During a May 12 meeting, Point Loma residents gathered for a city project update to learn more about an effort to build a new seawall along Sunset Cliffs.The Seawall Improvement Project in Sunset Cliffs is estimated to cost approximately $32 million and will help curb coastal erosion along the coastal bluffs.In addition to a new seawall, project engineers look to protect access to the coastline, update public infrastructure for the area near the bluff and for the surrounding Sunset Cliffs residential community. However, a slideshow presentation on seawall improvements by officials during the May 12 meeting at Point Loma/Hervey Branch library drew mixed reactions from residents.Residents in attendance questioned the improvement project’s projected cost, its timing, possible environmental damage and its potential impacts to public safety and traffic disruption along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. Engineers working on the project say the design for seawall improvements along Sunset Cliffs, with a tentative winter 2027 construction start, is now 60% complete. The project schedule is dependent on permit acquisition and funding. Staff said there is presently no funding for seawall improvement construction, which is expected to take approximately 20 months. The expected service life for the proposed seawall is 50 years. The project includes securing all necessary environmental permits for the selected design.In a statement to the Times of San Diego, city spokesman Tyler Becker noted the Sunset Cliffs project’s $32 million price tag reflects the scale of the project and the highly specialized nature of construction along the ocean. “The project was initiated with an estimated total project cost of $7.8 million,” he said. “This original estimate was based on an early, high-level risk analysis conducted in 2021, which was used to initiate the Capital Improvements Program project.”Becker pointed out that, as city staff started to develop the seawall project’s design, the total project cost was adjusted due to continuing erosion on site and changes in bluff conditions, resulting in longer and taller seawalls, the need for higher and more complex retaining walls, as well as increased construction costs.Regarding impacts on the Sunset Cliffs community, Becker said that “while traffic and parking will be affected, neither will be impacted permanently. The parking lot within the project scope will be temporarily closed for construction staging.” Becker noted that, while traffic control measures will be in place along the roadway during construction, both lanes of travel will remain operational. “The Coastal Resilience Master Plan is evaluating additional options along Sunset Cliffs,” added Becker. “That project remains in the planning phase. Early discussions for that project would keep the stretch of Sunset Cliffs as a two-lane road, but the parking lot may be reduced, relocated, or removed.” The Sunset Cliffs Seawall Improvement Project is separate and distinct from the broad Coastal Resilience Master Plan. While both projects contribute to protecting San Diego’s coastline, they differ in scope, purpose, and timeline.During the meeting, Kimberly Wender, senior project engineer with Dokken Engineering, provided an overview of proposed Sunset Cliffs seawall improvements, design options, landscaping features, required permits, estimated costs, project timeline and next steps. While discussing an initial assessment of the bluffs between two existing concrete seawalls near Spalding Point, Wender noted that rising sea levels and severe storms in recent years have accelerated coastal erosion. She warned that, without intervention, continued loss of the bluffs could endanger the roadway, nearby infrastructure and public access to the area.“In January 2026, there was a localized collapse along the bluffs, which took out protected rails – that’s gone today,” said Wender. “We’re seeing a lot of these changes occurring. Those changes, that is really what is driving this project.”Wender noted that engineers reviewed different seawall design alternatives, including a no-build option, and their potential environmental effects to identify a recommended approach. Throughout the project, Wender added that the community will be educated on coastal protection solutions and the decisions that shape the seawall’s final design. She emphasized that the final design will prioritize improvements, minimizing environmental and infrastructure impacts while providing reliable, long-term coastal protection balancing environmental considerations and community needs.A few residents, during a Q&A following the slideshow, like Kim Haynes, offered suggestions for other engineering alternatives to be considered to enhance seawall improvements, making them better and less environmentally impactful. “Did anybody ever consider an artificial reef between two major surf breaks here?” he asked, adding, “An artificial reef cuts 75% to 95% of the wave action, which would remedy the solution there. It would be a more natural solution — and a very cost-effective one.”“This feels to me like a decisive and permanent step in the wrong direction, building a concrete seawall to continue the damage that had been previously caused,” warned Nat Giraud from the audience. “Where does this stop? Are we going to pave the entire coast, pave another piece of paradise to protect our parking lot?”Another resident who asked if parking infrastructure improvements would be included in the seawall project was told they were not; they instead are part of the city’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan. Water runoff along Sunset Cliffs bluffs was another residential concern expressed. Ocean Beach historical author Kathy Blavatt pointed out that seawall improvements will be difficult given the large number of caves undercutting the bluffs.The May 12 PowerPoint presentation is available on the project’s website.
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