Venice Beach renourishment is finished — and the next one depends on beachfront easements

Illustrative file photo: the suction hopper dredge Amazone under way on the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany, in 2015 — the type of vessel used for beach renourishment sand dredging. Photo: Raimond Spekking / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Resized; website wordmark added. Photo source · License

Venice Beach is officially wider again. The Army Corps of Engineers' Jacksonville District and the City of Venice cut a ribbon at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at the Venice Beach Pavilion to mark completion of the third periodic renourishment of the Venice Beach Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project — the first since 2015, after delays the Venice Gondolier reported were tied to hurricanes, a lack of federal funding and a shortage of suitable material.

Contractor Weeks Marine placed about 620,000 cubic yards of sand along 3.2 miles of shoreline, from just south of Venice Inlet to just south of the Venice Fishing Pier, and extended five existing stormwater outfalls so drainage still works across the restored beach. The Gondolier reported the work was 100% federally funded. The Corps' Jacksonville District holds a 50-year renourishment agreement with the city.

What it took

Finding sand was one of the hard parts. Crews went about 11 miles into the Gulf near the Englewood coastline and used a hopper dredge barge to bring material back to shore, according to the Gondolier's account of the ceremony. The schedule was unusual too: renourishment is normally timed around sea turtle season, March to October, but Maj. Cory Bell said the Corps enacted an emergency coastal response after 2024's Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which brought 6-foot and 10-foot surges to Venice Beach.

That meant working through nesting. With Mote Marine Laboratory's help, crews relocated 524 nests, many to beaches patrolled by the Coastal Wildlife Club, saving an estimated 50,000 eggs, Mote spokesperson Katherine Gentile said. During construction the project brought intermittent beach and parking restrictions and a temporary closure at Brohard Paw Park, WWSB reported.

The new rule for beachfront owners

Bell said the Corps will not be able to begin another Venice Beach renourishment until it has perpetual easements from the owners of homes and condos that back up to the beach. The easement gives the government access to seaward-facing private property; per the Gondolier, it does not expire until Congress de-authorizes the project — at least another 20 years — and it stays in effect when a property is sold.

The money consequence falls on everyone else. If an owner declines, the federal government will not cover the cost of sand placed in front of that property, leaving the county and its taxpayers to pay, or the area could be skipped entirely. Bell framed signing early as a way to move faster: "We can execute the renourishment before the next hurricane season, so that's why it's critical that that we have these easements in place."

South Jetty still waiting on Congress

Rep. Greg Steube, who attended Friday's ceremony, said a bill to increase Army Corps funding passed the House but "hasn't gone anywhere in the Senate." The stakes are local: roughly 80% to 85% of a project like the South Jetty repairs is federally funded, and officials have estimated that job at as much as $100 million — a possible $20 million share for local governments and taxpayers.