Winds whip across the face of a skateboarder as he glides down Pescadero Avenue, careful to stay away from the foot of the street that has eroded, creating a tangled mess of pavement and cliff.
Two chain-link fences stand between the erosion and the road. The first “” new and unrusted “” features signs warning pedestrians and drivers off the cliffs behind it. The second “” reddish-brown from wind and saltwater “” balances on the precipice, slowly inching its way toward the crashing waves below.
According to Barbara Keiller, chair of the erosion committee for Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Recreation Council, the causes of such erosion include surface and underground drainage. Sunset Cliffs park, which begins two blocks south of Pescadero Avenue, had a similar problem with erosion last year. In fact, the park council addressed the issue in its master plan to improve and preserve the cliffs.
Keiller said that unlike absorbent natural soils, hard surfaces such as roads and parking lots collect water. And in hilly coastal areas like Ocean Beach, the water flows toward the ocean and washes away sand and dirt that make up the cliffs along the way.
Additionally, Keiller pointed to cracks in pavement that allow water to seep underground, also known as piping. The water then makes its own pathway to the ocean, forming small caves or tunnels within the soil.
“I do know that there is a contributing factor from runoff of the street, storm runoff coming off the street or irrigation runoff from the gutter line,” said Dave Zoumaras, deputy director of the city’s engineering design division, which handles coastal erosion.
Intense winds, prevalent during cold winter months, also increase erosion.
“Wind is always a factor in soil erosion,” Zoumaras said. “How much of a factor it is I could not tell you.”
Currently, the division has prioritized a list of projects for fiscal year 2008, including the erosion on Pescadero Avenue. The list was submitted to Mayor Jerry Sanders for approval on Jan. 16. A decision on funding for the projects is expected following the budget process that will take place over the next couple of months, said Bill Harris, a representative from the mayor’s office.
While little can be done to prevent natural erosion that occurs from the ocean, Zoumaras said the city “just wants to make sure absolutely that we’re not contributing to that problem from allowing water to run off from the street.”
According to Keiller, concerned residents can use sandbags to prevent surface erosion.
“The erosion process is ongoing, there’s no way to prevent it,” she said. “Certainly taking care of cracks in the cement can be helpful, because those are going to be places where water is going to go in, and then you create spaces underneath the pavement.”
These spaces can result in slumping or sinkholes, Keiller continued.
“I think the geology is fascinating,” she said, “and it’s important, I think, for homeowners to know what kind of land they’re on. If they’re near the cliff, you know it’s eventually going to be eroding.”
According to Beverly Joy, a real estate agent representing homeowners who live in or own units at 4878 Pescadero Ave., a condo complex at the foot of the street, clients have decided to sell for various reasons, none of them having to do with the erosion on the cliff.
However, Kirsten Keithly, a real estate agent representing clients attempting to sell an inherited property at the complex, said the erosion is a concern.
“The cliff is a big, big problem for the HOA (Home Owners Association) right now,” Keithly said in an e-mail. Representatives from the complex’s HOA could not be reached for comment.
So who is responsible for repairing damage to homes due to erosion: the homeowner or the city?
According to Zoumaras, those issues are handled on a case-by-case basis after a forensic investigation to determine what caused the damage and if the city was responsible for any contributing factors.
Ultimately, Keiller believes that residents need to be smarter about how they treat the land.
“This is a unique border landscape where the ocean meets the cliffs “¦ and we have to be intelligent about what our expectations are,” Keiller said. “I think it’s kind of human hubris to think that we can have control over nature. I think we have to live with nature.”