If you haven’t guessed what the prime objective of the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Master Plan is, here’s a clue: It’s right in the middle of the park’s name.
In the 134-page, master-plan document it’s stated upfront: The first priority is the recovery and preservation of “natural resources,” specifically targeting “urban runoff onto park land and cliffs” via implementation of a “comprehensive drainage program” to restore natural cliffs.
The start of work recently for Phase II of the Hillside Improvement Project brought a strong critical reaction from some residents objecting to bulldozers coming in and removing old eucalyptus trees onsite.
But that shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone who’s read the park master plan. In the plan’s section on native plant preservation, it’s stated: “The park contains native habitat including sensitive species which need to be protected… These habitats should be preserved, as well as expanded and re-established in more-disturbed areas. Exotic non-native invasive species have displaced native vegetation and should be eradicated and replaced with native vegetation.”
The master plan states that the use of eucalyptus and other nonnative plants in the natural park should be “limited to special situations (park-entry accent plants, parking lot shade, etc.)”
According to the master plan, revegetation in the Hillside Improvements Project “should consist of the gradual removal and phasing out of invasive exotics and replanting with natives.” 
The master plan also calls for “gradually replacing high-maintenance, aged and/or diseased trees via introducing Torrey pines or Coast Live Oak on a limited basis.”
Also provided for in the master plan is “short-term fencing of restored areas” during park construction, along with introducing “long-term protective measures for restricting pedestrian traffic to designated trails.” 
The plan also recommends use of interpretive signage “to raise public awareness of the restoration program.”
Recommendations to upgrade the linear section include creating an entrance to the park west of the Adair Street/Sunset Cliffs Boulevard intersection that would become the trail head of the proposed “coastal trail.” The plan would block off-shoot trails with natural barriers and recover with native vegetation. The plan also considers a redesign of the chain-link fence barriers around surface sea cave openings at Luscomb’s Point and other areas to create an improved aesthetic. For the hillside section, the plan is to construct a primary trail from Ladera Street to the southernmost boundary of the Hillside Park (for future connection with the potential Point Loma trail). Other upgrades include refurbishing the Ladera Street stairs and to consider an alternative alignment from the lower parking lot that would provide safe access to Garbage Beach.
The plan also recommends installing primary and secondary observation points at locations along coastal bluff tops in Hillside Park with natural elements such as seating forms and signage. For the north coastal terrace section, the plan is to create an entrance at the Hillside Park’s lower parking lot, close to Cornish Drive. The entryway will include native plant cover, seating and trail head furnishings of natural materials. Also, the plan provides a pedestrian trail from Cornish Drive to connect with other major use areas of the park as part of the trail system, while blocking off-shoot trails. Other recommendations in the master plan include construction of a small, permanent public comfort station and beach shower near the lower parking lot, razing the Ladera Street properties and restoring native vegetation. At the south coastal terrace, the plan recommends installing an observation point near the south end of Garbage Beach, eliminating the existing athletic field and revegetating with native plants, razing the Loma Land properties and restoring the ocean view. The demolition of the Corbin House shall be determined, pending further historical analysis. More plans are to reduce the size of the upper parking lot and designate the upper canyon as a biological reserve dedicated to the preservation and study of native plant and wildlife habitats. The comprehensive revegetation program in the master plan will also be required to comply with the most current brush management guidelines of the San Diego Fire Department. Eucalyptus trees, whose more than 700 species are all non-native – nearly all from Australia – tops the list of non-native invasive plant species to be replaced spelled out in the master plan.
The tallest known flowering plant on Earth, eucalyptus trees are California “immigrants,” having first been introduced in the state in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush. By the early 1900s, thousands of acres of eucalyptus trees were planted with state government encouragement. 
It was hoped eucalyptus would provide a renewable source of timber for construction, and that the wood could be used for railroad ties. Eucalyptus, however, proved entirely unsuitable for railroad ties, as the wood is so tough that it was nearly impossible to hammer railroad spikes into it.
Also, as was borne out in the California wildfires in the 2000s, eucalyptus oil is highly flammable with ignited trees known to explode, making eucalyptus tree plantings subject to catastrophic firestorms. With some eucalyptus species, the heavy-laden trees are also prone to dropping their branches unexpectedly, another major safety hazard.