SAN DIEGO — Sea level rise is coming to California and homeowners along the coast say they're being thrown a curve ball.
It's called managed retreat: a plan to move existing homes and utilities away from the ocean in future decades in advance of sea level rise.
Del Mar residents Trevor and Tracy Hoffman sat down with News 8’s Shawn Styles during an interview at their home along the beach.
“After spending 15 years with the Padres, we were lucky enough to make Del Mar our home,” said Trevor Hoffman, a former pitcher with the San Diego baseball team.
The couple has lived in their Del Mar home for more than 20 years. A cement wall protects their property from king tides and storm waves.
“We love the beach. That's why we're here. We don't want to see it go away,” said Tracy Hoffman.
Storm-surge flooding is a way of life along the coast from Imperial Beach to Oceanside.
Scientists say extreme weather events are only going to get worse and more frequent as sea level rises, maybe not in our lifetimes but certainly within the next 40 to 80 years.
“You're right, it might not affect us in our lifetime, but it certainly is going to affect our family at some point time,” said Trevor Hoffman.
“It's extremely important to us. This home has so many memories for our boys. And it's something that we have dreamt about passing down to our grandkids and our great-grandkids. It's something that we can give to them,” said Tracy.
The California Coastal Commission wants cities to start planning now for sea level rise before it's too late. Environmental groups like the Surfrider Foundation agree.
“We have roads, water lines, sewage lines, wastewater lines, lifeguard towers, power plants, all of this on the coast. So, we need leadership from our local governments to start preparing for the future so that all of this infrastructure is not exposed,” said Laura Walsh, a policy coordinator with the Surfrider Foundation of San Diego County.
By the year 2100, scientists predict the ocean could rise between three and 10 feet.
“The question we're at right now is, should cities acknowledge best science that sea level rise is happening and lay down some basic guidelines to commit to doing something?” said Walsh.
Managed retreat is not the answer, according many coastal homeowners.
“Managed retreat should not be part of any language in my opinion,” said Trevor.
Trevor said managed retreat would give the government a license to take his home, when and if sea level rises too high.
“It’s not a tool that you want to utilize. You want to exhaust all other options before you get into a situation where, 'OK we have it written down, we can just wipe out your home,'” he said.
For the Hoffmans, other options include building more sea walls and sand replenishment projects to add more sand to the beaches. But those solutions may only be short term fixes.
Down in Imperial Beach, resident Bryce Maki has seen what happens to sand replenishment projects.
“I moved in here seven years ago, and they were dredging the sand. And within a couple years, half of that was gone just from the surf,” Maki said.
A little farther north, beachgoer Marylyn Read had a more ominous prediction.
“I think a lot of the homeowners along the coast here are in denial and when they do finally see the force of Mother Nature, it's going to be a hard reality hitting them,” she said.
In the end, the battle over sea level rise may all come down to where you live and what you believe.
“We feel it's a God thing. If it is meant to come down and take our home in that way, I'm good with it. But the science, in a sense, I think at times can be skewed in certain ways,” said Trevor Hoffman.
Del Mar is still working on updating its coastal plan and the city is trying to reach a compromise with the Coastal Commission over managed retreat.
The battle in Del Mar is seen as a test case for other cities up and down the coast of California.
Shawn Styles stopped by News 8 Morning Extra to talk about his story.
