Del Mar’s Sea Level Rise Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) has been working on a new strategy for adapting to rising seas levels over the last two years. Their draft plan includes a strategy called the “managed retreat,” which entails triggers for when to relocate infrastructure.

As mentioned in KPBS,  the city of fewer than 5,000 residents won a grant from the California Coastal Commission to begin work on plans for the rising sea level. Laura Engeman of San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative said, “Del Mar is the first community to develop a community-wide plan that holistically looks at its vulnerabilities and what it’s going to do to prepare for that.”

Del Mar resident Charles David Keeling created a measurement and indicator for global warming called the Keeling Curve. Keeling was also behind Del Mar’s community plan, which is why most houses are set back farther from the edge (at least 50 feet from the bluff) than in other coastal cities.

The sea level is expected to rise one foot in Del Mar by 2050.