Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
Today, State Senator Patricia Bates will be presenting Senate Bill 1090. The bill requires the California Coastal Commission to grant permits to public agencies and homeowners in Orange County and San Diego to mitigate coastal erosion. Furthermore, SB 1090 is designed to prevent tragedies like the one that happened on August 3, 2019.
On August 3, three people died here in San Diego after a cliff collapsed due to erosion that was left unaddressed. There have also been numerous other cliffs that have collapsed in recent years with six collapsing in 2018 alone.
“One needs only to walk that long stretch of beach to know that it is only a matter of time before more of those bluffs give way, next time possibly taking an entire house with it,” said 76th Assembly District candidate Melanie Burkholder. “SB 1090 streamlines and facilitates the capacity for the Governments of Encinitas and San Diego County to develop and approve substantive repairs to the bluffs to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.”
The only potential roadblock to the bill being passed is concern regarding the environmental impact. SB 1090 exempts environmental reviews established by the California Environmental Quality Act, which may be a red flag for some Democrats. But as Burkholder explains, “this is not the time to be worried about environmental impact; the impact has already occurred, and it will happen again. This is an emergency situation where lives are in danger, and immediate remediation is required.”
This is a bill that is essential to making sure that the cliffs stay intact and no further incidents occur. The costs of SB 1090 are extraordinarily minimal, while ensuring that our coastal bluffs remain stable and don’t threaten the safety and lives of San Diegans.
