“I don’t get it,” business owner Cheryl Yoes said.  “It’s allowing erosion to happen without trying to do something about it to save the homes and businesses.”

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Yoes and her husband own Dial Glass and Window Company.  They just renovated and are frustrated that Pacifica is even considering managed retreat.  She fears it will push people away right now for a problem that may happen decades later.

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“I’ve lived here my entire life and the sea level couldn’t have risen more than an inch or two,” Yoes said.  “There’s no way.”

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The Coastal Commission wants every coastal city in California to adopt a managed retreat plan in what is currently defined as the “coastal zone”. In Pacifica, the line is drawn at state Highway 1. Every property west of the highway, including Guillet’s home and Yoes’ business, would no longer get protection from flood damage.

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“The Coastal Commission made it very clear that the city needed to evaluate managed retreat as an alternative,” said Pacifica City Manager Kevin Woodhouse. But he says the city is trying to avoid that option, and has submitted an alternative plan. “The strategies recommended are basically sea walls and protections, barriers like that, and beach replenishment, sand replenishment, but not managed retreat,” said Woodhouse.

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It may not be that simple though, because the city’s local coastal plan has to be approved by the Coastal Commission, including senior engineer Lesley Ewing.  Ewing points to what happened in Pacifica after several El Niño winters just three years ago, when 30 feet of bluff, apartment buildings included, came tumbling down into the ocean. “That type of unmanaged retreat is something that I don’t think anybody wants to see,” said Ewing.

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Ewing says sea walls continue to be an option under managed retreat, however the Commission will only grant them in limited circumstances because they’re only a temporary fix that accelerates beach loss.

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Coastal Commission scientist Carey Batha explained the Pacific Ocean has risen about eight inches over the last century, but with more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it’s important coastal cities prepare for a major increase in sea levels.

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“By the end of this century, we could be looking at three feet of sea level rise or we could be looking at seven feet of sea level rise,” Batha said.  “I would hope that we could see sea level rise as the common enemy here that what we’re really trying to do is work together against a common challenge.”

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Many new developments and even major remodels in the coastal zone are already not allowed to build sea walls or otherwise armor the shore.  But they aren’t doing it without a fight, and in other areas of California property owners have filed lawsuits to stop managed retreat plans. 

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Pacifica city manager Kevin Woodhouse is worried about the risk of lawsuits but acknowledges that new zoning regulations are likely, particularly in the most vulnerable areas.  That may or may not include Guillet’s neighborhood.

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Guillet is not satisfied, and insists that he has the right to protect his home with a sea wall: “It is our home, and it’s not fair that they should impose any kind of restrictions on us.”  He is leading a campaign against Pacifica’s adaptation plan, collecting signatures for a petition, and they are also looking at taking legal action.

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“I want to see managed retreat removed from the city plan for Pacifica, completely,” Guillet said.