Quick Take:
Santa Cruz city officials said Tuesday that there is no estimated reopening date for the wharf, which was undergoing repairs when a section collapsed Monday, sending three workers into the ocean. The incident has forced the city to confront difficult questions about rebuilding aging infrastructure in an era of climate change, Mayor Fred Keeley said.
The future of Santa Cruz’s historic wharf remains uncertain after Monday’s partial collapse, with city officials saying Tuesday they have no timeline for reopening the 110-year-old structure.
“We’re in the moment of an emergency and we’re assessing and really working with our partners to gather data and best understand really what is necessary for the next 24, 48 and 72 hours,” city parks and recreation superintendent Mike Godsy told a virtual media roundtable Tuesday. “Safety and priority of asset protection is guiding those goals.”
City spokesperson Katie Lee told Lookout after the roundtable that there was no estimated reopening date.
The wharf was under repair at the time it collapsed Monday, sending three workers tumbling into the ocean. The $3 million construction project began in October with the demolition of the Dolphin Restaurant. The work, which was expected to be completed in March, included replacing 60 support pilings — about one-fifth of the pillars at the wharf’s end — that were damaged during severe storms in 2023. Engineers also planned to replace the structural framework, mechanical connectors and decking beneath the former restaurant site.
It was the first major repairs to that end of the wharf since the early 1980s. Over the past two decades, the city has spent just $4 million on infrastructure improvements beyond routine maintenance, David McCormic, asset manager for the city’s economic development department, told Lookout at the time.
“The wharf was actively under construction and it was intended to be rebuilt and brought back out to the public,” said Godsy. “That right now is what we’re going to be considering and looking towards the future. Most likely, that would be a long process, and that would take time with lots of informed answers and outreach through the public.”
Even so, Godsy emphasized that the section of wharf that collapsed does not reflect the structural integrity of the entire pier. He said that because the part that collapsed was an active construction site, it was the “perfect situation” for it to collapse.
“It’s a very strong, very resilient structure,” he said. Initial inspections showed that basic utilities on the wharf, such as power, water, and sprinklers were intact, but the city is still examining the wharf’s overall structural integrity. Lee said that will involve assessing the stability of the wharf’s main walkway and examining the wooden pilings that support it.
First responders and city officials are developing a plan to clean up the debris from the wharf, which has sent wreckage drifting as far south as Manresa State Beach and into the Santa Cruz Harbor, Santa Cruz Fire Department Division Chief Ryan Reber said. “We’re asking people not to try to retrieve it. Just let it go,” he said.
The wharf’s collapse will force the city to confront difficult questions about rebuilding coastal infrastructure in an era of climate change, similar to the ongoing discussions over the future of West Cliff Drive after it was damaged by storms in 2023, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said.
“That is a sober conversation about what happens when you’re on a jurisdiction on the edge of the continent in a world of climate change,” said Keeley, adding that the city will have to see how the state and federal governments continue to support coastal communities. “Do you simply say that was that and we’re going to put everything back and see how it goes? I’m not as sanguine about that.”
The wharf’s collapse follows years of contentious debate over its future. A Wharf Master Plan, first drafted in the wake of a 2011 tsunami, included a proposal to add a walkway on the western side and a landmark building at the end of the pier. The city said the changes would help improve the structure and prevent the wharf from being damaged by ocean debris, while also helping to boost tourism to the area.
The proposal faced vocal opposition, including a 2022 lawsuit from the group Don’t Morph the Wharf that argued the plan failed to acknowledge potential environmental consequences, including blocking sea lion viewing areas. In January, the city council unanimously approved a revised master plan that removed both the contested western walkway and the proposed landmark building.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office tweeted Monday that the governor had been briefed on the wharf collapse and that the state Office of Emergency Services is in contact with Santa Cruz officials and prepared to provide support. City spokesperson Katie Lee told Lookout that it was too early to comment on discussions with the state.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta toured the wharf damage on Tuesday morning, and told Lookout that while it’s hard to imagine such an iconic structure crumbling in real time, these situations might only happen more often as climate change takes hold.
“I think we on the Central Coast understand that feeling, and being at the edge of the continental shelf, we’re the ones that are going to be dealing with the brunt of this,” Panetta said, adding that he felt as though the city, county, state and federal government are coming together quickly to recover in a resilient fashion. “That’s just kind of what we do.”
Panetta acknowledged ongoing frustration among local officials and residents with the languid pace of reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for past natural disasters.
He said he is looking into ways that other federal agencies, such as the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Transportation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, can get involved.
Despite the bureaucratic difficulties, constant pressure is legislators’ best tool, he said, one that has been successful in the past, particularly with the Pajaro River flood risk management project.
“When I came into office back in 2017, that project was practically dead. We basically revived it by letting the Army Corps of Engineers know that we’re not going away and they’re not going to go away because of us,” he said. “We basically mandated weekly calls and monthly meetings to show that they’re going to be a part of this process. That’s what we have to do with FEMA.”
Panetta said he can’t predict what an incoming Trump administration might mean for California’s federal funding for natural disasters, but said that the president-elect’s first four years exhibited “more bark than bite.”
National Weather Service meteorologist Brayden Murdock said Tuesday that the swells peaked Monday afternoon. While sea conditions will remain rough for boaters, surfers and others venturing out into the water, they will not match the magnitude of Monday’s onslaught, he said. The county’s coastal flooding warning expired at noon on Tuesday, and its high surf warning will expire at 6 p.m.
“We’re still encouraging people to stay away from the coast,” Murdock said. “We’re still going to be dealing with enough winds and chop in the ocean that it will be hazardous to small crafts pretty much through the week and going into the weekend.”
Wet weather is forecast persist through the end of the week following a mostly dry period from Tuesday night through Wednesday night, said Murdock. Two rainy spells will hit the county beginning early Thursday morning and continuing through Friday evening, as well as some on-and-off showers over the weekend. New rainfall will likely total around 1.5 inches at lower elevations and up to 2 inches in the mountain regions.
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