Coastal Resilience Master Plan

The Coastal Resilience Master Plan is an implementation action of Climate Resilient SD. This project is made possible through grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and California State Coastal Conservancy.

The plan identifies potential nature-based solutions for locations along San Diego's coast to improve the resilience of our communities to sea level rise while also benefiting coastal access, recreation opportunities, wildlife and natural coastal resources.

Phase 1 of the planning effort included development of concept-level designs for six locations along San Diego's coast, a pilot project and completion of a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental analysis. 

The Coastal Resilience Master Plan was adopted by City Council on Sept. 9, 2025. A Final Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) has been completed. For more information on the PEIR, see Program Environmental Impact Report section below. For more detailed information on the project sites and concepts, visit Appendix A: Site Profiles. For more information regarding public engagement, visit Appendix B: Public Engagement Plan and see below for recorded webinars and presentation. For a summary of community and stakeholder feedback, please see Appendix C. 

Phase 2 of the planning effort builds on the work of Phase 1 and includes continued community and stakeholder engagement, Tribal coordination, additional environmental analysis, initial engineering for four of the project sites selected by the City Council as part of the adoption of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan and technical studies to inform project design. The four project sites are:

Tourmaline Surf Park: The project concept for Tourmaline Surf Park converts the existing shoreline protection feature into a hybrid nature-based solution. The existing rip rap will be buried to provide a core layer and topped with a mix of cobble and sand. The proposed sand and cobble dune will be vegetated with native plantings to provide ecological benefits through introduction of rare plant species and potential habitat for various avian species. Additional seating and enhanced viewing areas will be integrated into the top of the vegetated dune​,​ increasing the usability and aesthetics of the site. 

Ocean Beach - Dog Beach: The project includes dune habitat restoration at the eastern edge of the project site near Smiley Lagoon as well as a new multi-use path for cyclists and pedestrians fronted by elevated sand dunes that run along the beach. The proposed sand dunes will be vegetated with native plantings to provide ecological benefits.   

Ocean Beach - Beachfront: The project includes a multi-use path for cyclists and pedestrians fronted by a sand dune. The proposed sand dunes will be vegetated with native plantings to provide ecological benefits. The dunes and path will be located along the landward edge of the beach and connect to the proposed improvements at the Ocean Beach - Dog Beach project site. As such, the multi-use path will connect the existing western terminus of the San Diego River Trail to the Ocean Beach Pier.  

Sunset Cliffs: The project site runs from Adair Street to Ladera Street in the south. For the northern portion of the project site, the concept realigns the parking lots away from the cliff edge. This option includes trail enhancements, revegetation of the linear park with native vegetation, drainage improvements as necessary and removal of the paved parking lots from the cliff to pull-in parking spaces along the roadway. The southern section of the project site considers road reconfiguration on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard which would create a new separated multi-use path and with a one-lane, one-way southbound vehicular travel lane. The road reconfiguration would be informed by traffic studies and temporarily piloted first to inform project design and community impacts.  

Work on Phase 2 will occur between September 2025 and January 2027 and will result in 15% design for the four project sites, CEQA analysis, and technical studies. 

Questions on the Coastal Resilience Master Plan  can be submitted via email to ClimateResilientSD@sandiego.gov. To receive updates on the Coastal Resilience Master Plan, including updates and public meetings for the four selected project sites, sign up for the newsletter by completing the form at the bottom of this webpage.