Years in the making, design work is now advancing on long-term drainage improvements in Sunset Cliffs Natural Park’s Hillside Section.

The 50-acre Hillside Section is part of the 68-acre resource-based park bordering the western edge of Point Loma. The park extends 1 ½ miles south to the Point Loma Navy Base. Its Hillside Section is a designated multiple species conservation area linking to the 640-acre Point Loma Ecological Reserve beginning at the Navy property. Hillside drainage improvements involve the evaluation of the drainage within the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park to implement a complete drainage system.

Rick Engineering has been working on finalizing drainage improvements for the oceanfront park. Those plans comply with the 2005 Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Master Plan, while responding to comments made by the Sunset Cliffs Natural Recreation Park Council, which guides the park’s development. Rick Engineering presented updated plans for improving the Hillside Section’s drainage on March 20 before the Peninsula Community Planning Board.

Leon Scales, SCNP Council president, noted that while the group’s board is generally pleased with renewed progress on Hillside drainage improvements, there are numerous issues yet to be resolved.

“Inexplicably, they greatly reduced parking in the upper parking lot used by Point Loma Nazarene University students during the day,” said Scales, noting the drainage project now includes “several complex biofiltration devices.”

Adding SCNP Council is concerned about a proposal to cut the number of parking spaces at PLNU by half, Scales said, “One way or the other, we’ve been working on how to fix drainage in Sunset Cliffs Natural Park on the Hillside for 20 years.”

Scales said the SCNP Council will now respond to Rick Engineering’s March presentation to PCPB. Noting Rick Engineering’s next presentation on park drainage improvements is scheduled for late August.

Of Rick Engineering’s current drainage improvement plans, Scales noted those plans entail “taking all the rainwater coming down onto Point Loma between the Navy property and Ladera Street and preventing it from getting into the ocean and damaging the environment.”

He added: “They want to take all that water coming down from Lomaland, and put it into the canyon (first) rather than into the ocean. They (engineers) say we need to have a place where rainwater can settle into a pond or filtration unit, to slow down the flow before it goes into the ocean. So they need to come up with an engineering-style solution for that.”

So what’s next? Looking ahead, Scales said: “The SCNP Council is going to come up with a response to the City’s March 20 presentation. The council would like to get a drainage plan presented, approved, and implemented.”

PARK SPECIAL EVENT

On Saturday, April 26, the SCNP Council invites the public to an open house at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park starting at 9 a.m., meeting in the parking area at the end of Ladera Street.

SUNSET CLIFFS NATURAL PARK

Dedicated in 1983, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is a 68-acre resource-based park stretching along the ocean bordering the western edge of Point Loma.

• The 18-acre linear section of the park lies to the west of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard between Adair and Ladera streets.
• The 50-acre hillside section, a designated multiple species conservation area, links to the 640-acre Point Loma Ecological Reserve beginning at the Navy property to the south.

The park’s topography includes intricately carved coastal bluffs, arches, and sea caves affording inspiring panoramic ocean views.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Recreation Council: Created in December 1988, the SCNP Council is the officially recognized advisory group for Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. The SCNP Council follows the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Council Bylaws, steering the park’s management, advocating for its preservation and restoration. The council provides recommendations to the City on park management, planning, and improvements. The group actively works to protect the park’s natural beauty and restore degraded areas. It also plays an active role in implementing the park’s master plan, which includes removing man-made elements and restoring native vegetation.

The Sunset Cliffs Master Plan: recommends implementation of a park protection policy guiding all future proposals. It calls for all park natural resources to be protected from obtrusive, unnatural structures, and for native vegetation and wildlife to be protected from surrounding development, along with safeguarding near-shore waters from pollution. The master plan proposes corrective measures for past and present Sunset Cliffs abuse and neglect that may have degraded the park’s natural beauty. These include removing man-made elements such as structures, construction debris, and excess pavement, as well as implementing a comprehensive on-site drainage system.

Long-term park master plan goals call for “creation of a park where people can enjoy San Diego’s natural coastal environment as it once was, free from the effects of man and intended to inspire the user to reflect on the grandeur of the sea, and the beauty of the cliffs.”

Guidelines for SCNP development: Do no harm; protect, conserve, and enhance; maintain focus on the unique coastal resources; allow public access with minimal environmental impacts; maintain planning integrity/strategy for resource preservation; and restore areas of neglect and damage to their previous condition and visual quality.