COASTAL BLUFFS A BLESSING AND A CURSE IN ENCINITAS

The city of Encinitas is both blessed and cursed by its coastal bluffs. They begin at San Elijo Lagoon in south Cardiff by the Sea and slowly rise at Cardiff State Park and reach a high point at Swamis, site of the Self-Realization Fellowship. They continue northward and drop to Moonlight Beach, which is a state park administered by the city, then rise again until reaching north Leucadia and dropping at Batiquitos Lagoon. The bluffs are lined with multimilliondollar homes that have spectacular ocean views and stunning sunsets when it's not foggy.

The result is a very desirable place to live. The bluff soil is mostly soft sandstone, which easily erodes. There are parts that are harder sandstone less prone to erosion. There are ribbons of harder rock that snake their way through the sandstone and emerge at the coast at Seaside Beach in South Cardiff and at Swami Beach where Cardiff meets Old Encinitas.

The result is tide pools at low tide and surf breaks that are favorite surfing spots.

This all makes the bluffs subject to collapse and dispute.

The entire coast of Encinitas is in the coastal zone, extending from the edge of the ocean to El Camino Real. It is under the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission. Any new building development needs to be consistent with the local coastal plan, and any disagreement about interpretation can be appealed by citizens or the city. In 1986, the Coastal Commission initiated a new policy of “planned retreat” of the coastal bluffs. This meant that any concrete structure at the base of the bluff to prevent collapse was not allowed except under emergency conditions. The city of Encinitas responded by increasing the setback from the bluff edge for any new construction. Existing structures are grandfathered in and are called “legal non-conforming” in planning parlance.

Encinitas didn't incorporate until 1986. Encinitas called itself the Flower Growing Capital of the World. It was for a short while, but in the early 1970s, the area east of Interstate 5 along El Camino Real underwent a construction boom of new homes and businesses. Land became too valuable to keep in agriculture. By 1990, the end of flower growing was imminent, and residents' views of this valuable space began to shift to preserving open space.

Sand on the beach is critical to help protect the base of the bluff from erosion. This is why a lot of money has been spent to dredge offshore sand and replenish the sand that has washed away. There is a natural movement of the sand from Oceanside down to La Jolla where it disappears into a deep ocean canyon. Sand is carried down the rivers and creeks in the area, mainly the San Luis Rey River. It has been dammed, reducing sand flow, and the Oceanside jetty prevents sand from moving south.

Catastrophic bluff failure normally occurs in the winter with storms with heavy rainfall, strong winds and giant surf. There can be decades of stability, and then suddenly an atmospheric river forms causing major damage. This is what happened in Northern California in January. Minor failures can occur any time with over-irrigation and/or construction activity on the bluff. Three people were killed in Leucadia on Aug. 2, 2019, at Grandview Beach when a small section of the bluff gave way. The city is being sued over this. Also, a minor failure in 2022 at Beacon Beach closed the trail to the beach below. The city had wanted to put in a cantilevered metal and concrete stairway, but citizens rejected it in a council meeting. The trail is now open.

Bluff failures have occurred in the past. In 1941, the Self-Realization Fellowship temple fell into the ocean. In 1958, a section of Highway 101 to the south fell into the ocean. In 1983, there was major damage in Cardiff 's restaurant row when giant waves overtopped the buildings, threw rock and sand onto the roadway, and washed out sections of the road.

Now state mandates for higher building density and more affordable housing challenge the city to come up with solutions that maintain the quality of life residents have.

Anyone can walk the beach in the summertime with more sand and less cobbles and see the bluffs up close. It's not hard to see the vulnerable areas and the broken private stairways.

Two important books for more information are “Sea, Cliffs, Beaches, and Coastal Valleys of San Diego County: Some Amazing Histories and Some Horrifying Implications,” by Gerald G. Kuhn and Francis P. Shepard, and “Profiles in Flowers: The Story of San Diego County Floriculture,” by Robert Melvin.