San Diego City Council to vote on plan that protects coast from sea level rise, erosion

SAN DIEGO – The city of San Diego is developing a Coastal Resilience Master Plan to protect against sea level rise and help control erosion along the bluffs and up and down the coast. The budget item is scheduled to go before the City Council on Sept. 9.

Given its timeliness, Times of San Diego sent questions to Peter Kelly, public information officer in the city’s Communications Department, to find out more about what this master plan entails, and how it will be implemented if approved.

Times: What is the city’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan, and what does it propose doing? 

City: The Coastal Resilience Master Plan aims to address the growing risk of coastal flooding and erosion and develop concept-level designs of nature-based solutions to protect San Diego’s critical coastal assets.  

The prioritization of nature-based solutions provides additional resilience, environmental and socio-economic benefits such as enhanced or protected habitat, coastal access, green jobs, and environmental education opportunities. Examples of proposed nature-based solutions in the plan include elevated dunes, restoring coastal habitats, and realigned parks and infrastructure.  

The plan is informed by the city’s Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, as well as the latest science and state guidance and extensive community feedback received during plan development and public review. Each proposed design concept is tailored to the unique needs of the specific location.

The plan is an implementation action of the city’s Climate Resilient SD Plan and an essential part of the city’s ongoing efforts to adapt to climate change, preserve biodiversity, protect vulnerable communities, and safeguard its economy.  

Times: What area(s) along the coast does the master plan cover? 

City: The CRMP identifies six priority sites for pilot projects: La Jolla Shores, Pacific Beach-Tourmaline Surf Park, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach-Dog Beach, Ocean Beach-beachfront (OB Pier), and Sunset Cliffs. These locations were selected based on feasibility, resilience needs, and potential environmental benefits. 

Sites were investigated through a multi-criteria analysis that considered community, resilience, economic, and ecosystem benefits. The multi-criteria analysis helped to identify locations most viable for a nature-based concept, narrowing from an initial eleven sites down to six. 

Times: How exactly does the master plan propose to protect Sunset Cliffs from coastal erosion and sea-level rise? 

City: Given the narrow cliff edges and limited amount of space, the major focus for the Sunset Cliffs concept is to enhance the existing resources and protect public safety without compromising the structural integrity of the cliff or current infrastructure. The Sunset Cliffs project site runs from Adair Street to Ladera Street in the south.

For the northern portion of the project site (Adair Street south to Guizot Street), the proposed concept looks to realign the parking lots away from the cliff edge. This option includes trail enhancements, revegetation of the linear park with native vegetation, drainage improvements as necessary, and removal of the paved parking lots from the cliff to pull-in parking spaces along the roadway. Separated pedestrian and bicycle paths are proposed for this section of the roadway.  

The southern section of the project site (Guizot Street south to Ladera Street) considers road reconfiguration on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard that would create a new separated multi-use path with a one-lane, one-way southbound vehicular travel lane. The road reconfiguration would be informed by traffic studies and temporarily piloted first (i.e, with traffic cones) to inform project design and community impacts. A separated pedestrian path is proposed for this section of the roadway.  

Times: How costly will that be?  

City: All projects within the CRMP are conceptual, and a detailed cost analysis has not been completed at this time. Final design of the Sunset Cliffs project will be heavily dependent upon public input, traffic studies, geology reports, and implementation trials.  

Times: Where will the money come from?  

City: The CRMP has been fully grant-funded through grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the State Coastal Conservancy. Grant funding supported the development of the plan, environmental analysis, tribal coordination, and community and stakeholder engagement.

In the next phase of work, grant funding will support initial engineering, technical studies, continued community and stakeholder engagement, Tribal coordination, and additional environmental analysis. The city will seek additional grant funding for full design/engineering and construction. 

Times: How long will it take to do proactive cliff improvements to prevent/retard erosion? 

City: Following the adoption of the plan, the next steps include the completion of feasibility and technical studies to inform project design. The city would then need to seek additional funding for full engineering design, permitting (which will involve other agencies), and construction before the projects are implemented.  

Times: Will residents be able to weigh in on proposed changes for Sunset Cliffs in the master plan?  

City: The public will continue to have opportunities to provide feedback on the proposed concept designs for Sunset Cliffs, as well as for other identified sites in the CRMP. Following plan adoption, the next steps will include the completion of feasibility studies, technical studies, and a coastal engineering analysis to inform project design.

Focused workshops will be held in each of the communities with a proposed project concept that will provide an opportunity for community input on the projects and next steps.  

Times: How will this be accomplished? 

City: This will include focused workshops as well as broader engagement opportunities, such as pop-up events. Online surveys are also likely to be utilized. 

Times: Explain the problems associated with coastal erosion and sea-level rise. 

City: Sea level in San Diego is expected to rise five to 14 times faster over the course of this century than it did in the previous century, leading to risks of increased flooding and coastal erosion. Storm surges and extreme tides are already impacting our coastline, and the city recognizes the need for urgent action to protect its critical coastal assets, including infrastructure, open space, conservation areas, beaches, and more. 

The State Lands Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment conducted by the city in 2019 found that by 2050, sea level rise, accompanied by storm surge, could place $208 to $370 million worth of assets at risk.

Additionally, open space and conservation areas are also highly vulnerable to both sea-level rise and coastal storm events. Previously completed Coastal Erosion Assessments found many sections of Sunset Cliffs as high-priority sites that presented potential public hazards.  

Times: Which civic/government organizations need to sign off on proposed master-plan improvements?  

City: The City Council will review and vote on the current draft of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan.