| Tweet |
Custom Search
|
|
|
||
 Solana Beach Coastal Preservation Association
August 20, 1998
Project No. 1831
Page 49
limited amount of marine erosion on a daily basis due to both direct wave impact and
cobble abrasion, which will eventually result in additional bluff failures. If left unabated,
these bluff failures will eventually encroach upon existing bluff-top improvements,
substantially degrading the visual character of the coastline and ultimately resulting in a
similar situation to that in Leucadia just north, where coastal stabilization, allowed by the
Coastal Act to protect structures, has significantly adversely affected the character of that
coastal community.
Since the actual failure of the vertical bluff is associated with a progressive loss of shear
strength within the bluff-parallel fracture, these failures can occur at any time, unassociated
with high wave activity. This results in a very real public safety concern in that the bluff can
fail literally at any time of the day, even during tidal lows when the public may be walking
along the beach.
As indicated in the California Coastal Act, as well as in the City of Solana Beach's Municipal
Code, any future coastal protection should minimize shoreline encroachment, should be
designed to minimize the alteration of natural landforms, and must be visually compatible
with the character of the surrounding coastal bluffs. Properly designed coastal protection
measures can be designed to enhance the visual quality in certain areas, while improving
public safety and, thus, utilization of the coastline. Both the City of Solana Beach and the
California Coastal Commission recognize that some level of pro-active coastal protection is
in the best interests of both the bluff-top homeowners and the citizens of Solana Beach, as
well as other members of the public that recreate on this beach. Although it is the City=s
policy to discourage use of seawalls, as stated in Section 17.62.020 of the Solana Beach
Municipal Code, it is the City=s policy to approve measures to stabilize caves, joints, faults,
ruptures, or cracks in the bluff surface. As indicated in the Solana Beach Municipal Code,
these infills are considered acceptable as a reasonable measure to prevent erosion and
minimize effects that could result in a future need to construct a more intrusive protection
device.
As indicated in Section 17.62.100 of the City=s Municipal Code, filling sea caves or other
geologically hazardous conditions affecting the bluff surface may be approved when it is
determined that the infill is:
|
 
|
|
|
||
