JOINT STATEMENT
In Opposition of the Proposed Cannon Beach Foredune Initiative
Friends of the Dunes, Oregon Coast Alliance and Surfrider Foundation
DON’T BE FOOLED.
The proposed Cannon Beach Foredune Initiative is an unfunded mandate - the city’s taxpayers would have to pay for lowering and reshaping the dunes at public expense - for the benefit of a small number of oceanfront property owners seeking better views. This is not about beach safety and access.
This is a 180-degree reversal of the community’s current dune management plan, which prioritizes healthy dunes that protect the community from erosion and winter storms. The proposed initiative would replace that approach with an open-ended mandate to keep lowering and reshaping the dunes, with no dedicated funding source and no clear limits.
Based on a public records request, local fire, police, and lifeguard officials have confirmed there have been no dune-related safety incidents. The Fire District has also stated that dune grading would not improve its emergency operations.
This proposed initiative seeks to bypass the existing management plan that protects Cannon Beach dunes by dressing up dune grading for oceanfront owners as a public safety and access issue. The facts do not support those claims.
It would also amend the City Charter, locking this dune policy into the city’s highest governing document instead of allowing updates as science, coastal conditions, and shoreline management best practices change.
A judge has rewritten the ballot caption and question to make the measure’s misleading language clearer to voters, including that its use of the word “management” does not mean management for the public good, and making it clear that the public would bear the costs.
Don’t be fooled into paying for a backdoor plan that lets oceanfront homeowners grade the dunes for better views.
Public cost. Private gain. Say NO!
Paid for by Friends of the Dunes at Cannon Beach - No on 4-243
