DEL MAR — The Del Mar City Council reviewed the city’s storm preparations with staff Tuesday evening as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts strong El Niño conditions this fall and winter.
Assistant City Manager Clem Brown briefed council members on the status of those preparations. He explained that NOAA and the National Weather Service don’t yet have enough information to make specific predictions, but that will change in the coming weeks.
“Public works has a longstanding storm checklist that gets activated ahead of every major rain event,” Brown said.
The checklist includes clearing storm drains, inlets and channels citywide, work that is already underway. City staff members are also checking portable pumps, storm drain pumps and flapper valves.
In addition, the city has identified 30 flood-prone locations where it will deploy sandbags ahead of large storms. Residents can get up to 10 self-fill sandbags from the city.
In the event of a major storm, city staff will deploy street-end barricades, seawall barriers and sand push-ups. Both city and county lifeguard teams will add staff ahead of storms. Roads with a history of flooding will be closed, with warning signs posted in advance.
The city is working with Southern California Edison to accelerate this year’s planned dredging of the San Dieguito Lagoon entrance. The utility pays for the dredging as part of its mitigation for the San Onofre nuclear generating plant.
Councilmember Terry Gaasterland asked whether the volume of sand being dredged could be increased to account for anticipated higher water levels during winter storms. Staff reported that the amount of sand that can be dredged depends on a state permit.
As part of the staff report, city residents were encouraged to:
- Trim trees ahead of time and have an arborist assess older or damaged trees.
- Secure loose outdoor furniture.
- Clean gutters and downspouts to direct water away from foundations.
- Check roof and window seals.
The city has also created a webpage with information on resources available during winter storms.
In other business Tuesday, the council heard an update from new Fire Chief Brett Davidson.
With Encinitas announcing last year that it was leaving the fire management services agreement with Del Mar and Solana Beach, the service area is now limited to Del Mar and Solana Beach. The Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District left the compact in 2013.
Davidson told the council that Del Mar provides more mutual aid than it receives, but having large units from nearby agencies available should a large fire break out in Del Mar is essential. Mutual aid refers to agreements between fire agencies to respond to fires or medical emergencies in neighboring jurisdictions if those jurisdictions’ own units are already deployed.
Regarding the “zero zero” model of fire prevention not encoded in state law, Davidson said trees can still be maintained within the 100-foot perimeter around structures, but their crowns must be trimmed to be entirely above the roofline.
Gaasterland then suggested staff begin looking at how to replace the city’s sole fire station, built in 1942 as a military barracks.
The council also:
- Issued a proclamation honoring principal planner Matt Bator on his retirement after 29 years with the city.
- Appointed Karen Lare to the Lagoon Committee for a three-year term beginning Nov. 1.
