Guest “I couldn’t make this sort of schist up, if I tried” by David Middleton

California is feuding with this SoCal city over ‘planned retreat’ from sea level rise

By PHIL DIEHL
OCT. 6, 2019
 10:19 AM

DEL MAR, Calif. —  Del Mar is gearing up for a tussle with the California Coastal Commission over the best way to adapt to rising sea levels, an issue with statewide implications.

The city north of San Diego has taken the position that one of the Coastal Commission’s basic strategies, called “managed retreat” or sometimes “planned retreat,” will not work in Del Mar.

“We have a plan, and we stand by our plan,” Del Mar Councilman Dwight Worden said Friday.

The City Council is scheduled to review its sea level rise adaptation plan Monday in preparation for a Coastal Commission hearing on Oct. 16. The commission’s staff has recommended its board reject Del Mar’s plan unless the city agrees to a list of 25 modifications that Worden said could be a “back door” to managed retreat.

[…]

Del Mar, after nearly five years of community meetings and work by residents, staffers and consultants, has agreed to reject the idea of managed retreat. Instead, the city intends to focus on restoring sand to eroding beaches, reinforcing its existing seawalls and dredging the channel of the nearby San Dieguito River.

“The extremely high land value in Del Mar means that public acquisition of any property the city does not control will be difficult and cost-prohibitive,” states a resolution approved last year by the City Council.

[…]

Planning for sea level rise is a relatively new requirement of the Coastal Commission. The state agency was founded in 1972 when there was little knowledge of climate change and rising sea levels.

[…]

Los Angeles Times

Planning for sea level rise is a relatively new requirement of the Coastal Commission. The state agency was founded in 1972 when there was little knowledge of climate change and rising sea levels.

Now that’s funny right there.

The morons hawking the “ExxonKnew” horst schist keep telling us that the oil industry knew all about climate change as early as the 1960’s… And everything the industry knew came from publications from groups like the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society and the government of these sort of United States of America. All of the “secret science” was publicly available. So… Why the hell didn’t the Coastal Commission try doing a bit of research?

The even funnier thing is this bit:

The state agency was founded in 1972 when there was little knowledge of climate change and rising sea levels.

The schist I couldn’t have made up if I was trying.

“The city north of San Diego has” no excuse for being ignorant of sea level rise before 1972.

Del Mar experienced more sea level rise from 1906-1971 (145 mm) than it has since 1972 (103 mm). How many inches is that? 5.6 inches from 1906-1971 and 4.0 inches from 1972-2018. The daily tidal range is nearly 5 feet.

The even funnier thing, is that Del Mar grew from nothing to some of the most expensive real estate in the world while that catastrophic 10 inches of sea level rise was inundating the coastline.

Old Del Mar

On August 14, 1882, the first California Southern Railroad train rode the tracks of its new route from San Diego to San Bernardino. Theodore M. Loop – the contractor and engineer who worked on the project – had acquired acreage and built a home on the north shore of Los Peñasquitos Creek, a setting he described as “the most attractive place on the entire coast.” Loop built a tent city on the beach, now Torrey Pines State Beach.  His wife, Ella, called it “Del Mar” – words taken from a popular poem, The Fight on Paseo Del Mar.

In that same year “Colonel” Jacob Taylor (left) – who had come with his family to live on Rancho Peñasquitos – met Loop who suggested that they build a town. Taylor was captivated by the beauty and potential of the area, and in the summer of 1885, he purchased 338.11 acres at the northern end of the mesa from homesteader Enoch Talbert for $1,000. Thus the town of Del Mar was officially founded.

Taylor was a dynamic visionary who pictured Del Mar as a seaside resort for the rich and famous. With technical support from family and friends, he designed and built a town whose focal point was Casa del Mar, a hotel-resort on what is now 10th Street. Other town attractions included a train station, a dance pavilion, and a bathing pool extending from the beach out into the sea.

The first Del Mar store, located on the north side of 9th Street, was owned by Henry John Gottesburen and his wife Mary who had moved from Atchison, Kansas, to Del Mar in 1884. 

[…]

The Fairgrounds and The Racetrack
In 1933, a search for a permanent location for the San Diego County Fair began. Ed Fletcher suggested that the 184 acre site in the San Dieguito Valley – just off the main highways and the Santa Fe Railroad – would be easily accessible and a perfect setting for a fairground.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided initial funding and the “Del Mar” Fair opened to a great fanfare on October 8, 1936. Fifty thousand people came to enjoy the exhibits and entertainment. Selection of a queen – the Fairest of the Fair – soon became a highlight of this annual event. The final touch on the fairgrounds was the mile-long oval racetrack.

Bing Crosby took the leadership role in making the Del Mar Turf Club a reality, and Pat O’Brien became the Vice President. On opening day of the race track (July 3, 1937), a new era began in Del Mar. The track was hailed as Bing’s Baby or Movieland’s Own Track. In 1938, Bing recorded the song that would open and close every day of racing since those early days – Where the Turf Meets the Surf (click to listen to the song).

For decades racing season has brought crowds to Del Mar.  Hollywood celebrities, such as Pat O’Brien, Jimmy and Marge Durante, Lucy and Desi Arnaz and their children, as well as Burt Bachrach and Angie Dickenson,

Post World War II and The University Years
By 1959, Del Mar decided to incorporate as a city and the 60s marked a time of relative tranquility with the exception of a local student uprising. As the University of California in San Diego came into being, its presence influenced the social, cultural, and political life of the area. The city of Del Mar gained new residents, many of whom were politically active, providing new community leadership. Emphasis began to shift to protecting the environment and beautifying Del Mar. From the late 60s to the early 80s people spoke of the “open space decade,” thus Seagrove Park was born. The 80s marked an increasing emphasis on beautification, coupled with progress and a higher cosmopolitan profile. Del Mar grew to become home to a major publishing concern and attracted artists, writers, and business. In 1985, Del Mar celebrated its centennial, and the Del Mar Historical Society was born.

The centerpieces of new Del Mar are L’Auberge – a beautiful hotel designed with the Hotel Del Mar in mind – and the elegant shops and boutiques of the picturesque seaside shopping center, Del Mar Plaza. Its selection of restaurants provides great taste, mood, and rave reviews.
Jacob Taylor would be pleased to know that his vision retains its elegant ambiance, hosting guests from all over the world in the crown jewel of San Diego, our Del Mar.

Del Mar Historical Society

I think I actually have more empathy for the sea level rise fraudsters in Kiribati and Vanuatu… They, at least, have the excuse of being impoverished.

That said, Del Mar deserves credit for not surrendering to sea level and simply continuing employ standard civil engineering methods of coexisting with sea level.

[T]he city intends to focus on restoring sand to eroding beaches, reinforcing its existing seawalls and dredging the channel of the nearby San Dieguito River.

[…]

The commission’s staff has recommended its board reject Del Mar’s plan unless the city agrees to a list of 25 modifications that Worden said could be a “back door” to managed retreat.

“Retreat, hell! We’re just attacking in the other direction!”

Obviously, the Peoples Republic of California thinks this sort of thing is unacceptable.

Del Mar CA earns a Jon Lovitz award for choosing civil engineering over stupidity…