San Mateo County Board of Supervisors proclaim local emergency regarding Pacifica Pier

Pacifica Vice Mayor Greg Wright shared his appreciation for the collaboration and support from county leaders when the proclamation was considered Tuesday morning.

“I don’t think you understand how meaningful it is to Pacifica the speed with which they got this together,” Wright said at the Board of Supervisors meeting. “I’m used to politics being a little bit more of an individual sport, but I really feel like this has been a team lift.”

San Mateo County and Pacifica leaders agree the Pacifica Municipal Pier is not only an asset to the coast but to the entire county and Bay Area region.

“It serves many purposes in the area — for fishing, crabbing, whale watching and certainly tourism,” County Executive Mike Callagy said.

The damage to the pier is believed to have been caused by major storms in 2023 and exacerbated by recent high surf, city officials said at a recent press conference June 15. The Chit Chat Cafe was also demolished due to structural concerns.

As the city continues to lobby for funding from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s Office for Emergency Services and discretionary funding, Board President Noelia Corzo raised concern that other entities may not see the pier damage as emergent as other needs throughout the state. The funding would come from the same bucket that other counties pull from when there are wildfires, earthquakes or flooding, for example.

“While we advocate, we [should be] aware there may be pushback from other counties, which is unfortunate; but when you have communities that have had really catastrophic wildfires, I do think it’s something we should keep in mind.”

Pacifica City Manager Sean Charpentier said he hopes the state and other agencies recognize the need.

“We’ll continue to advocate for the need for this, for Pacifica and for our surrounding communities,” Charpentier said. “It is a regional resource used by working families both throughout this county and throughout the Bay Area for many families, for recreation and to add some food to the table.”

Charpentier said if the state does recognize the local emergency, the city will seek federal support as well, which may be difficult to receive.

The pier’s collapse was due to a failure of the federal government, Supervisor Ray Mueller said previously, due to pullback of Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program funding that was intended to go toward Pacifica before the Trump administration canceled the grant. The funds could have funded the creation of a seawall to protect the area against coastal erosion, local leaders said previously.

The county’s resolution Tuesday ratified an existing proclamation made by County Executive Callagy in his capacity as director of Emergency Services on June 18. The county must review the proclamation at least once every sixty days to determine the continued need.

The resolution passed 3-0, with Supervisors Ray Mueller and Jackie Speier absent.