Solana Beach to seek local coastal plan

By: JESSICA MUSICAR - For the North County Times | Wednesday, January 11, 2006 11:11 PM PST ∞

SOLANA BEACH ---- In their first meeting of the year, Solana Beach City Council members unanimously agreed Wednesday to create a plan that may give the city primary jurisdiction on local coastal development.

If completed by the city and then certified by the California Coastal Commission, the "local coastal plan" will allow the Solana Beach to implement a proposed shoreline agenda within guidelines approved by the state.

City Attorney James P. Lough said Solana Beach is one of only seven cities in California that do not have local coastal plans, noting that the primary reason is Solana Beach's many bluff issues. Various groups have sued the city, claiming that sea walls, which protect deteriorating bluffs, are detrimental to the beach.

After recommending that the council push the plan forward quickly, Lough said he hopes to have a draft plan completed within two months. By Feb. 8, the council will be notified of when it can expect to submit the plan to the Coastal Commission.

"We really need to speed this up," Lough said during the meeting.

A citizens committee, assembled by former Mayor Doug Sheres, submitted a long-term beach and bluff plan to the city on July 22 as a preliminary framework for a local coastal plan. A large portion of the proposed coastal plan will feature elements of this committee's proposal, Lough said, including creation and retention of a wide sandy beach and a guarantee that bluff-top homeowners will be able to protect, improve and maintain their homes until 2080.

After 2080 the committee's plan provides for the restoration of the beach and bluffs to a natural state. Other proposed benefits will include implementation of a financing program for sand retention devices that will not harm or degrade existing surfing and beach resources and improved maintenance of existing and new bluff retention devices.

The committee is composed of bluff-top home owners and environmental advocates who worked together for nine months to complete their submittal.

"It really is a broad-based group of people who came together to try and solve a complex problem," Councilman David Roberts said.

The plan also includes methods of acquisition that will allow the city to acquire title to properties that will be taken back to a natural state.

Marco Gonzalez, an attorney for the Coast Law Group LLP, which represents the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, heatedly told council members that they would be foolish to ignore the plan submitted by the citizens' committee.

"They have come up with something you couldn't do," Gonzalez said. "For God's sake, trust the citizens."

Holding a copy of the proposal, Dwight Worden, an attorney, member of CalBeach Advocates and former coastal commissioner and attorney for the city of Del Mar, said the committee's plan is not a local coastal plan yet, but it is much closer to one than anything created by the city. He added that he wanted to motivate the council to share it with the community.

Council member Thomas Campbell, who later voted to propel the plan forward, said he is confident the local coastal plan will eventually get certified, but added that he believes many citizens will not approve of certain aspects. Even so, Campbell said he hopes to see the plan completed and submitted soon.

"Let's move forward," Campbell said. "Let's try to get this going."

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.