Who Pays

Keith wondered who was paying for the giant civil engineering bandaid. Good question! I wondered the same thing. I would guess the apartment building in the photo must be condemned, in which case all they'd be doing is trying to avoid even worse cleanup costs and maybe environmental fines if it falls into the ocean. No doubt there is a big financial incentive. However, in this article, it looks like nearby property owners are paying their own freight.

Pacifica real estate investor Millard Tong, who owns two apartment buildings next door, is paying a fortune to save his property.

Tong said he was aware of the issue when he bought the properties in 1999 and 2002, for about $3million each. He said experts told him the cliff would erode about a half-inch every year. (Ewing says reports at the time actually indicated two feet per year.)

"I had 20 feet sticking out there," said Tong, 60. "I figured in my lifetime, nothing would happen and I'd be dead by the time the building goes into the ocean."

After a violent storm in 2002, he said, a 12-foot chunk of earth suddenly dropped away from the property.

"And then I got scared," said Tong. "Twelve feet in one night? Jesus. I thought, 'I have to get some rocks down there.'"

So Tong shelled out at least $100,000 to have riprap — in this case, large boulders — placed at the base of the cliff to help dissipate the energy of the waves, the same kind of work now being done next door.

In March, after another 8- to 10-foot chunk of property fell away, Tong applied for an emergency permit from the Coastal Commission to install a second round of riprap at the base of his buildings for close to $1 million.

Joys of coastal living. The west coast equivalent of hiring bulldozers to restore your beach after every storm, I suppose.