North County's bluffs are naturally eroding while sea levels rise. Thoughtful planning is needed to maintain a healthy beach.

As human activities and development in coastal areas increase, preservation of these areas becomes more important. Increasingly, coastal development poses a threat to our naturally dynamic shoreline. Protecting development has become a priority over protecting the shoreline and beaches. This campaign is aimed at ending the reckless pattern of development in North County through advocacy related to coastal development permits.
Our work aims to ensure that coastal development properly:
- evaluates erosion rates; especially on bluff tops where sea level rise is and will continue to accelerate erosion
- compensates the public for any loss to coastal resources or access
- discourages reckless development patterns; especially those which extend the lifetime of structures such that they will need seawalls and other hard armoring for protection (see our article on the negative impacts of seawalls here)
To read our full policy statement on beach preservation, click HERE.
Relevant Posts

Protecting Beacon’s Beach for This and Future Generations
by Julia Chunn-Heer, SD Policy Manager Finding the right path forward for beach access at Beacon’s Beach in Leucadia is something the Surfrider Foundation San

Beacon’s Beach saved from a “defacto” seawall
On August 30, 2017, the San Diego County Chapter achieved another victory for our coastline! After years of pressure, the Encinitas City Council decided to pursue
Beacon’s Position Statement and Comment Letter March 2017
Position Statement (July 2014) The City of Encinitas is considering their options to address the erosion that is taking place at Beacons. Beach access and

Surfrider voices concerns over the proposed solution to stabilize erosion at Beacon’s Beach
To learn more, check out the Coast News article and our comment letter.
Surfrider issues position statement on erosion at Beacon’s beach
A few months ago, you may have seen this article run in the Coast News. The San Diego Chapter has just issued the position statement
No Seawall at Beacon’s
In 2001, California State Parks awarded a grant to the city of Encinitas to protect the bluff and parking area. The city went forward with
COASTAL PRESERVATION
Our chapter maintains two volunteer-led committees dedicated to issues related to the preservation of our coast. You can learn more about them by clicking below, or start HERE to get some background on Surfrider’s Coastal Preservation Initiative