Plea to Save 2 Del Mar Seawalls Rejected

A Superior Court judge Tuesday rejected a last-minute appeal by two Del Mar beachfront property owners to save their seawalls and patios from a city demolition crew, paving the way for destruction of the structures to begin today.

The owners of the two beachfront properties, Edwin Lynch and Jack and Angela Scott, were facing a May 15 deadline to remove the structures, which were judged by the city to be encroaching on public beach.

They asked Superior Court Judge Thomas Murphy on Friday for a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from demolishing the walls, and he continued the matter until Tuesday, giving the homeowners a temporary reprieve.

On Tuesday, Murphy denied the property owners’ request for a temporary restraining order, finding no validity in their argument that they had staked ownership rights to the land east of the seawalls.

Last Friday, a judge rejected a similar request from property owner Christopher Culmone. On Monday, city crews began demolishing the seawalls fronting the Culmone residence and that of his neighbor, Spencer Douglass, who also refused to comply with the city’s order.

Lynch and the Scotts were expected to appeal Murphy’s decision to the 4th District Court of Appeal, but City Manager Gloria Curry said demolition would begin today unless the court issued a stay.

“As far as we’re concerned, the judge denied the restraining order, so we’re moving ahead,” Curry said.

The four owners were among a group of seven property owners ordered by the Del Mar City Council in April to remove seawalls and patios, marking the first time that the city had moved to enforce the guidelines of an initiative approved by voters in 1988. The Beach Preservation Initiative made it illegal to have structures more than 5 feet west of a line that roughly runs concurrent to property lines.

After several unsuccessful lawsuits, many of the beachfront residents have been tearing down their walls, following the initiative guidelines. The structures fronting the seven properties were the largest encroachments remaining on the beach, city officials say. The walls extend 16 feet west of their property lines, according to the city.

Three of the property owners voluntarily complied, but the other four decided to fight the city’s order.

On Tuesday, Charles Berwanger, an attorney representing both Lynch and the Scotts, argued that the property owners had staked an ownership claim to the land, and that the argument should be settled by a court trial. Lynch’s seawall was built in 1928; the Scotts’ in 1948.

That argument had been used without success by several other beachfront property owners who challenged the city’s right to remove the encroachments.

“The city has used those portions of the beach even before the original subdivision in 1910,” said attorney Tracy Richmond, who represented the city.

Angela Scott said Tuesday that the property owners have not been treated fairly by the city.

“We were just bulldozed along,” she said.

The property owners will be billed for the demolition, Curry said.

The destruction of the seawalls is expected to take several days. Normally, construction on public beaches is forbidden from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but the California Coastal Commission already has granted Del Mar permission to destroy the seawalls after Memorial Day, city planner Monica Tuchscher said.