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 City of Solana Beach
Section 4
Shoreline and Coastal Bluff Management Strategies Draft MEIR
Cumulative Impacts
4.1 Affected Environment
Although some persons might argue that the geographic scope of a proper cumulative impact
analysis (i.e., cumulative area of potential effect) for the matters at hand should extend
throughout the entirety of the Oceanside Littoral Cell, the City has determined that any attempt
to analyze such a large geographic area would create practical problems and would tend to
minimize the relative contributions of projects approved along the City's 1.7 mile coastline. In
addition, as a practical matter, it would be very difficult and speculative to even try to determine
the incremental effects of these alternatives in such a large physical context, given the myriad of
policies, projects, and programs currently being evaluated for implementation along this very
considerable stretch of coastline. For these reasons, this cumulative impact analysis focuses
on the past, present, and foreseeable future relevant coastal projects within the City of Solana
Beach and the immediate adjacent communities of Encinitas to the north and Del Mar to the
south. Detailed below is a general description of the existing conditions of the coastlines of the
communities of Encinitas and Del Mar. Solana Beach's conditions have already been
discussed in the individual affected environment sections for each of the resource areas as
presented in Chapter 3.
Encinitas. Encinitas to Cardiff State Beach includes a stretch of approximately 3.6 miles of
shoreline north of Solana Beach. The upper 0.9-mile section of bluff top is heavily developed
and has a history of cliff and slope stability problems. The sand and cobble beach is very
narrow and is backed by a steep wave-cut cliff ranging in height from 30 to 80 feet. Cardiff is
characteristic of cobble berm and beach and is susceptible to surficial failures and erosion due
to steep slopes. The most southern section of shoreline bordering the San Elijo Lagoon is
approximately 1.3 miles long and protected by a rock and concrete rubble revetment and
portions of a deteriorated concrete seawall. This section is a narrow beach with excellent
access in the summer months (Flick, 1994).
Del Mar. Del Mar includes a stretch of approximately 2.6 miles of shoreline south of Solana
Beach. The upper 1.1 miles is generally a wide beach that is largely used for recreation,
provides good beach access, and provides protection for the dense low-lying residential
development in this section. This area is heavily armored with protective structures such as
seawalls, bulkheads, and riprap, many of which have been damaged by high winter waves. The
southern section of 1.5 miles is a narrow sandy beach, backed by almost vertical, 60- to
100-foot-high seacliffs. Shoreline protection is minimal in this area with the exception of
protection for the railroad bench cut into the face of the upper cliff face. The cliff top is almost
totally built out with residential housing and beach access very poor and limited (Flick, 1994).
In addition to the above mentioned existing conditions of the coastlines in the communities of
Encinitas, Del Mar, and Solana Beach, this analysis includes one or more aspects of other
policies, projects, and/or programs that are similar to each of the alternatives with respect to
their type, nature, location, and/or the environmental resources they may affect. The scope of
this cumulative analysis includes other coastline policies, programs, and private and public
projects in the communities of Encinitas, Solana Beach, and Del Mar that:
Project No. 323530000
Page 4-2
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