Monterey wharves’ structural integrity concerns raised in new grand jury report

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) - New concerns are being raised surrounding the structural integrity of Monterey’s wharves.

A newly released report titled "Monterey’s Deteriorating Wharves: A Concern for Public Safety" points to 2024 assessments finding the wharves in “poor” condition. The report comes months after the partial collapse of the Santa Cruz Wharf in December 2024.

With every wave that hits the structures of both Monterey City wharves, seawater seeps into the cracked pilings that support the wharf.

In a second picture in the report, the description details the deteriorating railroad steel piling attached to a timber pile with a u-bolt.

It says the cracks on the concrete allow seawater intrusion, leading to corrosion.

"I've been here for a long time, and it is in bad condition, but it's not in poor condition, you know they need to keep up with maintenance and everything else, and I think the city needs to do that," said Rick, Owner of Crab Louis Bistro.

“Santa Cruz wharf, sometimes I could feel movement when the waves come in. I've never felt that here [in Monterey]," Watsonville resident Mark Lauesen said.

Lauesen is one of the people enjoying Old Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the two wharves cited along with the Commercial Wharf.

The report cites issues and challenges with the multiple permits needed for repairs. That’s something one wharf business owner told KION they’re upset by.

For certain ground leaseholders, the report states they’re responsible for maintaining and repairing structures above the sand, including decking and buildings.

The city of Monterey takes center stage when it comes to keeping wharves safe.

However, it gets a bit complex when it comes to the buildings that sit on the wharves.

For these buildings, there are two kinds of leases, the premise leases and ground leases.

Under a premise lease, businesses are responsible for their buildings and pay the city 60 percent of maintenance costs.

For the ground lease, leaseholders are in charge of their buildings above and below the deck. They are required to inspect their structures every three years and make repairs based on the findings.

A new kind of ground lease signed in the last 5 years puts the responsibility back on the city, requiring them to decide what inspections and repairs are needed.

"It just means that we should be continuing to monitor it and conduct repairs with a moderate sense of urgency. But if they continue to go unmaintained or untreated, they could degrade to a worse condition," said Easterling.

Other challenges delaying repairs include the permitting process and funding.

"We do have to obtain permits for the marine structures working in the ocean. So that does add a little bit to our schedule, but we do, we try to get those permits well in advance of the work. Construction right now is expensive," said Easterling.

A few of the 9 recommendations from the Civil Grand Jury include:

The city of Monterey is to update and publish a wharves maintenance plan prioritizing and scheduling immediate and critical repairs, identifying funding sources, and preparing to publish a report on the discrepancies between leaseholder inspection reports.

"Once a year, we do try to present to the city council the state of our infrastructure so that there's transparency of the conditions of our infrastructure, including the warps, but everything else, and so that usually happens in May," said Andrew Easterling, Deputy Public Works Director of City Engineering.

That presentation should be given to the city council in just a few weeks.

Easterling tells me they have an improvement plan for the wharf, which would cost around 50 million dollars.