Del Mar residents will weigh in on two land-use actions when the City Council holds public hearings Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 4:30 p.m. The hearings take place at Town Hall, 1050 Camino del Mar.
One hearing concerns the proposed adoption of the Final Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the San Dieguito Lagoon Levee, Habitat Enhancement, and Trail Project. The environmental review is a key step for a nature-based flood-protection effort that has been in the works since 2013.
The project would build vegetated berms 40 to 50 feet wide and up to 1,500 feet long, rising two to four feet above existing grade along the San Dieguito River west of the Jimmy Durante Boulevard Bridge. The berms would sit between the Del Mar Fairgrounds and the city's Public Works facility. A pedestrian trail on top would create a new segment of the 71-mile Coast to Crest Trail on the Fairgrounds side, according to city environmental documents.
The estimated price tag is $10 million. As of a March 2026 city update, Del Mar had secured nearly $1.3 million and applied for an additional $5.5 million from state and federal agencies. The council on Aug. 25 separately approved a $1,245,148 task order with consulting firm Dudek for engineering design and resource-agency permitting, according to council minutes.
The council voted 4-0 on Feb. 17 to authorize grant applications to the California Ocean Protection Council and the State Coastal Conservancy, according to council minutes.
The Del Mar Planning Commission recommended adoption of the Final MND on Sept. 15.
One unresolved question: the 22nd District Agricultural Association (DAA), which governs the Fairgrounds, must separately approve the environmental document before any construction can occur on its property. At the DAA board's May 12 meeting, Supervising Environmental Planner Dustin Fuller said, "The District opposes the proposed 2027 start date for construction. The Board of Directors would have to approve the final CEQA document before any work can take place on fairgrounds property." No subsequent DAA board action on the matter has been publicly recorded.
The levee hearings come as Del Mar prepares for the 2026–2027 El Niño season. The council has been coordinating expanded dredging of the San Dieguito Lagoon and sand-berm work on the beach, according to a city staff presentation.
The council will also hear the introduction of an ordinance approving Development Agreement DA 25-001 for La Atalaya, a previously approved subdivision at 3004 Sandy Lane. The agreement would set a single expiration date of Feb. 6, 2029, for all discretionary permits tied to the project, including the tentative tract map, conditional use permit, coastal development permit, design review permit and land conservation permit, according to a Planning Commission staff report.
La Atalaya involves relocating lot lines among eight existing parcels. It does not create new residential units, the staff report stated. The applicant is La Atalaya, LLC, represented by Adam Birnbaum of AMB Planning Services. The original permits were approved by the council on Feb. 1, 2021.
The property sits in the Bluff, Slope and Canyon Overlay Zone, Floodplain Overlay Zone and Lagoon Overlay Zone.
Written comments for either hearing must reach the city clerk at [email protected] by noon on Oct. 20. Residents can also attend in person or join remotely via Zoom. The staff contact for the levee hearing is Nicole Morrow at 858-375-9525; for the La Atalaya hearing, Associate Planner Jennifer Gavin at 858-793-6148.
