SAN DIEGO — The sign in front of the Oceana condominium complex perfectly explains the problem: Unstable cliffs. Danger. Stay back. But what does that mean for owners of the 13 units? Every time water washes up on the rocks at the base of the cliff, the owners are hit with a wave of concern.
“The fear is that our building is going to fall into the ocean,” said condo owner Russ Rasmussen.
He says the HOA spent over $1 million to build a seawall several years ago, which has held, and they fortified the cliff with riprap. But he says the city's land next to it is causing new concerns.
“Our land is secure,” Russ said. “It's the city’s land that has eroded and has caused the undermining - the danger to our property.”
It's happening at the end of Bermuda Avenue and Russ thinks the road is in trouble too.
“At some point the street is going to collapse,” he said.
Working for You, we reached out to the City of San Diego on this situation.
They don't agree with Russ' assessment on blame.
"The private property owner (Oceanus) has been made aware that this condition is their responsibility," a spokesperson said in a statement.
It goes on to say that the property was recently examined and there is no imminent hazard to the residents, but they also noted that erosion is ongoing so "any mitigation measures elected by the private property owners should be implemented as soon as possible to avoid further erosion creating a hazard to occupied structures. No further action will be taken by the City at this time."
Dr. Pat Abbott says, with sea levels rising, we are going to see this same concern play out all over the coastline. The former Geology Professor at San Diego State says it's not a matter of if buildings will fall, but when.
“When you look at the rock that the condos are built on here, this is young rock,” Abbott said pointing to the cliff. “It's only thousands of years old. It's weak. It's the kind of thing ocean waves can tear apart with ease.”
The owners are planning to reinforce their cliff again and they know it’s not going to be cheap. Russ estimates the price in the “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” They're hoping the city will take some responsibility and contribute to the cost, but from what they've seen so far, the only thing eroding faster than their cliff is their confidence that any help from the city is on the way.
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