San Diego has a new plan to protect several miles of coastline from the increasing threat of sea level rise.
On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the Coastal Resilience Master Plan. It’s a 103-page blueprint that identifies areas along the coast needing defense against flooding and erosion. The plan proposes raising dunes and enhancing trails, as well as shifting parking lots and traffic lanes away from the coast.
As it stands, the plan is only conceptual. But it’s the first of several steps officials said are necessary because of changes that are coming.
“They are coming with sea level rise and it is coming faster than we thought 10 years ago would come,” San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell said. “So, we really have to get on this.”
The plan identifies six areas that need urgent attention: Ocean Beach’s beachfront and Dog Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Tourmaline Surf Park in Pacific Beach, Mission Beach and La Jolla Shores. According to the master plan, these sites were prioritized from a list of 11 as far north as Torrey Pines State Beach and as south as Point Loma. They are more vulnerable to sea-level rise and the proposed changes at these locations are more feasible to implement, a city report said.
Below is a breakdown of proposed changes at those four locations:
Ocean Beach - Dog Beach and beachfront: Restore dunes along the eastern edge of the beach near Smiley Lagoon and build a new multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists that is fronted by sand dunes. The new sand dunes, adjacent to the current parking lot, would elevate the back of the beach, protecting it from flooding. There are also plans to offer an express shuttle service that could connect to transit centers, like in Old Town.
Sunset Cliffs: A few options are suggested for Sunset Cliffs. One includes enhancing trails and removing paved parking lots from the cliff edge. Another proposes turning the two-way, two-lane Sunset Cliffs Boulevard into a one-lane, one-way southbound lane.
Tourmaline Surf Park: Plans include burying large rocks and covering them with cobblestones and sand. The area would protect a ramp, restroom and parking lot from potential flooding. The top of the dune would allow visitors to sit and view the ocean.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, some residents said the changes could improve access to the coastline and control erosion. Others said they were concerned about impacts to neighborhoods. Among them was Javier Saunders, a board member with the city’s Peninsula Community Planning group.
“Redirecting traffic through local residential streets will lead to increased traffic safety concerns,” he said, referring to plans for Sunset Cliffs.
Next steps for the city include conducting technical and environmental studies and gathering public feedback for four of the six sites, according to Julia Chase, the city’s chief resilience officer.
She said the city is still “very much in step one. There will be a lot of additional engineering and community engagement work that still needs to happen.”
The city used $1.3 million grant funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Foundation and the state Coastal Conservancy to produce the plan.
