Del Mar Beach, California
DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA —Kim and Marilyn Fletcher stood on the deck of their beachfront home watching waves crash onto the shore. They savored the view from behind a 22-foot-high sea wall, a common sight along this eroding stretch of coast.
The sandy beach in front of homes in this north San Diego County town is shrinking, and the high tide is edging closer.
Kim Fletcher, 89, witnessed the transformation. His maternal grandfather bought more than 10 acres of beachfront property in 1946. He built homes and sold lots. Fletcher visited his grandfather’s home two doors away. Dry sand was abundant.
“We had swing sets. We had trampolines. We had our Hobie Cats right out on the beach in front of the house,” he said, referring to beach catamarans. “Now you couldn’t do that. There’s not enough sand. If you did put it down there, every time you got a reasonable high tide you’d be washed out.”
It’s a different beach now. Today, there’s roughly 30 feet of sand before the water, depending on the time […]
I remember an incident in which a developer wanted to buy a piece of property on the beach to build a high-rise and the smell city wanted to save the beach, and they fought in court for about five years. After that five years, that beach had washed away, since no barrier had been built to halt the incoming water waves. To me it seemed like a joke, the way it ended, but now I realize that all the beaches will be gone within my lifetime unless something is done to protect them.