Coordinating Engineers, the City and the Commission

For boards, managers and owners planning structural or shoreline work in Solana Beach. A coastal project here isn’t run by one office. Engineers design it. The City reviews building and local issues. The California Coastal Commission handles coastal development permits. On the beach itself, the State Lands Commission may be a landowner with its own terms. Projects go sideways when one of those hand-offs is missed.

In summary:

• Solana Beach has a certified Land Use Plan but not a fully certified Local Coastal Program, and the City’s Building Services page notes that the Coastal Commission reviews coastal development permits citywide.
• Repair and maintenance on shoreline structures can need a coastal permit under 14 CCR section 13252.
• Where a seawall sits partly on state tidelands, the State Lands Commission can require a lease with its own conditions.
• Permits often carry ongoing duties, like annual monitoring by a licensed engineer, that outlast construction.

We don’t promise any permit outcome or schedule. Agencies decide those. This briefing is about keeping the people and paperwork aligned.

The cast, one line each

1. Geotechnical engineer or engineering geologist. Characterizes the bluff and soils, estimates erosion, and supports the hazard analysis the Land Use Plan calls for.
2. Civil or structural engineer. Designs foundations, walls, seawalls or upper-bluff systems and stamps the drawings.
3. Contractor. Builds what’s designed and permitted, documents conditions and reports surprises.
4. City of Solana Beach. Building permits, inspections, local zoning and Land Use Plan policies.
5. California Coastal Commission. Coastal development permits, amendments and permit conditions.
6. California State Lands Commission. Leases where structures extend onto state-owned tidelands.
7. The board or owner. Hires the team, signs applications, funds the work and carries the conditions afterward.

A foundation contractor, including us, does not replace items 1, 2, 5 or 6. We coordinate with licensed engineers as needed and work within the permits that agencies issue.

A seawall file, read as a case study

The State Lands Commission’s August 2025 staff report on a general lease for an existing Solana Beach seawall shows how many layers can stack on one structure. In summary, the report describes:

• An existing concrete seawall, about 35 feet high and 2.5 feet wide, that runs across the upland owner’s property and continues along neighboring properties. Only a small part in front of that lot extends beyond the last natural mean high tide line.
• A lease term of 10 years, beginning August 19, 2025.
• A requirement to comply with all conditions of the coastal development permit that authorized the wall.
• A coastal permit condition requiring an annual monitoring report prepared by a licensed civil or geotechnical engineer on the condition of the seawall and beach.
• A further permit condition: if the owner applies to expand the wall, a licensed civil or geotechnical engineer must assess the feasibility of alternative protection methods.
• A lease condition: before major repairs or alterations, the lessee must assess alternative adaptation strategies, such as nature-based or hybrid designs, and give written documentation to State Lands staff.
• A note that the owner had previously paid into SANDAG’s Sand Mitigation Fee program for a 30-year period (1999 to 2029).
• A requirement that any later lease application be paired with an application to amend the coastal permit or obtain a new one.

One wall. Two state agencies. A local building department. At least one licensed engineer on an annual cycle. A fee program with an end date. Each of those has a different calendar.

Where the hand-offs slip

Coordination problems on coastal projects tend to cluster in a few places:

Monitoring that lapses. The engineer who wrote the first monitoring report retires, the management company changes, and nobody files the next one. Ask who owns that calendar.

Repair that turns out to be “development.” Section 13252 lists repair and maintenance on seawalls and similar structures that can need a coastal permit, depending on location and method. A board that treats a patch as routine maintenance may be wrong. Ask before mobilizing.

Scope drift between drawings and permits. A field change that seems minor, like a different anchor or a longer footing, can mean the built work no longer matches what was approved. Changes go back through the engineer and, where needed, the agencies.

Two permits, two expirations. A lease, a coastal permit and a building permit can each run on their own clock. Track them separately.

Alternatives analysis left too late. Both the lease and permit conditions in that file push owners to study alternatives before major work. Starting that analysis after design is finished wastes time.

A coordination file that works

Boards that keep projects on track usually keep one shared file with:

1. The current coastal permit and every amendment, with conditions highlighted.
2. Any State Lands lease, with its term and specific provisions.
3. The geotechnical reports and the most recent monitoring reports.
4. Stamped drawings and approved revisions.
5. Building permits and inspection records.
6. A one-page calendar of recurring duties: monitoring due dates, lease renewals, fee program end dates.
7. Contact roles (not personal phone lists) for each professional.

The Land Use Plan’s Chapter 4 policies on shoreline and bluff development give boards a sense of what reviewers will be looking for. Read them before the first design meeting.

What we bring to the table

On a coastal project, our role is narrower than people sometimes expect, and that’s appropriate. We evaluate structural conditions, document existing foundations and walls, help boards scope what an engineer needs to look at, and build to the approved design. When the work touches a bluff, seawall or the beach, we coordinate with licensed engineers as needed and follow the agencies’ conditions.

Our coastal permits page and seawall and upper-bluff repair page cover our services. The geologist roles post covers the geology side in more depth.

Numbered points for the next board packet

1. List every agency with a stake in your structure, including State Lands if any part reaches the tidelands.
2. Pull every permit and lease and highlight ongoing conditions.
3. Name who owns each recurring duty, especially engineer monitoring reports.
4. Ask whether planned repair work needs a coastal permit before scheduling it.
5. Start any required alternatives analysis early.
6. Route field changes back through the engineer.
7. Keep one shared file and one calendar.

We serve associations and owners across all of Solana Beach, from the bluff-top complexes to the inland hills. To talk through a structural evaluation, request a Free Quote.