comfort station and the plaza in the middle. The South Mission Beach project will consist only of the new tower, he said.
He also noted the differences in the area; South Mission Beach has less congestion, hotels, residents and businesses that construction would affect.
Currently, Sleiman and designers are waiting to hear requirements from the California Coastal Commission before the design is complete. He explained that the California Coastal Commission process could take up to 230 days.
Once the design is complete, Sleiman hopes to begin construction in September 2008. He explained that because of the summer moratorium, imposed by the city in order to not disturb beachgoers during the summer months, they hope to have the project complete by Memorial Day 2009. The existing lifeguard tower would remain until construction of the new tower is complete.