Del Mar will mark half a century of its Community Plan with a civic celebration at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Del Mar Civic Center Town Hall, 1050 Camino del Mar.

Mayor Tracy Martinez will present an official proclamation at the conclusion of the City Council meeting, according to a city announcement posted Aug. 19. A reception with cake and coffee will follow.

The city is inviting residents to share memories of the plan's creation and said some of the original contributors will attend.

The document traces back to 1973, when then-Mayor Janice Heinzmann convened the first of several Community Plan committees. Over nearly two years, about 300 residents worked together on recommendations for development, neighborhood preservation, and protection of the sandstone bluffs, Torrey pines and native vegetation that define the city's coastal landscape.

The City Council adopted the plan in 1975. A year later, Del Mar voters approved it by referendum, cementing it as the city's foundational planning document.

The Community Plan still functions as Del Mar's state-approved General Plan. Amendments over the decades have added recreational, environmental management and transportation elements, and the city is currently drafting a new Environmental Justice Element as part of the plan, according to planning documents from earlier this year.

The city's announcement described the plan as the document that has done more than any other to shape Del Mar's character.

The Sept. 8 celebration is free and open to the public. No registration is required.