Save Sunset Cliffs Today

"Special-interest politicians are putting our park at risk. Join Save Sunset Cliffs to protect our way of life!

EROSION

“Sunset Cliffs Park is eroding at an alarming rate. The erosion has now reached an emergency level.”

“In the next couple of years, erosion at Sunset Cliffs will reach crisis levels, much like other Southern California coastlines that are already experiencing catastrophic home and land loss. Sunset Cliffs Park is now at an emergency land-loss stage, and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard is in serious jeopardy of being lost if the current rate of erosion is not addressed immediately. Without swift action, the community faces not only the destruction of coastal parkland and the boulevard, but also a dire risk of home loss and potential threats to human life along Sunset Cliffs. The urgent need for a new ‘Comprehensive Storm Drain System’ cannot be overstated.”

The Save Sunset Cliffs Master Plan for Sunset Cliffs Park is as follows:

Stop the erosion of Sunset Cliffs Park.
Preserve and repair Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.
Protect the park’s current use, history, and s

STOPING EROSION

“Accomplishing a new Comprehensive Storm Drain System is the top priority of the Save Sunset Cliffs Master Plan. This system will dramatically reduce erosion at Sunset Cliffs by allowing the cliff edge in Sunset Cliffs Park to dry out and halt the ‘Top-Down Block Erosion’ currently taking place. By stopping the saturation of the cliff edge, the new system will also make it possible to repair Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, which is being undermined by uncontrolled surface runoff, and preserve the boulevard for future generations.”

SAVE SUNSET CLIFFS EROSION PLAN

Sunset Cliffs Park is eroding at an alarming rate, and the situation has reached an emergency level. Within just a few years, Sunset Cliffs will face crisis conditions, similar to other Southern California coastlines already experiencing catastrophic loss of homes and usable land.

Sunset Cliffs Park is already in emergency land-loss status, and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard is in serious jeopardy if immediate action is not taken. Failure to address the erosion now risks not only the destruction of our coastal parkland and boulevard, but also homes — and ultimately lives.

The urgent need for a new Comprehensive Storm Drain System cannot be overstated. The cliffs are suffering from two forms of top-down erosion:

Block erosion: when the cliff edge becomes saturated and collapses in large sections.
Slope erosion: when stormwater runs off the cliffs during rainstorms, cutting away the land.

Only decisive action now can prevent the loss of our park, our boulevard, and the safety of our community.

Top Down Block Erosion and Top Down Slope Erosion at Sunset Cliffs.

"Top-Down Block Erosion"

"Top-Down Block and Slope Erosion"

At Sunset Cliffs Park, erosion is occurring where the streets that descend from Point Loma intersect with Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. The problem is caused by the current storm drain system — essentially just the curb — which cannot control the velocity and volume of rainwater runoff. The runoff at Sunset Cliffs Park comes in far greater volume and force than the existing system can handle. As a result, water flows uncontrolled to the cliff’s edge, saturating the cliffs and causing the catastrophic ‘Top-Down Block Erosion’ that has plagued Sunset Cliffs for decades.

Top Down Block Erosion and Top Down Slope Erosion at Sunset Cliffs.

"No Surf Beach Top-Down Erosion"

"Top-Down Block Erosion"

Erosion Threat at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Cordova

At Sunset Cliffs Park, severe erosion is occurring where the streets descending from the Point Loma hillside intersect Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. The existing storm drain system — little more than a curb — is incapable of controlling the massive volume and velocity of rainwater runoff generated during storms. This uncontrolled runoff jumps the curb, flows directly to the cliff’s edge, and saturates the fragile bluff.

At the corner of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Cordova, this process has reached a critical stage. The saturation is driving catastrophic top-down block erosion and slope failure, placing the boulevard in immediate jeopardy of collapsing onto No-Surf Beach.

This is not a new problem — Sunset Cliffs has been experiencing this destructive erosion process for decades — but the current conditions now present an urgent risk to both public safety and vital infrastructure.

Top Down Block Erosion and Top Down Slope Erosion at Sunset Cliffs.

The Comprehensive Storm Drain Solution for Sunset Cliffs

The new Comprehensive Storm Drain System will consist of two separate systems, each with its own ocean outfall pipe. Both systems will include state-of-the-art pollution controls: toxic pollutants will be captured in holding tanks and safely released into the sewer system for treatment, while clean runoff water will be piped 500 feet offshore into the sub-tidal zone.

Because of the fragile condition of the cliffs, all work near or on them will use micro-tunneling technology to minimize disturbance.

The new Comprehensive Storm Drain System will be located in the public right-of-way alley east of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. It will intersect each of the streets that descend from the Point Loma hillside with a storm drain grate placed where each street meets the alley behind Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. These grates will direct runoff into the new storm drain pipes, capturing upslope rainwater before it can reach the cliff’s edge and cause the catastrophic erosion currently occurring.

System One will serve the streets from Point Loma Avenue to Guizot Street. Each of these streets will be fitted with a storm drain grate at the alley intersection east of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. The runoff collected here will flow into the new system, where polluted water will be removed and clean water will be discharged into the ocean through a micro-tunneled outfall pipe.

System Two will serve the section from Hill Street to Ladera Street and capture runoff from the hillside area of the park.

Without immediate action, this erosion threatens not only the parkland and boulevard, but also nearby homes and community safety. The Comprehensive Storm Drain System is the only solution that matches the scale of the crisis.

PRESERVE SUNSET CLIFFS BOULEVARD

COMPREHENSIVE STORM DRAIN

With a new Comprehensive Storm Drain System, the erosion of Sunset Cliffs and the undermining of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard will be stopped. Preserving the boulevard will no longer feel like ‘fighting a raging river.’ Once the erosion is halted, the areas where the boulevard has already been undermined can be repaired, ensuring its preservation in its current location. The locations of serious undermining of the boulevard — and the corresponding repairs — are as follows:

HILL STREET

1. Hill Street — where Hill Street meets the cliff’s edge of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.
This section extends from Hill Street to the entrance of “No Surf Beach” and is in need of immediate repair. The proposed solution is a tie-back repair, which secures a small, selective piece of natural-colored, stuccoed wire mesh to the cliff.

ROCKSLIDES

2. Rockslides; South of Monaco Street 200 feet where Sunset Cliffs Boulevard Bends. This Rockslides location repair need to have the rip-rap secured with colored cement mastic and a small tie back to maintain the integrity of the boulevard.

3. The Clairbourne's Cove location needs the rip-rap to be configured to create an opening in the center of the rip-rap wall and then anchor the rip-rap with a natural colored cement mastic. With the new "Comprehensive Storm Drain System" this location will not suffer the erosion that is currently occurring, and will allow Clairbourne's Cove to once again flush naturally.

SUNSET CLIFFS PARK CULTURE

THE PARK

Sunset Cliffs Park is comprised of two sections: a Linear Section and a Hillside Section.

The Linear Section consists of the west cliffside edge along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, stretching from Adair Street to the corner of Ladera Street and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, extending from the cliff edge to the guardrail on the west side of the boulevard.
The Hillside Section covers approximately 50 acres located south of Ladera Street, west of Point Loma Nazarene University, and north of U.S. Navy land.

STOPPING EROSION

The Save Sunset Cliffs Master Plan for both the Linear and Hillside sections of the park is to stop the erosion. With the new Comprehensive Storm Drain System in place, the park will no longer continue eroding, and we can begin addressing several specific issues within the park. These include: