Agenda, first session — Del Mar City Council, March 17, 2026

Del Mar City Council Meeting Agenda
Del Mar Town Hall
1050 Camino del Mar, Del Mar, California
March 17, 2026 City Council Meeting

INFORMATION RECEIVED

AFTER THE COUNCIL AGENDA

WAS DISTRIBUTED
(“Red Dots”)
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Bill Carpenter <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2026 8:54 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Terry Gaasterland; Hershell Price
Subject: City Council Meeting 3/17/26: Item 2 - Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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City Council -
Please ask SANDAG:
 Do the manufactured slopes have to be this ugly?? Please try some creativity.  As long as you've got all that construction equipment there . . . When will the pedestrian underpass at 7 th Street (as required by and promised to the Coastal Commission) be completed??  Re-confirm this stabilization investment is designed to protect the bluffs at least until 2050 (so moving the tracks off the bluff isn't be needed any time soon).

March 17, 2026 Item 2
2 Thanks,
Bill Carpenter
Luneta Drive
Bill Carpenter | Strategic Advisor & Broker Associate DRE#01943283 [email protected] | 858.232.2339 m SeaDreamHomes.com
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Michael Deftos <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2026 9:56 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Red dot for March 17th City Council hearing Agenda Item 2 Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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Del Mar City Council,
I am concerned about the loss of beach access at 11th St due to construction activities for SANDAG's Bluff Stabilization Project. Apparently, this access to the beach with its popular surf breaks, which has been accessible for at least 50 years, will be blocked for around a year. This follows replacement of the drainage ditch at the same location with a much larger, nearly impassable drainage ditch that requires a bridge of stacked sandbags to be crossible. I am concerned the Bluff Stabilization Project is taking away access to the beach below, with no real plan to restore the access. Please ask SANDAG why it is infeasible to allow continued access to the beach from 11th St while the construction project is ongoing. If it is infeasible, please ask SANDAG to complete the work in a manner that most quickly restores access to the trail down to the beach.

Thanks for your consideration,
Michael Deftos
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Linda Castile <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 9:39 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Fencing: 11th Street, Del Mar Bluff
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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Greetings:

Del Mar residents and visitors to our town are fully capable of safely crossing the railroad tracks. We’ve lived within a block of the tracks for 53 years, often crossing more than once a day. Our four kids were raised here, and were taught to cross safely and carefully.

We are adamantly opposed to further obstruction of these crossings.

Linda and Brett Castile
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: drew philip <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 9:55 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Regarding SANDAG Meeting on March 17th in Del Mar Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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I write this Red Dot letter to pose some questions to SANDAG regarding their Phase 5 ‘bluffs stabilization’ work. It has been many months since this work began, and it seems that most Del Mar citizens (and visitors) have simply abandoned their usual walks/runs along this ‘construction site’ on the south bluff, as SANDAG continues what appears to be an overly massive reconstruction of what once was a natural bluff. Yes, I do know that erosion is inevitable, and I also understand that SANDAG has been tasked with the job of preserving some train line in and out of San Diego to the north, and that their controlling party, Burlington Northern clearly has no interest in anything except maintaining these tracks, despite the agonizing impact upon our local community. As an entity beholden to Burlington Northern, SANDAG is under their control, influence and obligation without much independence, since this train line is mainly there to serve the interests of BN.

My first question is why are SANDAG’s ongoing plans for this “5th Phase” being revealed last minute to the community, so that we have no way to examine these steps before they are taken? I do not believe that there was ever a plan to close the 11th Street crossing for an entire year as part of this work~?! Such random sudden decisions must stop and the community must be informed of any such contemplated decisions. What justification does SANDAG give for this sudden closure of one of the main surfer crossings to the beach below??
I also would like to know what happened to the mitigation plans which were part of this agreement made with the Coastal Commission, to:
"develop and implement capital improvement project that would include design, environmental review, permitting and construction of (1) a railroad crossing; (2)at least one beach accessway, at the end of either 7th or 11th Street that would cross down the bluff slope and terminate at the sandy beach; and (3) a blufftop trail along the eastern, inland portion of the railroad ROW from Seagrove Park to 4th Street.” March 17, 2026 Item 2
2 I would have expected that SANDAG would have presented plans for these obligations by now, given that the final plans are to be completed within this next year, and nearly two years have passed since this project began. Why have there been no regular updates about these mitigation plans? And if there are some plans already, why have they not been shared with the community?
It is long overdue that SANDAG stop deceiving the local community as they plow forward with an altered agenda that has never been made public. You have a responsibility to the community of Del Mar to be transparent about what your intentions are with this massive '5th Phase’. The suspicion I have is that SANDAG likely has no intention of honoring these mitigations even though they have been part of this 5th Phase all along, and required by the Coastal Commission.

Please, share the full plans that you have and any changes that you might be contemplating from the original design. The community deserves to know what you are doing, and we must have a voice in any such derivations from the plan we were told would be followed.

Sincerely,
Drew Cady
903 Stratford Court, Del Mar
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Stephanie Tarkington <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 10:37 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Tuesday, March 17th City Council meeting
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To City Clerk,
Reference Item 2, Bluff Stabilization, etc.

I am opposed to any closure of bluff and beach access at 11th Street for bluff stabilization. And, if absolutely necessary for public safety and for the type of work that would be happening then a minimum amount of time would be the only thing acceptable.

To suggest longer seems a kind of low level control and harassment rather than just public safety.

SANDAG is clearly aware that 11th Street has been a major access for surfers and walkers since long before we moved to 11th Street in 1970.

The surfers, walkers and the construction crew have been both responsible and respectful over the past several years as the new culvert and bluff stabilization was completed. I have several photos , over several years, showing ginormous equipment and surfers/walkers existing safely in the same general area. All making it work.

Please reconsider your need to block access at 11th Street for any extended period of time. We can all work together for safety and completion.

Stephanie Tarkington
100 11th Street
Del Mar, CA 92014
858.755.6564
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Glynn Bolitho <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 12:58 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Bluff fencing
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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To whom it may concern,
We would strongly oppose fencing the bluff and in so doing restricƟng public beach access.

Yours sincerely,
Glynn and ColeƩe Bolitho.

March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: City Clerk Mail Box
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 1:33 PM
To: Leslie Carrillo
Subject: FW: Agenda Item 2 / 3-17 Meeting

From: Kurt Snider <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 12:48 PM
To: City Manager Mail Box <[email protected]>
Cc: Terry Gaasterland <[email protected]>; Dan Quirk <[email protected]> Subject: Agenda Item 2 / 3-17 Meeting

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City Manager & City Council,
Once again, the City of Del Mar is being held hostage by an outside group with little or no concern for residents. I thought when the junkyard fencing went up in front of WaveCrest, the city would demand it be removed, or lowered so as not to interfere with views.

The day it went up, I ran into then-councilman Dave Drucker and asked him if the city had approved it. He was completely unaware that it was installed. Here we are years later, and SANDAG and NCTD are poised to install more of their useless, trashy fencing.

When are you going to force these agencies to follow their agreements? Not only is there no path on the east side of the tracks, per Coastal Commission requirements, SANDAG has also installed permanent fixtures that preclude this.

SANDAG and NCTD are not friends, or even cooperating agencies with Del Mar. Instead, these poorly managed bureaucracies are wasting millions of dollars on infrastructure to support empty trains.

I encourage the city to view these agencies for what they are: adversaries. Please refuse all cooperation and accommodation with this project until they meet Coastal Commission requirements.

Kurt Snider
Rory Bennett
258 Surfview
858-829-3435
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: K Lare <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 1:37 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Eddie Lare
Subject: Red Dot City of Del Mar Council Meeting
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Hello City Staff, Council Members and Mayor,
I am not able to make the meeting on Tuesday evening as I have a board meeting that I must attend. A few points:

1. The Coastal Committee approved the Bluff Stabilization #5 with certain conditions. The time is running out for SANDAG to comply with those conditions and I look forward to understanding the plans and timeline for the beach access and trail access plans.

2. The closure of the beach access trails was never in the plans. Why is it necessitated at this time and why for such a long period of time?

3. Fencing off the bluffs and beach access was a long and hard fought battle with NCTD by the Friends of Del Mar Bluffs and the Coastal Commission. Is this the ultimate end game and a way to accomplish this under the guise of required maintenance? We were never told beach access would be blocked by drainage ditches.

4. According to SANDAG staff there are no drawings of what the bluffs will look like after the work is completed. This came to light when I started asking questions about the lower bluffs and wondering with kind of restoration would be done once the sea walls were in place and the back fill done. Would they replant, etc. The same seems to be true of the upper bluffs as work is being done that we did not see on the original plans. Seems like a rendering of finished product would have been done for the board members to approve?
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Karen Lare
Sea Cliff Way
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Karla Leopold <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 1:44 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box; [email protected]; Linda Castile; Stephanie Tarkington; Rick Waite
Subject: RED DOT:Fencing at 11th street beach enterence Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
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We live at 125 11th Street very near where the proposed fencing is to be placed. We have fought this issue for the past years and thought it was resolved only to find out 3 days before the proposed meeting to introduce the fencing, it is going to be constructed next week!!!! What happened to all the past input, resolutions and compromises? This chain link fencing is not acceptable.

It will be what we see out our home blocking our views of the ocean, sunsets, surf etc. How can this happen which has discarded all the conversation and compromises of the last years? This devalues our property and is unsightly.

The surfers who have been using 11th street for over 30 years will not accept this proposed fence.

They have a large club of over 50 members called the 11th St Surfers. This will not be acceptable.

What has changed from our former conversations that is prompting fencing now? How long will the fencing be there?
When will it be removed?
Has the Costal Commission followed the legal protocol to construct this fence? What can we do to provide important input regarding this issue that certain inputs our lives? Very Concerned,
Karla and Bill Leopold
125 11th Street
Del Mar, CA 92015
858 344 5375

March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Kavin Bloomer <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 2:03 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Kavin Bloomer; San B (home)
Subject: Fwd: FENCING ON DEL MAR BLUFF - SANDAG Will Update City Council on Stabilization and Impacts to Beach Access
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To Whom It May Concern,
My wife and I would like to raise our strong opposition to the fence that is being deliberated for possible installation on 11th street, 4th street, 6th street, etc. in Del Mar.

We understand that certain works are being done by SANDAG to repair the bluffs, but we have and will continue to fight long and hard against fencing on the Del Mar Bluff. We want to keep access to the bluff trails and the beach below.

The construction has been going on for a very long time and we have tried to be patient and supportive. But the numerous surprises and now this fence suggestion is not at all acceptable.

Kindly register my strong opposition to this effort.

Thank you and best regards.

Kavin and Saniya Bloomer
151 8th Street
Del Mar, CA 92014
858-401-9946
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: KAREN BUSH <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 4:02 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Del Mar Bluff Agenda # 2
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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I am wriƟng as a concerned ciƟzen of Del Mar, who uses the bluff on a daily basis.

Access to the beach and the beauƟful bluff is a major factor in the beauƟful surroundings we share as residents, and with our many tourists that sustain our small city.

We have coexisted with the ongoing construcƟon over the last few years , and it is very distressing to me that SANDAG is planning on blocking our beach and bluff access for an extended period.

It is my great hope that you will reconsider this unfair and ill considered plan and keep even the limited access we currently have.

Respecƞully submiƩed,
Karen Bush
15th St.

Del Mar resident
Sent from my iPhone
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: ulla rang <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 5:16 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Red dot for Item 2 (Sandag), City Council Meeting 03.17.2026 Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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Not much more than a year ago, the citizens of Del Mar and the Coastal Commission won a long fought battle with NCTD in regards to NCTD threatening to fence off beach access across the bluff. Yet, here we are again, now with SANDAG simply making a public statement less than a week ago that the beach access at 11th street will from now on be closed for a year.

Really?
How did we get there? Where was the (in)famous transparency they promised? Do they have any kind of permission to do this, to stop public access - which has been declared NOT illegal as per both the Coastal Commission and per legal documents from 1931.

The deal that SANDAG did with the Coastal Commission in June of 2022 was to give the public a SAFE beach crossing across or under the rails on the bluff as a mitigation for taking away 50,000 square foot beach from the public for erecting 10 foot tall beach walls. This is the exact opposite of that. We have not seen a single item of the mitigations on the list being fulfilled, on the contrary. And now the nail in the coffin to fence off the 11th street crossing that has been used for a hundred years.

Any closure of public beach access on the bluff should wait until the promised safe access has been created.

If closure of the 11th street crossing is absolutely necessary BRIEFLY before the safe crossing has been constructed,it should be discussed with the CIty of Del Mar and with transparency. Briefly and temporary should mean a week. A month is pushing it. A year??? Absolutely unacceptable!! If temporary closure really IS needed for that long, it has to be limited to certain hours, like from 9-3 weekdays, during surfers' and the public's normal work hours. Use temporary fences that are movable.

SANDAG just keep on proving themselves - again and again, not trustworthy. We constantly have to be on our toes and observe and report everything we see. It's sad. Enemies come disguised as friends.

In regards to the promised safe crossing - where is it? We have seen no plans whatsoever. I have only heard an extremely inflated number from Mario Orso of $80M, which is ridiculous. for a pedestrian tunnel of no more than 80 feet. That is a million dollar per foot.I don't think so and I have no idea how they came up with that number, but it is surely wrong and created for one reason and one reason only: to convince the Coastal Commission that they don't have to keep their part of the deal, the only mitigation that March 17, 2026 Item 2
2 actually meant something to the public - the safe beach access. You, the CIty Council, has to put pressure on SANDAG to fulfill their part of the deal and contact the Coastal Commission that the mitigation is being threatened.

All we want is a very simplistic design. A very simple pedestrian tunnel with very simple steps down to the beach on the other side (and steps from the bluff to the bluff stairs for the people going north from the Torrey Pines area, many dog owners since TP/SD does not allow dogs but Del Mar does).

Keep SANDAG's feet to the fire or the deal will run cold. What is the saying - you snooze, you lose. Let's not snooze.

Sincerely,
Camilla Rang
10th Street. Del Mar
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Joy Ehrenfeld <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 5:23 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Red Dot-City Council Meeting-March 17-Agenda Item #2-SANDAG Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
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City Council,
I have lived at 220-10th Street for 40 years and I can sƟll remember how happy I was when I discovered the that there was a trail to the beach right around the corner from my house! We used to take our two toddlers down there and it was so convent not to have to take them all the way to town to get to the beach.

Please don’t close down this old historic trail that generaƟons of Del MarƟans have used and loved. The stairs to the beach that SANDAG promised us are years away, so please keep the 11th Street trail open.

Thank you,
Joy Shadle Ehrenfeld
10th Street
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Michael Deftos <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 9:26 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Red dot #2 for March 17th City Council meeting Agenda Item 2 Attachments: APPENDIX C - HISTORY OF ACCESS AND RECREATION WITHIN THE DEL MAR BLUFFS.pdf
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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Del Mar City Council,
Attached is a portion of the staff report for the California Coastal Commission Consistency Certification (CC-0005-21) for the Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Project 5. The original documents for this can be found here https://www.coastal.ca.gov/meetings/agenda/#/2022/6 under item 7b. The portion I attached is an appendix at the end of the report. It includes historical background information on access to the beach at 11th Street. It includes the following statement regarding the Coastal Commission's approval of other bluff stabilization projects performed by NCTD and SANDAG:
"For each of these projects the Commission reviewed and analyzed all of the coastal resource effects of the proposed development, including temporary and permanent adverse impacts to access and recreation."
The residents of Del Mar and other beach users are just now finding out about the approximately one year closure of beach access at 11th Street. This raises the question of whether SANDAG provided information regarding this to the Coastal Commission Commission for their review and analysis.

Thanks,
Michael Deftos
March 17, 2026 Item 2
CC-0005-21 (SANDAG)
89 APPENDIX C - HISTORY OF ACCESS AND RECREATION

WITHIN THE DEL MAR BLUFFS
Construction of the railroad in its current location began in the early 20th century with the first train passing along the completed line in August 1910.12 Sometime after completion of the railroad, a vertical overcrossing was constructed at the end of 10th Street that extended up and over the railroad and terminated on the bluff seaward of the tracks.

This crossing connected to a series of informal lateral trails along the bluff edge as well as a vertical trail down to the beach at 11th Street. Figure 1 includes an aerial photograph from 1932 and the vertical overcrossing at 10th Street is highlighted with a black box. Various informal lateral access trails running along the length of the blufftop and the informal vertical trail leading down to the beach at 11th Street are also visible in the figure.

Figure 1 – Historic Overcrossing at 10th Street
(Photo Credit: C-1980, 73, February 28, 1932. Courtesy of UCSB Library Geospatial Collection)
12 http://thewebsters.us/2021/04/07/railroads-through-del-mar/ Vertical Trail from
Bluff down to
Beach Lateral Trails
March 17, 2026 Item 2
CC-0005-21 (SANDAG)
90 This vertical overcrossing was removed sometime between 1932 and 1972 (it does not appear in aerial photographs from that year). Remnants of its structural foundation are still existing at the southern end of 10th Street, as illustrated in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 – Remnants of Historic Overcrossing at 10th Street (Photo Credit: Coastal Commission Staff, December 8, 2021) Proposition 20 (the Coastal Zone Conservation Act) was on the November 7, 1972 ballot and was approved, effective February 1, 1973. The Coastal Zone Conservation Act created the State Coastal Zone Conservation Commission and six regional commissions. The Act was replaced with the Coastal Act of 1976, which became effective on January 1, 1977. Following passage of Proposition 20, any new, nonexempt development would be required to obtain Commission approval or, once its local coastal program was certified, City approval.13 Development is broadly defined in the Coastal Act to include not only more typical land development activities such as construction of physical buildings, but also any changes in the intensity of use of land or water, even where no physical construction may be involved. Pertinent to the historic trails and access and recreation within the Del Mar Bluffs, any action taken after 1972 that would have the effect of changing the intensity of use regarding access and 13 Note that the City of Del Mar has a certified Local Coastal Program that constitutes the standard of review for development projects within the City. However, the standard of review for the Commission’s federal consistency review is the enforceable policies of Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act. Because this process is how the Commission has historically reviewed SANDAG projects along this section of rail, this report focuses only on Coastal Act policies.

March 17, 2026 Item 2
CC-0005-21 (SANDAG)
91 recreation (whether temporary or permanent) would be considered development that would be subject to the policies of the Coastal Act and would require approval, unless exempt.

Figure 3 includes an aerial photograph from 1979 beginning at 12th Street and extending downcoast to 8th Street. The photograph illustrates the series of informal lateral trails along the bluff, as well as the informal vertical trail at 11th Street leading from the bluff top down to the beach.

Figure 3 – 1979 Aerial Photograph
(Photo Credit: Photography and website Copyright © 2002-2021 Kenneth & Gabrielle Adelman - [email protected])
These trails have existed and been continuously used by the general public since construction of the railroad in the early 20th century and also since the passage of Proposition 20 and the Coastal Act. Any project that has the potential to adversely impact use of these trails for access or recreation is required to be reviewed pursuant to the relevant policies of the Coastal Act. SANDAG and NCTD have completed multiple stabilization-related projects within the bluffs beginning as far back as 1996. For each of these projects the Commission reviewed and analyzed all of the coastal resource effects of the proposed development, including temporary and permanent adverse impacts to access and recreation.

Vertical
Accessway from
Bluff down to
Beach
Lateral Trails
Vertical Trail from City
Street to Bluff
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Rick Waite <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 5:28 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Agenda Item 2, March 17 City Council Meeting
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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I have lived on the 100 block of 11th Street and Sea Orbit Lane for over 40 years. My family, friends, fellow surfers and beach lovers have used the 11th Street goat trail conƟnuously since that Ɵme. Our 11th Street beach access has periodically been threatened by fencing. I am dismayed that it is happening again, this Ɵme on short noƟce.

Providing as much beach access as possible has been a cornerstone of the California Coastal Act since its incepƟon.

ErecƟng a fence to prohibit beach access is contrary to this bedrock principle. A strong, compelling need to restrict this beach access with reasonable noƟce should be advanced by SANDAG to deny this long standing beach access to the public. No such showing has been made.

On behalf of the thousands of people who use that beach access each year I ask that no fence be erected to deny to that access. Not now. Not ever.

Rick Waite
136 Sea Orbit Lane
Del Mar
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March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Matt Weiss <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 6:13 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Fencing
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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Put up Karol’s instead of chainlink for now! UnƟl we all decide on a beƩer soluƟon.

Keep our golden gheƩo golden
MaƩ Weiss
619-408-2929
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Ernest Hahn <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 6:51 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Agenda Item 2 on today's City Council agenda "Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 and Del Mar Access Improvements Projects Update".

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Dear City Clerk,
Please include this comment for Agenda Item 2 regarding the Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 and Access Improvements update, and distribute to the Mayor, City Councilmembers, and appropriate staff.

As a lifelong Del Mar resident and daily user of our coastal trails and beaches, I strongly support the need for thoughtful, science-based bluff stabilization. Protecting the integrity of the bluffs is critical for public safety, infrastructure, and the long-term sustainability of our coastline.

However, I am deeply concerned about the proposed scope and duration of construction fencing—particularly the extended closure at 11th Street through 2027, as well as the additional fencing from 4th Street to Sea Cliff Way. These measures significantly restrict coastal access in ways that feel disproportionate and inconsistent with Del Mar’s longstanding commitment to public coastal access. Growing up at 1105 Stratford Ct, this closure is literally a block from where I grew up in 1973.

The bluff trails and access points are not simply amenities—they are essential to the daily lives of residents and the broader community. For many of us, including surfers who rely on consistent access to the beach below, these routes are part of our routine, health, and connection to this place.

Importantly, restricting access through fencing does not eliminate use—it simply redirects it. History and experience suggest that residents and visitors will find alternate March 17, 2026 Item 2
2 paths around closures, often creating informal or less safe access points. This can unintentionally increase risk rather than reduce it.

With that in mind, I respectfully ask that the City and SANDAG:
• Reevaluate the extent, placement, and duration of fencing, with a goal of minimizing long-term closures
• Prioritize phased or partial access solutions where feasible, rather than full closures • Provide clear justification for what has changed to necessitate these expanded restrictions
• Confirm whether Coastal Commission review and approval has been obtained for these access impacts
• Explore creative design or operational alternatives that maintain public safety while preserving reasonable access
Del Mar has always balanced environmental stewardship with responsible public access.

This is a defining characteristic of our community and should remain central to any stabilization effort.

I appreciate the work being done to protect our coastline, but urge the City to advocate strongly for solutions that do not unnecessarily cut off access to the very resource we are trying to preserve.

Thank you for your consideration.

Ernie Hahn
Enrie Hahn
2427 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Bill Carpenter <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 8:42 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Terry Gaasterland
Subject: City Council Meeting 3/17/26: Item 2 - Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 Follow Up Flag: Follow up
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City Council -
Please ask SANDAG:
 Why the construction fencing? Has it been approved by Coastal Commission? What changed, and if you get away with using it, when will it be removed? I've watched the "staging area" at 17th Street with its ugly fence sit unused for many months.  As long as you've got all that construction equipment there . . . When will the pedestrian underpass at 7th Street (as required by and promised to the Coastal Commission) be completed??
 Do the manufactured slopes have to be this ugly?? Please try some creativity.

March 17, 2026 Item 2
2  Will all this be worthwhile? Re-confirm this stabilization investment is designed to protect the bluffs at least until 2050 (so moving the tracks off the bluff isn't be needed any time soon).

Thanks,
Bill Carpenter
Luneta Drive
Bill Carpenter | Strategic Advisor & Broker Associate DRE#01943283 [email protected] | 858.232.2339 m SeaDreamHomes.com
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Susan Miller <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 9:50 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Agenda Item 2 -- SANDAG
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Mr. Orso,
For a moment, please try to put yourself in the position of the people who live near the bluff who have had their lives disrupted by this project for a long time and now find out that there will be huge, unsightly fences installed for a month or a year between their homes and the ocean. Has SANDAG truly studied all options other than a fence or how to fast track the work to lessen the time required? Does SANDAG have approval from the Coastal Commission to block these areas with a fence? Please remember that most of us are not entitled, rich people. We worked long and hard to be able to live near the ocean and many of us are elderly. Please help us.

Thank you,
Susan Miller & Mike Maier
Del Mar resident for 40 years.

March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 9:58 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Tracy Martinez; John Spelich; Terry Gaasterland; 'Dan Quirk'; Ashley Jones Subject: Red Dot: Item 2, March 17, 2026 City Council meeting Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear City Clerk:

Kindly submit the following red dot into the City Council record for the 3/17/26 meeting.

Dear Honorable Mayor Martinez and Distinguished Members of the City Council:

I am a long-time resident of Del Mar and frequent Bluff walker.

I appreciate SANDAG’s appearing at this City Council meeting to give the public a status report on Bluff Stabilization Project and the Beach Access and Recreational Improvements Project.

I have questions and comments on both (1) SANDAG’s commitment to provide beach access as required by its Phase 5 permit, and (2) beach access during the construction phase of bluff stabilization, that I hope the City Council will pose to SANDAG representatives, time permitting.

1. SANDAG’s Permanent Beach Access and Recreation Improvement Project (a Condition of the Phase 5 Permit)
Questions:

A. What is the status of the two (2023) favored concepts of underpass and north /south trail that were addressed in SANDAG’s April 17, 2023 presentation to the Del Mar City Council? Is SANDAG complying with the overall timeline set by the Coastal Commission for implementation?
B. What steps has SANDAG taken to identify and secure funding for construction of the beach access project? How will it ensure funding?
Background
As we know, over half of Del Mar’s 2.2miles in length on its west side consist of ocean bluffs. Safe access to the beach from street level, where the upper bluff descends to the lower bluff (track level) is blocked by the tracks. Decades ago, according to Del Mar Historical Society photos, a bridge over the tracks at about 10th street with stairs to the beach provided beach access, but sometime in the 1920’s or 30’s it was demolished by the railroad that owned a right of way on the bluffs, and not replaced. The California Constitution provides that the public is entitled to beach access at Article X, Section 4.

SANDAG’s Bluff Stabilization Phases 1 through 4 were temporary bluff stabilization measures. Following Phase 4, SANDAG undertook emergency measures to stabilize the bluffs after a landslide. It then applied to the Coastal Commission for permission to implement Phase 5, which has involved extensive engineering and placement of concrete and steel in the natural bluffs and unsightly, extensive concrete drainage ditches, to try to keep the trains running despite land movement for the years that it will take to move the tracks. In return for receiving permission ( Coastal Commission “concurrence” that the stabilization project is consistent with the Coastal Act), SANDAG committed to 7 “mitigation” March 17, 2026 Item 2
2 conditions. Condition 2 imposes a solution to the decades old problem that the tracks present in blocking people’s access to the beach and requires SANDAG to design and build beach access and improve the upper bluff trail. In its Phase 5 Staff Report, the Commission noted that the public has bee using informal trails across the tracks since 1910, when the rail was put in, and noted that by providing a designated pedestrian rail crossing, the public would be provided with an opportunity to cross the tracks in a more controlled manner than that currently available.

In the Coastal Commission Staff recommendation on Phase 5, the Staff confirmed:
“…..SANDAG has committed to develop and implement capital improvement project that would include design, environmental review, permitting and construction of (1) a railroad crossing; (2)at least one beach accessway, at the end of either 7th or 11th Street that would cross down the bluff slope and terminate at the sandy beach; and (3) a blufftop trail along the eastern, inland portion of the railroad ROW from Seagrove Park to 4th Street.” (See p. 54 of Coastal Commission Consistency Certification CC-0005-21)
https://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2022/6/W7b/W7b-6-2022-report.pdf Potential designs were informed later in 2022 by the Coastal Connections study. https://www.delmar.ca.us/936/Del-Mar-Bluffs-Access-Improvements---SAN The Coastal Commission conditioned SANDAG’s Phase 5 permit on (1) completing the design of this condition by April, 2027 and (2) Completing the implementation (building) of this condition by April 2029. SANDAG is 2 years into the design of the project which is due in April 2027. Del Mar residents have not received a formal status report on the project from SANDAG since April 17, 2023. See Item 10 video at:
https://www.delmar.ca.us/936/Del-Mar-Bluffs-Access-Improvements---SAN though we understand SANDAG has been communicating with city staff.

Funding for Mitigation
SANDAG has numerous sources of funding mostly from state and federal taxpayers, which it taps into in order to further its projects. Tens of millions have been spent on rail projects such as “bluff stabilization” to serve freight and passenger transport. In addition, in order to fund replacement of the San Dieguito bridge, SANDAG tapped into 3 future years of TransNet money which will be reimbursed in the future. Presumably, SANDAG has been seeking funding under various grants for its bluff mitigation obligation since 2022 when it applied for a stabilization permit. While SANDAG must provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities, it need not provide ramp access if doing so will create unreasonable hardship or expense. SANDAG knew of ADA requirements and conditions when it agreed to the beach access project as mitigation (the ADA was passed in the 90’s), and this cannot be a reason to avoid SANDAG’s obligations.

2. Access to the Beach During Construction
Condition 5 to the Phase 5 permit required SANDAG to submit a plan detailing how public coastal access would be maintained to the maximum extent feasible during construction activities (See pp. 3 of Commission Staff Report, linked above)
The newly announced year long fencing at 11th street does not comport with this condition.

Questions:

A. How does SANDAG plan to provide for public coastal if it intends to block access with the newly announced 11th street year-long fencing blockage? B. What is the overall and day to day plan for compliance with Condition 5 and is it available to the public?
C. The latest drainage improvements south of 13th street do not appear to comply with the intent of p. 57 of the Commission Staff Report for Phase 5. The Staff Report calls for rock shaped treatment of the surface to reduce the stark visual impact of concrete (and hopefully March 17, 2026 Item 2
3 discourage graffiti that tends to follow after natural settings are replaced with concrete structures). How can the aesthetics of the large and intrusive drainage structures built by SANDAG into the Upper Bluff there and other locations be improved? Thank you.

Respectfully submitted,
Shirli Weiss
551 Stratford Ct.

March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: City Clerk Mail Box
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 10:36 AM
To: Leslie Carrillo
Subject: FW: SANDAG Fence closure at 11 Street
From: Juliana Maxey-Allison <[email protected]>
Date: March 17, 2026 at 10:21:21 AM PDT
To: Tracy Martinez <[email protected]>, John Spelich <[email protected]>, "Terry TG. Gaasterland" <[email protected]>, Dan Quirk <[email protected]>, Ashley Jones <[email protected]>
Subject: SANDAG Fence closure at 11 Street
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Hello Mayor Martinez, City Council members Gaasterland, Quirk, Spilach, and City Manager Jones:

While I appreciate SANDAG’s efforts to shore up our disintegrating bluffs and understand that much work has been done and some still in the eyes of SANDAG needs to be done, a fence closure at the west end of 11 Street will certainly be necessary for a time. However, the time to complete the work can be part of the agreement and that would be no longer than six months. There is no reason to have an open ended time available. Even SANDAG has realized and left open a path at the foot of 11 Street for surfers who populate the 11 Street break, a well known surfing site. Let six month maximin be part of the agreement with SANDAG.

Thank you,
Julie Maxey-Allison
10 Street
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: JENNY BEYLER <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 10:58 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Red dot for Item 2 (Sandag), City Council Meeting 03.17.2026 CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organizaƟon. Do not click links or open aƩachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Council Members and Fellow Lovers of Del Mar,
The train that runs along Del Mar’s scenic natural bluffs and the surfers, beach goers, cliff walkers and sunset lovers who enjoy them daily, have peacefully coexisted for nearly 100 years now! Isn’t that beauƟful? I’m sure both sides would be glad to have the bluffs all to themselves, but we both make a compromise so we can both enjoy this beauƟful part of Del Mar coast. It really should be a natural preserve, but so far it has worked out nicely for both sides.

The past year or more of “bluff stabilizaƟon” has been difficult to take. The cute sandy paths winding through beauƟful flowers and natural flora has been bulldozed and flaƩened into a permanent packed gravel road, liƩered with orange sandbags (or “sandags”???), trucks and diggers everywhere, orange plasƟc construcƟon fencing blocking the lovely view.

But that’s ok. I can take it. It will be over some day (or will it?). Maybe the flowers will come back (or won’t they?). I sƟll can see the beauty through it all. I remember how it used to be. It’s sad, but I’m trying to be posiƟve and enjoy what is sƟll there.

Surfers sƟll gather at the end of 11th street even with a chainlink fence blocking the view of the waves. They sƟll carefully climb across the sand bag (sandag) bridge to get across the newly overbuilt concrete drainage ditch…which is ready for a 4 foot deluge, but rarely sees even 1/2” of run off…They look both ways for trains and scamper safely across the tracks and down the 11th street path, which has been the way to the beach for years…maybe even before Del Mar was Del Mar…We are all being very tolerant and hopeful that one day, this “construcƟon” will be complete, and unƟl then we will enjoy what we have.

BUT now they want to take that a way too by blocking access to the beach at 11th street completely??? Come on! Let’s both play nice. We are biƟng our tongues and suffering through all this “construcƟon” (or is it “destrucƟon”?) and then they just pile it on more and more. All I am asking is to keep at least the small entry in the fencing for surfers to get to the cliff path at 11th street and down to the beach, so they can enjoy the surf. It’s all we have leŌ.

The fencing that has been at the end of 11th street these past months doesn’t actually block any public access. The part where it is placed is uncrossable anyway due to the steep walls of the ditch there. Its only funcƟons are to make the neighborhood look trashy and ruin the sunset views from the dead end. This, in turn, makes people want to go around it to see a clear view of the ocean. Perhaps by removing the fencing completely, we would have less people crossing the tracks, not more. So instead of asking to keep just the liƩle entry for surfers, let’s take the whole chain link down! It does nothing but pollute the view.

Let’s keep Del Mar beauƟful. Otherwise we can change the slogan to, “Down in Old Del Mar, Where the Fence Blocks the Surf”
Thank you for listening,
Jenny Beyler
March 17, 2026 Item 2
2 10th St. Del Mar
March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Isla Cordelae <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 10:59 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box; Isla Cordelae
Subject: Red Dot: Fencing along 11th St Bluff
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

March 17th Agenda Item 2 "Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 and Del Mar Access Improvements Projects Update".

Please do not approval the 'temporary' fencing for 'safety reasons' along the 11th Street bluff.

This is just another piecemeal step to complete the railroad master plan to put a double track corridor along the coast without Coastal Commission approval and adequate public access.

I have lived in Del Mar for over 55 years and currently reside at 106 11th. Street.

1. This street has served as vital emergency access to Lifeguards, paramedics, fire department, and immigration officials for both sea and land operations.

2. Safe at grade crossings have been designed and approved up and down the coastal corridor in other areas (and most recently in North County) and yet no master plan has been designed and approved here.

3. A 'temporary fencing' (how high and what materials?) sets the precedent for permanent fencing, especially as the infrastructure of the current drainage and track 'stabilization' is being put in place that may require additional construction that prevents safe public access.

I have seen the massive erosion along these bluffs, especially in the 8th to 15th street area. One morning I was watching the surf at the end of Sherrie Lane, and a massive slump approximately 15' wide and 20' occurred that would carry the current retaining walls into the ocean.

Just after our first heavy rains last year, off of 11th and 12th streets, the cliff eroded up to within 1-2 feet of the track and was that morning emergency 'filled' and 'paper layered' out to about 3-5 feet in width. Is the piecemeal planning of what appears to already be sufficient foundations being laid and room for double tracking beyond 8th Street south in the best interests and economic responsibilities for future generations? March 17, 2026 Item 2
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Kerridge, Carol <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 11:26 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: RED Dot Bluff Stabilization Project
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear City Council Members and Staff,
While I realize the Bluff Stabilization Project is very complex with many variables to consider. I particularly think we all need to be aware of the changing nature of the environmental factors such as instability of the bluff and the increasing Atmospheric River storms producing large amounts of runoff drainage in a short period of time...all possibly contributing to changes in the plans for the ongoing stabilization to the bluff.

I am in hope that changes in the stabilization plans can be communicated openly with SANDAG engineers and our City, and that the promise for accessibility to the beach from our end of town does not get hidden or forgotten. I believe we can learn from our friends in coastal Northern CA that we certainly need to work together, communicate openly, and that some of the plans may not be permanent as the environmental conditions change.

Thanks for the opportunity to voice my opinion,
Carol Kerridge
El Amigo Rd
March 17, 2026 Item 2
March 11, 2026
Del Mar City Council
c/o Sarah Krietor, Administrative Services Manager/City Clerk 1050 Camino del Mar
Del Mar, California 92014
[email protected]

VIA IN-PERSON DELIVERY
Re: Additional Information Regarding Appeal of Staff’s Denial of EP25-049 (Rael) 1612 Stratford Way, Del Mar, CA 92014
Dear Ms. Krietor:

Mr. Paul Rael is the applicant and owner of the property at 1612 Stratford Way, Del Mar, directly adjacent to the right-of-way area in question. Mr. Rael seeks to improve the strip of public rightof-way situated between his front property line and the Stratford Way paved roadway. This area is currently comprised of dirt and mulch that is messy and sheets away during the rain. The area looks unfinished and Mr. Rael is hoping to beautify the area at his expense for the benefit of the City and surrounding neighbors.

Regrettably, staff denied application, EP25-049, and indicated that they could only approve an Encroachment Permit if the improvements were 100% constructed of asphalt to match the roadway materials. Such a solution is woefully deficient in tastefulness and aesthetic quality, and is in fact inconsistent with how the Community Plan describes the intended look and feel for local residential streets in Del Mar:

Nearly all of the streets serving internal circulation have an informal "country road" feeling due to the lack of sidewalks, curbs, and gutters, and the growth of private landscaping along the edges of the pavement. This aspect of street design is felt by the community to be a positive aesthetic feature worthy of preservation (Background - Original Page Nos. 43—47).

Since the denial of Encroachment Permit, EP25-049, we have met with City staff to understand their concerns, and we would like the opportunity to put forth a revised EP design to City Council that provides for more of an informal “country road” feeling consistent with the Community Plan.

We therefore ask simply that the City Council determine to hear the appeal so that we may have the opportunity to present our revised design and additional technical information that addresses staff concerns.

March 17, 2026 Item 8
Letter to Del Mar City Council
RE: EP25-049 (Rael)
March 11, 2026
Attached is our revised EP design which includes photo-renderings of an all-asphalt solution and our revised proposal with a grasscrete base covered in a charcoal gray decomposed granite (DG) that is more in keeping with an informal, rural design aesthetic while maintaining on-street public parking. The grasscrete solution stabilizes the dark gray decomposed granite (DG), is vehiclefriendly for parking, and percolates rainwater which the City of Del Mar encourages as lowimpact development. The City’s suggested asphalt solution seems to be all staff has in their toolbox right now to approve and what we are providing offers a new and viable solution for the Village of Del Mar and the City Council to entertain. I think we can all agree that simply paving over the parking shoulder with asphalt, as offered by staff, is not an aesthetic nor functional design solution anyone would want to see here or anywhere throughout the City.

Respectfully,
Attachment: Rael Right-of Way Improvement Plans, prepared 3/9/2026 by W. Dean Meredith, Architect
March 17, 2026 Item 8

NEW ENTRY WALKWAY TO

REPLACE DEMO WALKWAY
NEW RAILING 42"
HIGH ABOVE FIN.

GRADE
(EXISTING HOUSE

EXISTING DRIVEWAY
134.00 ABOVE N.G.

STRATFORD WAY
N72029 W 117.44'

63.8'
135.8'
135
136
140.45'
135.8'
136.5'
F.G.

F.G.

F.G.
135.4' TW
F.G.

FSB
20' - 0"
SYSB
7' - 6"

DEMO-ED (E)
ENTRY

WALKWAY
-
---

LANDSCAPE

W/ BLACK
MULCH

EXISTING

ASPHALT
NEW
4" CONCRETE
CURB
(E) ROCKS
PL
wm
EXISTING 3'-4" CURB AT WEST

NEIGHBOR- SEE PHOTO BELOW
NEW 3'-4" CURB TO CONNECT TO EXISTING
CURB TO THE WEST - SEE DETAIL 5
3' - 4"
PL
PL
PL
3' - 4"

EXISTING PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BLACK MULCH AREA
GRASSCRETE

NEW GRASSCRETE INFILL PER CITY SPECS
-
NEW CONC. CURB 4" WIDE PER CITY
STANDARDS (B-1/G-06 STD DWG)

RAELS PROPERTY

CITY PROPERTY

NEW GRASSCRETE

NEW CONCRETE SWALE

TO MATCH AND ALIGN

WITH NEIGHBOR'S CURB

TO THE WEST

EXISTNG ASPHALT PAVING
4"
2"
4"
3' - 4"
1' - 5"

PROPERTYLINE
W
D
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M
e
r
e
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t
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A
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C
HIT
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AIA
P.O. B
O
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2 1
4 2
D
E
L
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A
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C
A
LIF
O
R
NIA
9 2
0 1
4 R
A
E
L
R
E
S
I
D
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N
C
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Copyright 2023 W. Dean Meredith Architecture and Planning, Inc. 1 6
1 2
S
t
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a
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fo
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d
W
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L
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NIA
9 2
0 1
4 3/9/2026 5:12:38 PM
A-1
1/4" = 1'-0" 1

SITEPLAN
N

NEW CURB PER
DETAIL 5 ABOVE

EXISTING CURB AT WEST

NEIGHBOR

GRASSCRETE

GRASSCRETE, SEE PHOTO
BELOW. CONTRACTOR TO

MATCH EXISTING

GRASSCRETE AND GRAVEL
SAMPLE ON SITE.

CONTRACTOR TO MATCH

EXISTING GRASSCRETE
AND GRAVEL.

EXISTING 3'-4" CURB
AT WEST NEIGHBOR.

NEW CURB TO EXTEND
TO PROPOSED SITE.

PROPOSED CURB

EXTENSION TO THE
EAST
1 1/2" = 1'-0" 2

SECTION
2 VISUALS THAT DEPICT PRIVATE PROPERTY VS PUBLIC PROPERTY DEL MAR -3'-6” FENCE
-LANDSCAPE ALONG FENCE AND PROPERTY LINE
-CONCRETE CURB - NORMALLY SEEN AT THE EDGE OF A STREET
SAMPLE ON SITE.

March 17, 2026 Item 8

NEW ENTRY WALKWAY TO

REPLACE DEMO WALKWAY
NEW RAILING 42"
HIGH ABOVE FIN.

GRADE
(EXISTING
HOUSE

EXISTING DRIVEWAY
134.00 ABOVE N.G.

STRATFORD WAY
N72029 W 117.44'

63.8'
135.8'
135
136
135.8'
F.G.

F.G.
135.4'
F.G.

FSB
20' - 0"
SYSB
7' - 6"

DEMO-ED (E)
ENTRY

WALKWAY
-
---

LANDSCAPE

W/ BLACK
MULCH
NEW
(E) ROCKS
PL
wm
EXISTING 3'-4" CURB AT WEST

NEIGHBOR- SEE PHOTO BELOW
NEW 3'-4" CURB TO CONNECT TO EXISTING
CURB TO THE WEST - SEE DETAIL 5
3' - 4"
PL
PL
PL
C. SWALE
3' - 4"

EXISTING PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BLACK MULCH AREA
SAFETY
ZONE
5' - 0"
EXIST.

ASPHALT
GRASSCRETE

SAFETY ZONE
5' - 0"

NEW GRASSCRETE INFILL PER CITY SPECS
-
NEW CONC. CURB
4" WIDE PER CITY
STANDARDS (B-1/G06 STD DWG)

LANDSCAPE W/

BLACK MULCH
RAEL'S

PROPERTY

CITY PROPERTY

NEW PAVING

NEW CONCRETE

CURB TO MATCH AND

ALIGN WITH

NEIGHBOR'S CURB

TO THE WEST

EXISTNG ASPHALT PAVING
4"
2"
4"
3' - 4"
1' - 5"

SAFETY ZONE
5' - 0"

SECTION
-PROPOSED CONCRETE ENTRY PAVERS. WE ARE PROPOSING

TO RELOCATE THE EXISTING ENTRY PAVERS EAST TO THE
NEW ENTRY STRUCTURES AND GATES.

PUBLIC AND CITY OF DEL MAR BENEFITS
-OUR DESIGN CREATES 5' SAFETY BUFFER FOR PEDESTRIANS
TO EXIT STREET, PER DEL MAR REQUIREMENTS.
-PROPOSE A GRASSCRETE BASE WITH CHARCOAL GRAY

DECOMPOSED GRANITE (COLOR TO MATCH THE EXISTING

ASPHALT), APPEARS AS STREET EXTENSION FOR PARKING (NOT
AS PART OF PRIVATE PROPERTY); SUPPORTS VEHICLE LOADS,

STABILIZES GRANITE, ALLOWS WATER PERCOLATION, MORE
AESTHETIC THAN ASPHALT; ECO-FRIENDLY WITH LESS NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
-PROPOSED NEW CONCRETE CURB AND GUTTER

IMPROVEMENTS ALONG FRONTAGE, MATCHING WEST PROPERTY
AND CORNER LOTS; AT RAEL’S EXPENSE, RESOLVES CITY'S
DRAINAGE/RUNOFF ISSUES.
-TWO OFF STREET PARKING SPACES
2 -PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BLACK MULCH AREA
March 17, 2026 Item 8
W Dean Meredith ARCHITECT AIA
P.O. BOX 2142 DEL MAR CALIFORNIA 92014

RAEL RESIDENCE
Copyright 2023 W. Dean Meredith Architecture and Planning, Inc. 1612 Stratford Way DEL MAR CALIFORNIA 92014
3/9/2026 5:12:53 PM
A-3

ASPHALT GRASSCRETE W/ CHARCOAL GRANITE BASE
FOR SAMPLE OF ASPHALT SEE 355 BEL AIR STREET, FOR SAMPLE OF GRASSCRETE SEE RAEL RESIDENCE DEL MAR, CA.

March 17, 2026 Item 8
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Sarah Krietor
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 9:12 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Leslie Carrillo
Subject: Red Dot FW: Neighborhood Support for Item 8: EP25-049 (Rael) Attachments: 20260319_114606.PDF
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
From: Robert Scott <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 9:01 AM
To: Sarah Krietor <[email protected]>
Cc: Nestor Machado <[email protected]>; Paul Rael <[email protected]>; Dean Meredith <[email protected]>
Subject: Neighborhood Support for Item 8: EP25-049 (Rael) CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Hello Sarah,
Please share this email and the attached letter of support for EP25-049 with the City Council.

The following eight (8) immediate neighbors have provided support for Mr. Rael's proposed improvements. One support letter is attached. I have unfortunately misplaced the additional neighbor support letters during a move but will have written support letters if/when the Council sets the matter for a de novo hearing.

1. Bill & Sharon Scheele -1640 Stratford Way

2. Brad & Liz Ausmus - 1644 Stratford Way

3. Naomi Zeytin - 1568 Luneta Drive

4. Terri Pavelko - 1663 Stratford Way

5. Walt & Becky Dembinsky - 1615 Luneta Drive

6. Tim & Shannon Cohen - 1610 Luneta Drive (the attached letter is their son’s property)

7. Marco Pugliese - 1555 Luneta Drive
Thanks,
Bob
--
Robert J. Scott, AICP, LEED AP
RJS Planning + Land Use Solutions, Inc.
1155 Camino del Mar #119
Del Mar, CA 92014
Tel. 858.692.8832
March 17, 2026 Item 8
March 17, 2026 Item 8
March 17, 2026 Item 8
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Janet Wilson <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 6:14 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Tracy Martinez; John Spelich; Terry Gaasterland; Dan Quirk; Ashley Jones Subject: City Council Meeting 3/17/2026 - Item 8 - Initial Consideration of an Appeal of Encroachment Permit (EP) 25-049
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Mayor Martinez and City Councilmembers,

I am writing in support of Encroachment Permit 25-049 and respectfully request that the Council approve the permit.

Staff could not make two of the six required findings for this encroachment permit application.

Finding 2: The proposed encroachments would not unreasonably interfere with the intended use of the City right-of-way.

Finding 5: The proposed encroachments would not be detrimental to the interests of the general public.

Staff explained that unless the shoulder is asphalted, the public may be discouraged from parking within the area because other surface improvements might create the impression that the space is private property, potentially resulting in a loss of public parking.

In other words, the concern is not about safety or a physical obstruction, but the possibility that the area could appear private unless the shoulder is asphalted. Asphalt is not an attractive solution, and I am not aware of any requirement that public parking surfaces must be asphalt.

In this case, the property’s physical condition makes it especially difficult to understand the concern. A fence separates the private yard from the area outside it. Everything inside the fence is clearly private property, and the natural assumption would be that the parking area outside the fence is not private property.

The proposed improvement is not decorative. It is a parking surface specifically intended to accommodate vehicles.

Because the fence creates a visually obvious boundary between private and public use, and because the surface outside the fence is designed specifically for parking, it should be clear that the area is for public parking.

If there is still concern about public perception, the solution is straightforward. The City could install a “Public Parking” sign with the Del Mar logo to make it clear that the space remains available to everyone.

March 17, 2026 Item 8
2 So the real issue here is not whether the area is public space, but whether someone might mistakenly perceive it as private.

And the real question is whether improving the surface of that public space with something other than asphalt actually interferes with public parking.

This issue has been ongoing for quite some time. It is difficult to think about the number of hours Mr. Rael has spent trying to resolve this matter, as well as the unnecessary expense involved. Architects and consultants are not inexpensive, and the time, energy, and money invested to reach this point must be significant.

In this case, a private citizen is willing to improve the curb appeal of his property by upgrading the surface of the adjacent parking area within the right-of-way. That type of investment should be viewed as a benefit to the community. A maintained surface is more usable and more attractive than a dirt shoulder where people park or walk.

This is now the third or fourth encroachment matter to come before the Council in recent months. Why do these situations keep coming up?

One reason may be that the framework staff must use when evaluating encroachment applications is too limited, leaving staff with little flexibility when applying the required findings. At the November 17, 2025 City Council meeting, Planning and Community Development Director Karen Brindley explained that when staff evaluates encroachment permits, they must apply the findings strictly and do not have discretion, but the Council does. That rigid framework may be part of the reason these applications keep coming before the Council for resolution.

That is why Councilmember Spelich’s suggestion during last week’s Goals and Priorities Workshop to pursue a more holistic review of encroachment policies was timely. Clarifying the framework staff can use when evaluating these permits could reduce appeals, save staff time, and make the process more efficient.

For these reasons, approving Encroachment Permit 25-049 is a reasonable outcome. The right-ofway clearly remains public, and the proposed improvement does not interfere with its use.

More importantly, this situation highlights the need to modernize the City’s approach to encroachments. Asking Planning staff to revisit and clarify the framework used to evaluate these applications would help reduce the number of encroachment applications that need Council review and would allow staff to resolve more of them administratively.

Thank you for your consideration.

Janet Wilson
635 Hoska Dr.

March 17, 2026 Item 8
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Janet Wilson <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 9:47 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Tracy Martinez; Dan Quirk; Terry Gaasterland; John Spelich; Janet Wilson Subject: Red Dot EP25-049 Initial Consideration Fw: City Council Meeting 3/17/2026 - Item 8 - Initial Consideration of an Appeal of Encroachment Permit (EP) 25-049 CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Mayor Martinez and City Councilmember,

I previously submitted a Red Dot in support of Encroachment Permit 25-049.

I would like to clarify that, at this Initial Consideration hearing, the question before the Council is not whether the permit should be approved tonight, but whether the appeal raises sufficient grounds for a de novo public hearing.

The Planning decision to deny this encroachment request is centered on the assumption that, unless the shoulder is asphalted, other surface improvements may make the area appear private and discourage public parking, potentially resulting in a loss of public parking.

Many streets in Del Mar lack sidewalks or city curbs, so homeowners often take it upon themselves to improve their homes’ curb appeal. Those improvements can become encroachments, and City Council Policy 110 addresses what is and is not acceptable. The City Council’s Adopted Design Guidelines also address design issues in single-family, multi-family, and commercial settings. However, neither clearly addresses public street parking areas within the public right-of-way adjacent to private homes.

It is reasonable, and practically expected, that homeowners will make improvements in these areas. But the lack of design guidance about what is acceptable for public street parking in front of private homes has created this situation. This is a gap that deserves attention. Clearer standards would help homeowners understand what is acceptable, provide staff with a clearer framework for review, and reduce the need for the Council to resolve these matters on a case-by-case basis.

Reading the reports, I believe the appeal raises sufficient grounds for a de novo hearing.

1. Factual Error
The assertion that the area may appear private is not a fact. It is a speculative assumption about public perception, rather than evidence that public parking would actually be reduced or interfered with.

2. New Information
If the concern is that a parking surface other than asphalt could make the area appear private, the City could install a small Del Mar public parking sign to make clear that the area remains March 17, 2026 Item 8
2 available for public parking. That simple measure could directly address the speculative “may appear private” and “discourage public parking” concerns.

This may also be an opportunity to improve how the area functions as public parking. Right now, there appears to be room for three cars, but that depends on how evenly people happen to park. A more intentional design could help establish the area as three usable public parking spaces rather than leaving the arrangement to chance.

3. Findings Not Supported
The stated basis for denial appears to rest on a perception issue rather than on safety, obstruction, or physical loss of parking. The real question is whether improving the surface of that public parking area with something other than asphalt actually interferes with public parking.

The staff report does not appear to establish that it would.

4. Conflicts
The denial may conflict with the City’s own guidance to the extent it effectively treats asphalt as the only acceptable public parking surface. Conventional asphalt is not the only recognized public parking surface, and denial of an alternative surface may be difficult to reconcile with the City’s Low Impact Development direction and design guidance.

Del Mar’s Design Guidelines state, at Chapter 4, page 4-11, to “utilize permeable pavers in parking zones.” The City also publicly promotes permeable pavement on its Permanent Best Management Practice (BMP) page. In addition, the BMP Design Manual states at page 4-32 that permeable pavements, including concrete pavers, grass-pave, gravel-pave, porous concrete, and permeable asphalt, may be substituted for impervious concrete or asphalt paving in appropriate locations.

For those reasons, I respectfully request that the Council set this matter for a de novo public hearing so the merits of Encroachment Permit 25-049 can be fully considered.

Thank you for your consideration.

Janet Wilson
635 Hoska Dr.

From: Janet Wilson
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2026 6:14 PM
To: Sarah Krietor <[email protected]>
Cc: Tracy Martinez <[email protected]>; John Spelich <[email protected]>; Terry Gaasterland <[email protected]>; Dan Quirk <[email protected]>; Ashley Jones <[email protected]> Subject: City Council Meeting 3/17/2026 - Item 8 - Initial Consideration of an Appeal of Encroachment Permit (EP) 25- 049

Dear Mayor Martinez and City Councilmembers,

I am writing in support of Encroachment Permit 25-049 and respectfully request that the Council approve the permit.

March 17, 2026 Item 8
3 Staff could not make two of the six required findings for this encroachment permit application.

Finding 2: The proposed encroachments would not unreasonably interfere with the intended use of the City right-of-way.

Finding 5: The proposed encroachments would not be detrimental to the interests of the general public.

The proposed improvement is not decorative. It is a parking surface specifically intended to accommodate vehicles.

So the real issue here is not whether the area is public space, but whether someone might mistakenly perceive it as private.

And the real question is whether improving the surface of that public space with something other than asphalt actually interferes with public parking.

This is now the third or fourth encroachment matter to come before the Council in recent months. Why do these situations keep coming up?

March 17, 2026 Item 8
4 One reason may be that the framework staff must use when evaluating encroachment applications is too limited, leaving staff with little flexibility when applying the required findings. At the November 17, 2025 City Council meeting, Planning and Community Development Director Karen Brindley explained that when staff evaluates encroachment permits, they must apply the findings strictly and do not have discretion, but the Council does. That rigid framework may be part of the reason these applications keep coming before the Council for resolution.

For these reasons, approving Encroachment Permit 25-049 is a reasonable outcome. The right-ofway clearly remains public, and the proposed improvement does not interfere with its use.

Thank you for your consideration.

Janet Wilson
635 Hoska Dr.

March 17, 2026 Item 8

Del Mar City CouncilMarch 17, 2026

Del Mar City Council
March 17, 2026