Santa Cruz officials also say lengthy litigation has delayed a master plan first envisioned in 2014 that could have helped to buffer the pier from strong swells. The plan called for new pedestrian walkways and retail spaces intended to get more tourists out to the wharf and increase parking and rental revenues,

While already on alert because of the high surf that hit the Monterey Bay coast Monday, Santa Cruz Lifeguards Lt. Isiah Mullen and Lt. Sam Hofmann, stationed on a Jet Ski in the water near Cowell