DEL MAR — The initial stages of SANDAG’s three-year bluff stabilization project in Del Mar are already causing alarm for some residents and officials worried about the shrinking beach area and cutoff of access points from the bluff.
Construction of the Del Mar Bluffs Phase 5 project began last month. Plans include adding stability measures, including around 2,000 feet of seawalls along the bluff toe from Coast Avenue to Torrey Pines State Park.
The project is intended to stabilize the rail tracks running along the bluff top until SANDAG is able to relocate them off the bluff and further inland.
SANDAG Principal Design Engineer Bruce Smith told the City Council on May 6 that they are currently focused on installing piles and beams for the seawalls before the summer, with lots of heavy construction equipment on the beach.
Smith said initial work has also involved excavating sand and bluff material to reach the foundation, where piles can be drilled, and removing unstable bluff sections to allow the safe construction of seawalls. Excavated material is being stockpiled to be used as fill or placed back on the beach.
“It’s imperative these walls go in as soon as possible, so that we stop the waves from demolishing the bluff,” Smith said.
While SANDAG officials say the stabilization efforts are proceeding as planned, residents are raising concerns about the amount of material being removed, the loss of beach space, and the planned seawalls cutting off access trails from the blufftop.
In some beach sections, such as the area below 8th Street, known locally as Mango Cove, the beams implemented for the new seawall appear to cut off the inlet from the rest of the beach. The riprap used by residents to climb down to the beach from the trail will also be behind the seawall.
Residents said that by removing this access point, SANDAG is violating their commitments to the city.
“We have been told for several years by SANDAG that beach access will remain at both 8th and 11th Streets; however, this appears not to be the case at 8th Street. We and dozens of other surfers, swimmers and walkers use this trail daily and have for decades. It appears it will be completely blocked,” resident Dave Parkes said in an email to the Del Mar City Council last week.
Smith confirmed that the seawalls would be connected in this location and cut off the cove. To get down to the beach from the trail, people will instead need to use the steps carved into a steep piece of stone at the south end of the seawall, he said.
He also reminded residents that SANDAG will complete new beach access improvements, including an undercrossing at 7th Street to provide access from the bluff to the beach and an enhanced bluff trail between 4th Street and Seagrove Park.
As a condition of its permit from the California Coastal Commission, the agency is required to begin constructing these improvements within the next three years.
“We’re hoping to create this accessible, safe access to the beach, and in order to do that, and to maintain a stable bluff for the tracks… unfortunately, it’s necessary to fill in that small cove,” Smith said.
City Manager Ashley Jones said SANDAG has committed to maintaining the informal trails to the beach at 8th and 11th streets and maintaining access points for residents.
“The concern the city has expressed is making sure that as construction goes on, that people do have a means of evacuating the beach for public safety reasons. If it’s high tide, we don’t want them to get stuck,” Jones said. “Our understanding from SANDAG is that those paths of travel, those informal paths of travel, are being maintained, and people are still able to use them.”
However, some council members and residents were unsatisfied by this assurance. Councilmember Terry Gaasterland said the stone steps are not as accessible as the riprap in the cove.
“For the record, the steps are not accessible at high tide, especially if you have a surfboard,” Gaasterland said. “I think that in Del Mar, everybody who loves this bluff is really feeling a lot of pain right now, myself included.”
She also expressed concern that funding for the construction of future access improvements was recently redirected toward other projects. SANDAG officials have stated they have enough funding to cover the environmental clearance, preliminary and final designs, and construction portion and are working on making up the remaining shortfall.
Other residents are bemoaning the general visual impacts of construction and the removal of bluff material.
“Walking along the beach, it’s horrifying. It looks like the construction zone from hell,” said resident Camilla Rang.
Resident Drew Cady accused SANDAG of deceiving Del Mar residents and officials about the impacts to the bluff and beach access points. He compared the project to the North County Transit District’s previous attempt to install fencing along the blufftop to block public access, causing the Coastal Commission to intervene with a 2022 lawsuit.
“I’m horrified by the recent actions taken by SANDAG, as they have indiscriminately ignored the promises made to the community and other guiding organizations for this so-called safeguarding of the natural bluff,” Cady said.
Councilmember Dwight Worden said he understands that the current condition of the bluff and beach is distressing, but it will not look like this forever. He also added that he wants to ensure that beach access points are maintained and that the current beach width is maintained wherever possible.
“I think our role is to make sure that SANDAG follows the approved plans, the conditions and the requirements,” Worden said. “I am with everybody who wants to hold your feet to the fire, and everybody working on the project to make sure you do it exactly how it’s supposed to be done and was approved.”
The stabilization project will continue later this month with extended night work on Sundays and Mondays. The work includes installing piles, grade beams and tiebacks, and soil nails below Seagrove Park.
Crews have access to the project area via their staging area at 18th Street and Torrey Pines State Beach. According to the city, the areas will continue to be accessible to the public.
