Because bringing sand to San Clemente’s shrinking beaches isn’t cheap, the city will ask voters if they’re willing to pay a local sales tax to replenish the city’s beaches, maintain shoreline amenities like the pier and beach walkway, and repair a battered bridge.

The City Council voted 4-1 this week to put the measure to raise the sales tax to half a cent on the November ballot.

The special tax would be targeted and could be spent only on the things specified in the measure. Last month, a council majority rejected the inclusion of a ballot proposal that would impose a local sales tax on sand as well as public safety and other city needs.

City officials debated this week whether to put a local tax of three-quarters of a cent or half a cent on the ballot. They voted in favor of the lower amount.

The sales tax in Orange County is 7.75%, including a half-cent levied on transportation projects throughout the county.

Ten cities have passed their own local taxes as an additional source of revenue. Los Alamitos and Santa Ana have the highest taxes at 9.25%. Several other cities have decided to put local sales tax measures to voters this year.

Before the council’s decision on Tuesday, City Manager Andy Hall gave an analysis of San Clemente’s sand problems and explained what needs to be done to keep the beaches intact.

“The bottom line is, what can we do to preserve our beaches here in our community,” he said.

Hall looked at the problem from a scientific perspective, explaining how spring tides and beach storms cause scours that wash sand out to sea, some of which returns in summer. But there is a tipping point that is reached when beaches become too narrow and the dynamics no longer allow the sand to return.

The construction of concrete canals decades ago and development inland have also trapped much sediment that would otherwise normally flow downstream.

Restoring the sand to San Clemente’s beaches will be costly, officials said. A fill project near the pier led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is halfway complete, and estimates say between $2.5 million and $3.5 million from city coffers will be needed to complete the project in the fall.

The project is to be repeated every five years, with the city covering half the cost. The city’s bill could be about $10 million per phase, or $2.5 million annually.

A $2 million project is currently underway to truck 23,000 cubic yards of sand from the Santa Ana River to North Beach to replenish the shoreline, which is partially submerged at high tide.

Just one week after construction began, during which the beach will be closed from Monday to Thursday, more than 100 truckloads of waste have already been unloaded on the sand, according to officials.

However, these projects only cover part of the San Clemente coast, and more sand is needed to create a “stable beach” 15 to 75 meters long.

In addition, city officials said, the Mariposa Bridge along the beach path has been impassable since it was damaged by a landslide last winter; the lifeguard building is suffering severe damage from waves; and there are beach stairs, the shore path and the pier that need maintenance.

A rough estimate puts the city’s annual needs at about $10 million – money that cannot be used for essential services such as public safety or public works projects, Hall said.

City officials estimated that a half-cent local sales tax would generate about $6.75 million annually.

Unlike other coastal cities, San Clemente does not have large hotels that contribute to the city tax revenue, Hall said. “Our community is not geared towards being a resort community, we do not have mega-resorts.”

San Clemente generates about $3.5 million in hotel tax revenue annually. Nearby Dana Point receives $16.2 million, Newport Beach receives $32 million and Laguna Beach collects $21.1 million in taxes on overnight stays in the city, according to Hall.

The state also stopped funding the Redevelopment Authority, which used to pay for pier maintenance, in 2012, officials said. The city also had a marine fund designed to help with issues such as water quality, but that expired several years ago, they also said.

“We want to continue to provide the community with the services we’ve always provided, but beach activities are a new expense that we haven’t had in the past,” Hall said. “That’s the challenge.”

City Councilman Chris Duncan said the state should help the city more, but ultimately residents should decide whether they want to impose a local sales tax.

“We are taxed way, way too much,” he said. “The people of San Clemente are suffering right now.”

Council member Steve Knoblock was the only one to vote against the ballot proposal. He said other, less costly methods should be explored, including the city renting its own excavator to regularly replenish the sand.

About a dozen speakers urged the City Council to include the measure on the November ballot, reiterating the importance of the city’s beaches.

Resident John Dowell acknowledged that “nobody is happy about the taxes,” but said the city is facing an existential crisis.

“We all benefit from our coastal resources,” he said. “Without a beach, property values ​​drop, businesses struggle and quality of life declines.”

Ballots for the November election will be distributed in early October. Two-thirds of eligible voters must approve the tax for it to pass. If passed, the tax would likely take effect in April.