Posted on March 2, 2026
SANTA MONICA/VENICE – Santa Monica is expanding its beach-dune restoration project from the Pier toward the Venice border—an effort the City says will add nearly 30 additional acres of restored dunes intended to buffer erosion and flooding as sea levels rise.
The City of Santa Monica said Thursday, Feb. 26, that Phase III of the Santa Monica Beach Dunes initiative will use native vegetation to better capture windblown sand and create natural dunes along the shoreline. The City said enhanced dunes can provide better buffering against climate threats like erosion and flooding than “hard infrastructure like jetties and seawalls,” while also improving wildlife habitat.
Low-growing native vegetation spreads across restored sand near the base of the Santa Monica bluffs, where earlier phases of the dune project were installed in partnership with The Bay Foundation.
Photo Courtesy City of Santa Monica
Posts and rope outline sections of restored dunes along Santa Monica Beach, where native plants are intended to trap windblown sand and build natural buffers against erosion and sea level rise.
Photo Courtesy City of Santa Monica
