By Steffi Roche / CBS8 / September 7, 2025
The San Diego City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a plan proposing to save Sunset Cliffs and the coastline from sea-level rise and ongoing erosion.
The Sunset Cliffs Boulevard Project site runs from Adair Street to Ladera Street at the south end of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and is part of the “Coastal Resilience Master Plan,” led by the City Planning Department.
The proposal is to remove parking on the cliff’s edge and reconfigure Sunset Cliffs Boulevard from a two-lane, north-south road to a single southbound lane.
The plan also includes creating a protected walkway for pedestrians and cyclists.
“We are looking at locations that are more vulnerable to sea level rise in the near term,” Julia Chase, the Chief Resilience Officer for the city, said.
On Thursday, the Peninsula Community Planning Board shared an official recommendation with the city, where the board voiced support for the city’s proactive efforts to address climate change and the potential impacts of sea level rise.
However, the letter states the board is opposed to the conversion of the boulevard into a one-land road.
“I believe there’s concern to the change in the traffic pattern. That’s some of the neighbors’ concerns,” Mandy Havlik, the Vice Chair of PCPB, said.
She told CBS 8 she does not speak for the board.
“The plan here for our neighborhood is [that] they want to take off all of the parking lots that are on the linear side of the park. And revert that back to the street,” Havlik said.
Chase told CBS 8 the city has heard concerns from residents regarding the reconfiguration of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. “And as this concept moves forward, we recognize that additional studies need to be done. We have scope for them in our grant. That would include traffic studies to understand what exactly are the impacts going to be,” Chase said.
Richard Aguirre, a resident of the neighborhood who founded “Save Sunset Cliffs” 25 years ago, is one of many residents opposed to the proposal.
“The Cliffs are like an old surfboard. They have some dings and some wounds on them that we need to repair. But you don’t just throw it away and throw in cement walls the whole way,” Aguirre said. “You need to really address it like if you were a local. Start repairing the boulevard, save the boulevard, and keep the actual paths that have been in place for centuries. These are the paths of the Native Americans. And now we’re deciding that we’re going to take the traffic from the boulevard and run it through the communities up here on the street. Should we really be running tourist traffic through residential neighborhoods in our neighborhoods?”
Aguirre argues that this will only make the cliffs less accessible for San Diegans. He also continues to advocate for other ways to preserve Sunset Cliffs and keep the boulevard the way it is.
“If we could collect the water that’s coming from the downhill on runoff… rains…. we’d be able to stop the erosion on the cliffs, because we’d no longer be saturating the cliff’s edge and allowing the gravity to just make it fall off,” Aguirre said.
Meanwhile, City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell shared with CBS 8 that she is supportive of the coastal plan. She cites that the city must do what it takes to preserve the beaches and the region’s coastline before it’s too late.
I’m hoping they take this same concern to the rest of the pressing issues in OB, and involve the community in decision making for OB, by OB, because that’s what makes OB- OB. An iconic visual, experience; the quintessential San Diego that is rooted in the imagination of everyone who seeks to visit San Diego. And it’s not by chance, it’s been nurtured and fought for to this point, and whatever the essence of it is, it’s not the kind of place that will benefit from this “Strong Mayor” system, since our “Strong Mayor” has neglected the area for so long. And somehow, despite being one of the most important aspects of the entirety of SD, no one has considered the fiscal impact of the tourism we are losing by the total neglect of the pier, life guard stations, cut back library hours, lack of funding for the pancake breakfast, and not even a hint of a break for the red tape money grab permits, when everyone is well aware of the revenues lost – making permits nearly unattainable – slashing revenues even further. And the spirit of what makes OB so special. It’s time for everyone to recognize the importance of fostering the formula, recipe, mathematical and spiritual equation, that is OB – and do whatever it takes support this area and ensuring it thrives
From the City of San Diego:
Following today’s approval of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan, the City of San Diego is moving forward with concept projects at four locations to address the growing risk of coastal flooding and erosion. The San Diego City Council voted to adopt the plan, which was developed to help the City brace for the impacts of a warming climate. The plan includes concept-level designs of nature-based solutions, such as elevated sand dunes, restored coastal habitats and realigned parks and infrastructure.
Sea levels in San Diego are expected to rise five to 14 times faster this century than the last, significantly increasing the risk of flooding and erosion. 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 public assets at risk along San Diego’s shoreline. These assets include bridges, roads, parks, recreation centers, water pipes and more. Open space and conservation areas are also highly vulnerable to both sea level rise and coastal storm events.
“San Diego’s beaches and coastline are part of what makes our city so unique, and the Coastal Resilience Master Plan will play a key role in protecting them for the future,” said Chief Resilience Officer Julia Chase. “In addition to preparing for sea level rise, this plan also aims to improve public access to the coast, support recreation opportunities and protect natural habitats.”
The plan prioritizes six pilot sites based on feasibility, resilience needs and environmental benefits: La Jolla Shores, Pacific Beach – Tourmaline Surf Park, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach – Dog Beach, Ocean Beach – Beachfront (Pier), and Sunset Cliffs. Four sites, including two at Ocean Beach, will advance into the City’s Capital Improvement Program for initial engineering over the next year:
· Ocean Beach – Dog Beach and Beachfront (Pier): Restore dune habitat near Smiley Lagoon and build a new multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists fronted by elevated, vegetated dunes. The multi-use path would provide mobility connection from the San Diego River bikeway to the Ocean Beach Pier.
· Sunset Cliffs: 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 project concept includes trail enhancements, revegetation of the linear park with native vegetation, drainage improvements and removal of the paved parking lots from the cliff. It also considers road reconfiguration for a section of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, which would create a new separated pedestrian path and a one-lane, one-way southbound vehicular travel lane.
Nature-based solutions provide additional environmental and socio-economic benefits such as enhanced and protected habitat, green jobs and environmental education opportunities. The projects consider ways to enhance access to the coast for all community members, such as expanded public transportation to the beach, improved pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and efficiency enhancements for parking.
Next steps include technical and feasibility studies, additional environmental analysis, and continued community engagement, including focused workshops in each community where projects are proposed.
To review the plan and sign up for updates on engagement opportunities, visit the Coastal Resilience Master Plan webpage.
Wow. I love how the city completely ignores their citizen’s concerns and just does whatever they already decided to do. Also love that of all the locations they mentioned they’re focusing on OB/SSC and somehow not La Jolla. Love that.
This plan description is riddled with the word “concept”—-is all this just a big study?
/s/ Chris Kennedy