RE:BEACH is a Coastal Resilience Design Competition that brought together three design teams from around the world to develop innovative sand retention pilot projects for the City of Oceanside. 

Following the third and final Public Workshop for the RE:BEACH project, a Jury/Advisory Panel comprised of a diverse group of coastal scientists, community leaders and regional representatives recently met to evaluate proposals from the three international Design Team finalists:  Deltares/MVRDV, Scape/ESA/Dredge Research Collaborative, and International Coastal Management (ICM).  

Recommended Project

The Jury/Advisory Panel had an opportunity to meet one-on-one with each Design Team to further discuss the technical, societal, environmental, and financial components of each proposal.  Following these discussions, the RE:BEACH Jury expressed their unanimous support of a preferred alternative, International Coastal Management’s “Living Speed Bumps” concept.  The “Living Speed Bumps” concept includes the construction of two small headlands that will aim to stabilize sand on the back beach, with an offshore artificial reef aimed at slowing down nearshore erosive forces.  ICM, based in Australia’s Gold Coast, has decades of experience implementing “speed bumps” on their own coastline, bringing forward a new concept for Oceanside’s coast, but with a proven track record of success on the East Coast of Australia.

View all slides for this chosen concept

The Jury’s selection of this option was based on the proposal’s ability to meet the RE:BEACH project goals and design criteria. According to the Jury, ICM’s concept clearly demonstrates potential positive impact in retaining sand, while leveraging existing infrastructure to further extend the effectiveness of sand placement.  

Based on the Jury/Advisory Panel deliberations and public feedback, two key modifications to the design will be promoted: (1) refinement of the top of the headland space to use more environmentally or aesthetically pleasing elements that blend with Oceanside’s character, and (2) utilization of rock instead of geotextile bags for construction of the artificial nearshore reef.

Through the RE:BEACH process, teams collected hundreds of comments, in person and online, from the numerous residents and community groups who showed up by the hundreds to the Public Workshop series. Working with local community organizations like Save Oceanside Sand, Surfrider Foundation, the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, and others, the Design Teams each engaged in robust community conversations on the long-standing issue of beach erosion in Oceanside.

The City Council met at a Workshop on January 31, 2024, to discuss the project, and unanimously approved moving forward. 

Next Steps 

The Project Team will develop final engineering plans and pursue environmental compliance for project. The planning and environmental review process is anticipated to take 1-2 years, and construction could begin as early as 2026.

Follow along via the RE:BEACH website at rebeach.org to stay up-to-date with the decision process.