Del Mar City Council Meeting Agenda
Del Mar Town Hall
1050 Camino del Mar, Del Mar, California
September 8, 2026 City Council Meeting
INFORMATION RECEIVED
AFTER THE COUNCIL AGENDA
WAS DISTRIBUTED
(“Red Dots”)
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 8:05 AM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Tracy Martinez; Dan Quirk; John Spelich; Terry Gaasterland Subject: FW: Item 1: Red Dot comment: Honoring Matt Bator 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 Honorable Mayor Martinez and other Distinguished Members of the City Council and to all City residents, friends and neighbors:
I am a long-time resident of Del Mar.
Although I am visiting family out of state this Tuesday, Sept. 8th and cannot personally attend the City Council meeting to speak (which I would have), I wish to make sure to publicly and earnestly thank Matt Bator for his wise and dedicated service to Del Mar City these 29 years. Among many, many other services, Matt has helped draft, shepherd, and oversee implementation of the City’s Trees, Scenic Views and Sunlight ordinance. This has been a very diƯicult task. The City’s precious assets and overall beauty are addressed by this ordinance and there are many aƯected people. Perspectives on the topic have been heartfelt and passionate. Matt’s calm, even-handed and wise approach to proposing solutions and implementing Planning Commission and City Council rulings have benefitted all concerned about preserving Del Mar’s stunning gifts: its trees, scenic view and sunlight and has greatly helped our City balance rights and obligations in this very important area. We all owe Matt a very big THANK YOU for his extraordinary public service these many years! Matt, a personal note: “retirement” is a total misnomer. You will be busier than ever but will get to broaden your enjoyment and recreation activities. Very best wishes! Sincerely,
Shirli Weiss
September 8, 2026 Item 1
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Ann Williamson <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2026 3:05 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Item 11 Red Dot for September 8, 2026 City Council Meeting 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.
I hope the Item 11 Resolution will be adopted. We need to keep the utility undergrounding going. This project is, at least in part, a safety issue. We should keep that in mind.
Thank you.
---Ann Williamson
Oribia Road
September 8, 2026 Item 11
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: Amy Cheshire <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2026 1:22 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Cc: Terry Gaasterland; Dan Quirk; John Spelich; Tracy Martinez; Ashley Jones Subject: Del Mar City Council Meeting 8 Sep 2026 - Agenda Item 12 - Rainy Season Preparations 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.
Del Mar City Council meeting – 8 Sep 2026
Agenda Item 12 – Rainy Season Preparations
Honorable Mayor Martinez and City Councilmembers:
Please take action to expedite completion of the San Dieguito Drive Improvements so that they can be substantially completed before forecasted winter storm surge and El Nino rains hit our community during the peak winter months of January through March 2027.
During strong historical El Niño years, impacts typically peak during the months of January through March. If San Dieguito Drive is still in terrible condition when these rains start, it may become impassable. This would be dangerous for everyone living in Crest Canyon, many of whom are elderly.
The region's highest all-time monthly rainfall occurred during the 1993 El Niño period when San Diego recorded 9.09 inches in January.
With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tracking a 90% chance of a "very strong" or "super" El Niño for this upcoming winter, climate maps show a strong likelihood of well aboveaverage precipitation for Southern California.
King Tides will occur January 21–22, 2027. Historically, when King Tides coincide with heavy rainfall, San Dieguito Drive is flooded along the lagoon. With the El Niño Multiplier Effect, the actual water levels along the Del Mar coastline are expected to be much higher than normal tide table predictions. El Niño’s warmer ocean waters expand and elevate sea levels by up to an additional 12 inches across Southern California.
If an active winter storm hits during the January 21–22 window, the combination of king tides, El Niño elevation, and storm surges will significantly increase the risk of severe beach erosion, bluff failures, and coastal flooding, particularly near the low-lying Del Mar flats and beach colony areas and along San Dieguito Drive.
The City might say that we should wait for the utility poles to be removed and all easements on San Dieguito Drive to be signed before going out to bid. I question whether this is the best plan. I think the City should do everything possible to expedite the timeline for going out to bid on the San Dieguito Drive Improvements. The construction plans have been ready for several years, the residents have been paying for their share of the improvements for almost two years. Now is the time to start the bidding September 8, 2026 Item 12
2 process and begin construction. Please take action to expedite the bidding process for this important project.
Thank you.
Amy Cheshire
September 8, 2026 Item 12
August 24, 2026
Mayor and City Council Members
City of Del Mar
Re: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Del Mar Community Plan, Red Dot Communication for the Meeting of September 8, 2026 Honorable Mayor and City Council Members:
My sincerest congratulations to the residents and to the City of Del Mar on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Del Mar Community Plan.
It was my distinct honor to have served as Del Mar’s City Manager during the period in which the City Council and staff worked in collaboration with more than a hundred of Del Mar’s residents, focused into six major policy areas, to identify, debate, and agree upon the principal goals and objectives to guide the future development of the City.
This two-year effort from 1973 to 1975 was initiated because, in 1972 for the first time, the State of California had enacted legislation requiring that every city in California must have its own general plan for its physical development and that the general plan had to be comprehensive, long-term, and up-to-date. Further, for the first time, all land use decisions made by the city had to be consistent with its general plan.
Prior to the ratification vote of approval of Del Mar’s Community Plan by more than 80% of City voters, from the date of its incorporation on July 15th, 1959, Del Mar had adopted by reference the provisions of the San Diego County general plan that pertained to it.
The enthusiasm with which the residents of Del Mar responded to the City’s call for a collaborative effort to draft the City’s first general plan was overwhelming. As mentioned, more than a hundred residents volunteered to participate in the effort.
Thousands of hours of effort by these residents went into the discussions and debates over the drafting of Del Mar’s Community Plan.
The City Council directed me to recruit and hire the City’s first Planning Director to support and guide this effort. I was most fortunate to find a candidate, Gary Binger, newly graduated from the University of Washington’s land use and urban planning September 8, 2026 Item 13
program, now known as the Department of Urban Design and Planning. With the aid of financial assistance under the federal government’s Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) of 1970, in 1973 Del Mar was able to hire and relocate Gary and his family to Del Mar.
Gary brought with him all the technical and organizational skills needed to manage this effort. In my view, Gary is the one person of the more than one hundred residents and city officials who is most deserving of the credit for the successful completion of Del Mar’s Community Plan.
After the Community Plan was adopted by the City Council in 1975, and ratified in 1976 by more than 80% of City voters, Gary accepted an offer to become the Director of Planning for the City of Walnut Creek in northern California and moved on. He later became the Director of Planning for the Bay Area Association of Governments (ABAG), the regional consortium of governments serving the nine counties and more than five million residents of the Bay Area.
Today we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Del Mar Community Plan because we recognize that it has worked for the betterment of our community. We continue to abide by the principle goals and objectives of that original Community Plan. We understand that Del Mar is the community it is in large part because we have remained true to these goals and objectives.
Today, Del Mar faces new and even greater challenges than we could have imagined back in the 1970s. Among these are: new State mandates on cities and counties to devise and accommodate solutions to the State’s long-term, and still growing, housing crisis; and to find ways and means to mitigate and adapt to increasing threats from global warming and sea level rise.
But the lesson we should keep in mind, from the success of our Community Plan effort, is that we can meet and overcome these challenges if Del Mar residents and the City officials once again collaborate in finding solutions to them.
With all best wishes for the future,
Wayne Dernetz,
9th Street
September 8, 2026 Item 13
1 Leslie Carrillo
From: ulla rang <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 7, 2026 8:19 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box
Subject: Item 6 and 15 combo, City Council Meeting Sept 8, 2026 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 Council,
I was reading through the red dots for the upcoming City Council meeting on Sept 8. It was so interesting to read the history of how our City´s Community Plan came to be. Thank you to Wayne Dernetz for getting it started and for describing it all so well in his red dot.
I also read Julie Maxey-Allison´s letter in regards to begging you not to cram in EIGHT units on the small lot just south of Farmer´s Market (parcel 3).It is not fair to us who live here and it's not fair to the people you are trying to cram in. If it is diversity you are looking for, as are we who live here, what we need are families. Old Del Mar is already full of 1-2 people households, either older people or young people/couples. We do not need more of those. What we need are FAMILIES! I know that the units you are trying to add to Parcel 3 are for Very Low Income units. As we all know, there are many Very Low Income families that would qualify and that we would love to have. Give those kids a chance to an amazing area to grow up with the beach within walking distance and the new Shores Park with (hopefully) a playground and baseball and basketball field. What else can a kid ask for? Yes, 8 units are more than 2-4, but you have to see beyond the number of UNITS! If we build larger units for families, we will get the same amount of people (whereof some are kids), if not more! I say it over and over - Parcel 1 has to contribute to the needs of Del Mar. Either put the Community Building there to let the Park at the Shores (9th street) be a park, or prepare it for Affordable Housing, just like Parcel 3 to let us have more families and not more 1-2 people households (like I said - Old Del Mar has plenty of those already). You can't just let that parcel sit and be used for nothing but selling orchids between 1-4 on Saturdays when we are so short of City owned land. Put it to good use. Do what is right according to the Community Plan.
Here is another thought. Why not upzone some of the very large lots east of Camino Del Mar for Affordable Housing? Why are you so focused on squeezing everything in west of Camino del Mar? Think outside the box. To be able to find space for all those Affordable Housings now that the FG has turned us down, you need to take a look at things from a different, creative angle. Spread it out so that we can keep Del Mar Del Mar according to the Community Plan as good as we possibly can while still following state mandates.
Best,
September 8, 2026 Item 13
2 Camilla Rang
10th Street
September 8, 2026 Item 13
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA QUESTIONS
September 8, 2026
Item 2 – Del Mar Fire Department Overview and Response Time Performance Review
1. Who fights fires in wildland/canyon areas? Can staff distinguish between CAL FIRE and city fire departments such as Del Mar regarding primary responsibility for wildfire response?
Response: Within incorporated cities, the local fire department, by state law, is responsible for responding to wildland fires, structure fires, and other fire incidents within its jurisdiction. CAL FIRE is not the primary agency simply because a fire occurs in vegetation or a canyon.
The Del Mar Fire Department also operates under automatic-aid and mutual-aid agreements with surrounding fire agencies. These agreements allow neighboring departments to provide resources quickly when an incident exceeds the capability of the initial responding agency. Generally, initial mutual aid assistance is at no cost for up to 24 hours.
For significant wildfire incidents, local agencies may also be eligible for reimbursement through the Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) program, which can reimburse up to 75% of eligible local fire-suppression costs. A significant incident may also require a local emergency proclamation as part of the broader emergency-management and reimbursement process.
2. How much of Crest Canyon is within the City of Del Mar versus the City of San Diego? Who is responsible for fire prevention and lead response? Response: Crest Canyon extends into both the City of San Diego and the City of Del Mar.
Each city is responsible for fire prevention, vegetation management, and emergency response within its respective jurisdiction.
Although much of the canyon is within San Diego, the portion affecting Del Mar represents a significant wildfire threat to the community. Vegetation and other hazards within and adjacent to the Del Mar portion should therefore be evaluated and mitigated on a recurring basis. The City of Del Mar has and will continue to engage the City of San Diego on these efforts.
3. Does undergrounding the power lines in Crest Canyon improve fire safety? Response: Yes. Undergrounding electrical lines improves wildfire safety, but it does not eliminate the wildfire risk.
It can improve safety in two important ways. First, overhead electrical lines can be damaged during high-wind events and potentially become an ignition source. Second, during an active wildfire, damaged power poles and downed electrical lines can obstruct evacuation routes and prevent or delay fire apparatus from entering or leaving an area until the electrical hazard has been secured.
September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8
Undergrounding is therefore beneficial, but power lines alone are not the primary solution to wildfire loss. Creating defensible space, reducing combustible vegetation near structures, and improving building construction features have proven to be among the most effective methods of reducing structure loss during wildfires.
4. What else can be done to promote fire safety and reduce wildfire risk in Crest Canyon?
Response: The Fire Chief recommends looking beyond Crest Canyon and evaluating the overall conflagration risk for the entire Del Mar community.
One approach the City is planning to undertake is to have a consultant evaluate where wildfire is most likely to enter the community, how fire could move from vegetation to structures, and how structure-to-structure ignition could contribute to a larger conflagration. That information could then be used to prioritize mitigation projects and community outreach.
The Fire Chief also recommends and is working to implement the following:
• Adopt a Zone 0 ordinance consistent with evolving California wildfire-resilience requirements in 2027.
• Encourage neighborhoods and HOAs to participate in the Firewise USA program. • Use wildfire-risk information to prioritize neighborhoods for mitigation efforts. • Help communities pursue grants to retrofit older homes and bring properties closer to current wildfire-resistance standards.
• Partner with organizations such as the Garden Club and other community groups to assist elderly, disabled, and lower-income residents who may have difficulty completing vegetation management or home-hardening work on their own.
The long-term goal should be to combine vegetation management, home hardening, community education, and neighborhood-level preparedness rather than relying on any one mitigation measure.
5. Are there cost-effective technologies that can help detect fires in wildland areas such as Crest Canyon, including AI-enabled infrared or thermal cameras? Response: Yes. Wildfire detection cameras are a very useful tool, particularly when combined with artificial intelligence, thermal imaging, and existing regional camera networks.
There are currently several cameras that provide views toward Del Mar, including cameras looking toward the community from the north (La Costa), east (Black Mtn), and south (UCSD Campus). During recent fires, imagery from the Black Mountain camera was shared with City staff and was also available through Watch Duty, a wildfire map and alert application. The cameras detected the fires very quickly.
These systems can improve early situational awareness and allow dispatch centers and fire agencies to begin evaluating an incident before the first unit arrives. They are particularly useful in canyon and wildland areas where smoke may be visible from a distant camera before a 9-1-1 caller can accurately identify the location.
September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8
They should be viewed as an additional detection and situational-awareness tool, rather than a replacement for 9-1-1 reporting, patrols, community awareness, and rapid-fire department response.
6. I do not believe the Del Mar Fire Department led the response to the 2024 Torrey Pines Reserve Extension fire. Why was the site apparently not closely monitored after the initial morning fire, and are there lessons that can be learned? Response: The fire occurred within the City of San Diego, and current fire department staff would need to review the incident reports and after-action information before commenting specifically on the decisions made during that incident.
However, rekindles are a recognized fire-service concern and should be prevented whenever reasonably possible. Major fires such as the Oakland Hills fire and more recent Palisades fire in LA have demonstrated the potential consequences of fire remaining undetected in vegetation or other fuels following the initial suppression effort.
Fire departments today have considerably better technology available for detecting residual heat, including thermal-imaging cameras, drones, and infrared systems. These tools can help identify hot spots that may not be visible to firefighters during conventional mop-up operations.
The broader lesson is that vegetation fires, particularly during periods of high fire danger, require thorough “mop-up”, appropriate monitoring, and consideration of thermal-imaging technology before the incident is considered completely secure.
7. Del Mar averages approximately 1,685 calls for service annually, with approximately
5.28% categorized as fire related. That equates to roughly 89 fire responses per year. What types of incidents make up those calls?
Response: The City may experience only two or three significant structure fires in a typical year, but that does not mean the remaining fire incidents are insignificant.
Many fires remain small specifically because of rapid detection and fast fire department response. A commercial fire is a good example: the incident caused damage, but the quick response prevented it from developing into a total-loss structure fire (Normally defined as a fire causing over 30% damage to the structure).
Fire incidents can include:
• Residential structure fires
• Commercial structure fires
• Vehicle fires
• Electrical fires within walls or electrical systems
• Cooking and unattended-food fires
• Dumpster and rubbish fires
• Vegetation fires
• Carelessly discarded smoking materials
• Lithium-ion battery fires
• Appliance and equipment fires
September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8
Approximately 20% of our fire incidents involve vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries are also creating an emerging fire problem nationally, including fires involving electric vehicles, ebikes, scooters, consumer electronics, energy-storage systems, and other rechargeable devices. This is the primary focus of our upcoming Open House at the Del Mar Fire Station on October 3rd.
Many incidents that ultimately result in relatively minor damage have the potential to become major structure fires if they are not detected and controlled quickly. That is one of the reasons response times remain so important.
Del Mar also has an aging population, which can increase vulnerability to cooking fires and other residential fire hazards. Fire prevention and public education therefore remain important components of community risk reduction.
8. Are improved fire and building codes reducing residential fires and fire deaths? Response: Building and fire-safety engineering have played a major role in reducing fire deaths and catastrophic fire losses in the United States.
Modern buildings incorporate multiple layers of protection, including fire-resistant construction, automatic sprinkler systems, fire alarms, smoke detection, compartmentation, emergency exits, and increasingly stringent electrical and mechanical requirements. These redundant systems are particularly evident in schools, hospitals, detention facilities, and other high-occupancy buildings.
Wildfire research has similarly demonstrated that building construction and the immediate area surrounding a home can significantly influence whether a structure survives a wildfire.
Recent testing by organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories has reinforced the importance of Zone 0, ember-resistant construction, defensible space, and other homehardening measures.
One of Del Mar's challenges is the number of older, legally existing homes that were constructed before many of today's wildfire-resistance standards were adopted. In many circumstances, the City cannot simply require those homes to be completely rebuilt to current standards.
The Fire Department can, however, help reduce that risk through education, appropriate ordinances, incentives, grant opportunities, and partnerships with community organizations that encourage voluntary home-hardening improvements.
New construction within designated Fire Hazard Severity Zones is subject to modern wildfire-resistant building requirements. Over time, those engineering standards should continue to improve the community's resilience to both structure fires and wildland-urbaninterface fires.
9. Can staff explain how our EMS/ambulance service works and how it is funded? Response: Yes. Ambulance service for Del Mar and Solana Beach is provided through County Service Area 17 (CSA 17), which is administered by the County of San Diego and is funded through dedicate property tax revenues, local benefit assessments and ambulance transportation fees.
September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8
Property owners within CSA 17 pay an annual benefit fee that helps fund the availability of ambulance service within the service area. The County contracts with a private ambulance provider to provide transport services. The current provider is AMR.
The important distinction is that the ambulance system is funded and managed separately from the fire department, but the two systems operate together on emergency medical calls.
10. What are the ambulance provider's response statistics for emergency medical calls?
Response: The ambulance provider transports approximately 60% of our medical-aid patients.
Under the current contract, the ambulance provider is required to meet a response-time standard of approximately 10 minutes, 90% of the time. We can provide the actual contractual compliance data if a more detailed analysis is needed.
There is currently a 12-hour peak ambulance unit stationed in Del Mar, while the primary ambulance serving the area is based in Solana Beach.
Actual ambulance availability can also be affected by transport activity. Once an ambulance transports a patient to the hospital, it may be unavailable to the community for an extended period depending on travel time, hospital location, and emergencydepartment offload delays.
11. How does the ambulance service fit with the fire department's EMS response? Response: The systems are designed to work together.
Fire department firefighter-paramedics generally arrive first and begin patient assessment, treatment, and advanced life support care. This means that even if the transporting ambulance has a longer response time, advanced medical treatment has already begun.
When a critically ill or injured patient requires more than the ambulance crew can safely manage during transport, a fire department paramedic or firefighter may accompany the patient to the hospital.
When that additional staffing is not necessary, the fire department crew transfers care to the ambulance crew and returns to service so it is available for the next emergency call.
The ambulance then transports the patient to the hospital and may remain unavailable for one to four hours, depending on the receiving hospital, patient condition, transport distance, and hospital wait time.
12. Is there unnecessary overlap between the fire department's substantial EMS role and the ambulance service?
Response: No. The two services are complementary rather than duplicative.
The fire department provides rapid local response, immediate patient assessment, advanced life support treatment, additional staffing, rescue capability, and system September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8
resiliency. The ambulance provides patient transport and continues medical care during transportation to the hospital. If the patient is in critical status the firefighter will assist and respond with the ambulance to the hospital.
This two-part system is particularly important when ambulances are already transporting patients or delayed at hospitals. Fire department paramedics remain within the community and can respond to the next emergency even when the area's transporting ambulance is temporarily unavailable.
The result is a more resilient EMS system: the fire department provides rapid intervention and medical stabilization, while the ambulance system provides transportation and continued care to the hospital.
13. From an operational perspective, Del Mar and Solana Beach total about 5.7 square miles and approximately 17,000 residents. If two full-time crews remained available 24/7, and most of Del Mar were within approximately a five-minute response distance, would that provide a reasonable level of service? Response: No. The geographic size and population numbers can make the proposed model appear reasonable when viewed only in terms of square miles, population, and theoretical travel distance. However, fire and EMS deployment cannot be evaluated solely by those measures. The more important questions are simultaneous-call capacity, actual turnout and travel times, unit availability, ambulance commitments, staffing required for structure fires, wildland fires and rescues, and the ability to maintain coverage when one or more units are already committed.
From an operational standpoint, eliminating a fire station would reduce the City's direct fire department cost and therefore lower the apparent per-capita cost of providing fire service. However, those savings would come with a significant reduction in emergencyresponse capacity and resiliency, and likely increases to residential and commercial premiums for the community.
A five-minute driving distance also should not be confused with a five-minute response time. Total response time includes call processing, firefighter turnout, travel, access to the property, and deployment of personnel and equipment. Even relatively small increases in travel distance can be important during cardiac arrest, a rapidly developing structure fire, or a vegetation fire during high-wind conditions.
The current system provides more than simply fire suppression. The City's approximately $1,134 annual per-capita fire department investment supports:
• Advanced life support and emergency medical response
• Structure and vegetation fire suppression
• Technical rescue
• Fire prevention and inspections
• Community risk-reduction and public education
• Wildfire preparedness
• Emergency incident command
• Mutual- and automatic-aid capability
• Additional capacity when multiple emergencies occur simultaneously September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8
Reducing the number of stations would also affect the number of firefighters who can arrive during the critical early stages of an incident. A structure fire requires considerably more personnel than a single engine company. The first-arriving crew may be able to begin operations, but additional companies are needed for search and rescue, water supply, ventilation, firefighter rescue capability, exposure protection, command, and other functions. The closer those additional resources are, the faster an effective firefighting force can be assembled.
There is also a broader taxpayer consideration. Any savings to the City's General Fund should be evaluated against the potential effect on property-insurance costs and community fire-protection classifications. Del Mar currently benefits from a strong fireprotection rating. A significant reduction in station coverage, staffing, response capability, water supply, or other evaluated fire-protection elements could adversely affect that classification resulting in hirer premiums and/or loss of coverage.
It should also be noted that the Fire Department is not only serving the approximately 3,900 residents in town, but as a visitor serving community, there are approximately 3M visitors to Del Mar annually that also generate calls for service.
Item 8- Task Order Amendment with Utility Specialists Southwest, Inc. for Stratford Court North (1B) Utility Undergrounding District
1. Can staff or SDG&E provide more clarity on the specifics and location/s of the outdated connection that the senior SDG&E designer found? This seems more like an equipment/asset issue vs a design issue.
Response: The specific location is the existing handhole in the street on northbound Camino Del Mar just south of 15th Street. This is a location where the Stratford Court North underground system will connect to the existing underground system.
However, the delay is not limited to this connection. Following SDG&E’s senior design review, SDG&E identified additional design issues that require further evaluation and revisions.
2. Can staff provide more clarity on how it is delaying design by 5 months? (i.e. How many hours does Fuscoe need to complete the civil design once it gets the final design from SDG&E?)
Response: The 5 months delay is based on the UP SDG&E Roadmap (link provided below). The City provided SDG&E with the topographic and utilities survey in March 2024.
Under the roadmap, the Planning Stage (30% - 60% design) was anticipated to be completed within 24 – 26 months, or by May 2026. Because SDG&E has not yet completed the final 60% design, the project is currently beyond the anticipated schedule.
The additional civil design effort is included in the task order amendment. Fuscoe’s remaining civil design work is expected to proceed concurrently with SDG&E’s remaining work during the estimated 8 – 12 months period per the roadmap (discussed below).
3. Can the City Council issue a formal and public complaint to SDG&E about this poor service from SDG&E that is causing both delay and additional financial costs for September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8
the City? SDG&E is not being a good partner despite all the work and resources that Del Mar is putting into the undergrounding projects.
Response: City staff have already met and discussed this issue with upper management at SDG&E. SDG&E has acknowledged the issue, apologized, and identified a lesson learned to help prevent similar delays on future projects. It is up to the Council to decide if they would like to take further action.
4. How do we create more accountability and speed from SDG&E going forward? North Stratford is a small project and it is our 3rd city-led project, but we are at 3 years for design. For future projects (Districts 2,3,4,5), would it be possible to get quarterly updates on the status of the design/s, set up as public Council agenda items, so that we do not have surprises/delays like this going forward? Response: SDG&E has identified a lesson learned from this project to involve its senior designer earlier in the process to help avoid significant rework and delays later in the design.
Design updates have been provided as part of the UP General Updates, which are generally presented quarterly, depending on Crest Canyon (X1A) construction progress.
Design status may not change significantly between updates due to extended periods awaiting SDG&E’s design at each stage (30%, 60%, and 90%). Staff will continue to provide updates through the UP General Updates.
5. The staff report says it will be 8 to 12 months for remaining design and bidding work. Can you provide more specifics on the breakdown of what is driving this timeline?
Response: The 8 – 12 months estimate is based on the UP SDG&E Roadmap and includes the Final Design Stage (5 – 7 months) and the Pre-Construction Stage (3 – 5 months), which can be found at:
https://www.delmar.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/9820/Item-7---UP-SDGE-Roadmap
6. When will the city engineer’s cost estimate of the north Stratford project be available for the public? Can Council get a copy when it is first ready? Response: As presented to the City Council on September 22, 2025, the total project cost for Stratford Court North (1B) is estimated at $4.77 million in Fiscal Year 2026-2027 dollars. This total includes pre-construction costs, SDG&E’s preliminary cost estimate of $707,070, and the City’s estimated construction costs of $3.43 million. The final engineer’s estimate, including detailed quantities, will be provided once the plans are finalized.
September 8, 2026 Item 2 and Item 8