Del Mar City Council Meeting Agenda
Del Mar Town Hall
1050 Camino del Mar, Del Mar, California
July 7, 2026 City Council Meeting
INFORMATION RECEIVED
AFTER THE COUNCIL AGENDA
WAS DISTRIBUTED
(“Red Dots”)
1 Robert Silva
From: Janet Wilson <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 7, 2026 12:19 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Tracy Martinez; Terry Gaasterland; Dan Quirk; John Spelich Subject: EP26-056: Request for Fire Safety and Sightline Conditions 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,
Normally, I oppose variances and encroachments unless they improve public safety. In this case, I support the need for a gate, but I do not support approving the proposed vegetation unless the permit includes enforceable conditions addressing fire safety, utility access, and driveway sightlines.
This is an unusual situation because the homeowner is required to provide access to a utility easement at the back of the lot. For that reason, a privacy gate makes sense. But this request is not only about the gate. The permit would also approve a significant amount of vegetation in and around the easement.
There are a lot of Podocarpus Henkelii plants shown in the easement that could grow to 15 to 20 feet tall and 12 to 20 feet wide. It appears the plants will be a few feet apart, creating a very dense hedge.
This caught my attention because this property, like most of Del Mar, is located in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
The landscape plan shows two hedges consisting of 58 Podocarpus Henkelii plants:
1) A rear/eastern hedge (in and near the utility easement) includes a note stating: “Hedge at rear property line to be maintained at height of neighbor’s fence (approximately 11' 0" from grade).” 2) A driveway hedge that runs approximately 87 feet along the driveway and starts near the driveway entrance. I do not see a callout limiting the maintained height (or width) of the driveway hedge. If not maintained, this hedge could interfere with sightlines to and from Via Alta.
Del Mar’s standards already recognize the sightline issue. DMMC 30.92.040(B)(5)(e) states that vegetation planted adjacent to a driveway must be selected and located to maintain adequate sightlines to and from the property, and along the property frontage to public streets and intersections.
The City’s Landscape Guidelines are even more specific: plant materials over 30 inches high should be kept 10 feet back from entrances and exits.
The City’s Design Guidelines also state that driveway landscaping should be chosen and located to maintain adequate sightlines for motorists and pedestrians.
A Podocarpus Henkelii plant is considered fire-resistant, but when planted densely to form a hedge, it can create "twiggyness" and accumulate deadwood in the interior, which can become a fire hazard. In many highfire-hazard districts, these types of plants should be planted at least 30 feet from combustible structures, but it looks like there are adjacent properties with structures closer than that.
July 7, 2026 Item 13
2 Adding 58 dense hedge plants that can grow up to 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone should prompt a careful fire-safety review, particularly where the plantings are being approved through an encroachment permit that includes a utility access easement.
The Council should not make the required Finding 1 that this encroachment will not endanger public health, safety or welfare, or the surrounding property, unless the vegetation is subject to clear and enforceable conditions:
Fire Marshal review of the proposed Podocarpus Henkelii hedge planting. A specific maximum maintained height and width for both Podocarpus Henkelii hedges. A lower height limit near the driveway entrance to preserve sightlines | compliance with the City’s 30-inch/10-foot entrance and exit sightline guidance. Ongoing removal of dead, dry, or ladder-fuel vegetation. Inclusion of these vegetation-maintenance requirements in the recorded covenant so they bind future owners.
Without those conditions, the encroachment permit would approve a dense hedge system in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone without adequate safeguards. I respectfully ask the Council to condition any approval so that the vegetation does not create fire-safety, utility-access, or driveway-sightline risks.
Thank you for your careful review of this important public-safety issue.
Janet Wilson
July 7, 2026 Item 13