A San Diego City Council committee on March 20 voted 4-0 to endorse spending $1 million for emergency repairs to Mission Beach Lifeguard Station.
The lifeguard station on Ocean Front Walk adjacent to Belmont Park is contained within the Mission Bay Park Improvement Fund. That fund requires the use of a portion of lease revenues from Mission Bay Park to go toward capital improvements in Mission Bay Park.
A staff report on the emergency Mission Beach funding proposal pointed out that a structural evaluation by an architectural firm in May 2024 concluded that the lifeguard tower needs “immediate hazard mitigation” to alleviate the threat it currently presents to the “health, safety, and welfare of the general public.”
The tower and its support facility have aged, and have been determined to be deteriorating and are now antiquated. The facility no longer meets the needs of the City’s lifeguards and the public.
The council’s Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was told this lifeguard tower, built in 1982, is in “extremely poor condition and is beyond its useful service life,” and that it “has not kept pace with the growing City Lifeguard Department’s demands resulting from an increase in visitors in this populous area.”
The Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was also told the tower is San Diego’s busiest lifeguard station serving Mission Beach and Mission Bay.
Ted Moran, deputy fire chief of employee services within the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, gave a slideshow presentation with photos of the tower’s current condition. “It’s very deteriorated and you can see some major cracking in the stucco,” he said. “A structural assessment completed determined that the damage extends into the masonry walls, which significantly limits the lifespan of this building and results in the need for this project.”
Beach representatives spoke out in favor of the request for emergency funding to repair the Mission Beach tower, including Larry Webb. Representing the Mission Beach Precise Planning Board and Mission Beach Town Council, Webb noted, “Both community organizations strongly urge you to take the immediate action to fund the emergency repairs for the Mission Beach Lifeguard Station. This station doesn’t just affect the residents of Mission Beach, but the people who come to the beach.
“Though I hate to see this much money being spent on a temporary fix, it’s got to happen. We have to keep our lifeguards safe, give them a place to operate safely, and to safely protect the millions of people who use Mission Beach,” Webb said.
Connor Robbins, San Diego lifeguard union leader, testified that lifeguards are “The first line of defense in protecting lives along our coastline, and they need a safe, functional facility to do their jobs effectively. The current facility has been deemed an imminent safety risk.
“The structural hazards, including falling debris and deteriorating infrastructure, not only will put our lifeguards in danger, but also threaten the public. We can’t afford to wait for a tragedy to take place before we take action,” Robbins said.
Characterizing emergency repairs to the Mission Beach Lifeguard Station as a “short-term solution,” Robbins added, “Looking ahead, we must prioritize long-term infrastructure investments to ensure our lifeguard stations remain safe.”
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