Home Care In Del Mar, CA

Don’t Move … Improve!

SAN DIEGO SPRING HOME/GARDEN SHOW

RETURNS TO DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDS April 12 – 13 2025

Del Mar, California—The San Diego Spring Home/Garden Show returns to the historic Del Mar Fairgrounds, where the Show has been part of the community for 40 years. It is a two-day extravaganza of demonstrations, hundreds of home-improvement products and services, exhibitors, plant sales, and face-to-face consultations with top experts—all with the convenience of one-stop shopping for everything pertaining to home and garden, inside and outside.

The San Diego Spring Home Garden Show is Southern California’s largest Home & Garden Show for several reasons: Face to Face interaction with hundreds of high quality home improvement contractors and garden experts. The Show focuses on San Diego-area experts, services, products, and businesses, a San Diego County Show made for San Diegans. Visitors find everything they need to save time and money improving, refreshing, or remodeling their home and outdoor surroundings—from the latest in appliances to garden lighting, from BBQ’s to security systems, from baths to sunrooms, Energy efficient lighting to Solar, even ADU options. It’s everything for the home inside and outside, and all in one place!

In addition to a huge main hall where hundreds of exhibitors showcase the newest products and hottest trends, all at special low show prices where you can save hundreds or even thousands, and Exclusive show offers, plus several unique home and garden features. To make your experience more enjoyable, there will be live music and an available Bar. Admission to the Show is FREE for both Saturday and Sunday!

* “The Garden Marketplace”—Shop at a grand nursery of the freshest plants for sale direct from San Diego area garden and non-profit plant societies, specialty growers and wholesalers at low Show prices. FREE horticultural advice from Master Gardeners. Plus, Face-to-Face meetings with some of San Diego’s top garden experts; gain priceless hands-on knowledge for your home projects, from landscaping to vegetable gardening and fruit trees.

• Bargains!-- The San Diego Spring Home/Garden Show is a home and garden shopper’s paradise. Special pricing is a big attraction for any homeowner looking for deep one-time-only savings. The Exhibitors offer an ideal opportunity to easily arrange for multiple bids on any home project, be it shutters, doors, windows, skylights, or hundreds of other essentials. Save TIME and MONEY! https://sandiegohomegardenshows.com/deals-list/

Show hours—Saturday, April 12 10am - 5pm and Sunday, April 13 10am – 4pm for more information visit: www.springhomegardenshow.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for tips and last minute updates. Join our mailing list to keep in the know about upcoming Shows or Features.

"We are more than an events center to San Diegans: We are San Diego County's iconic community gathering place," they say. How to weigh in.

Ashley Ludwig, Patch Staff

DEL MAR, CA — What's next for the Del Mar Fairgrounds? A master-planning initiative, launched by the owner and operator of that venue, has launched a public outreach campaign to solicit input from local governments and county residents regarding the Fairgrounds' future.

Through the "Fairgrounds 2050" master-planning initiative, the 22nd District Agricultural Association will hear from residents countywide on what would be "the best and most sensible uses" for the association's three properties: the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the Surf and Turf Recreation Center, and the Del Mar Horsepark.

The outreach efforts include "a statistically significant quantitative survey" of county residents' opinions on the Fairgrounds activities and uses. Presentations will also be made to various local governmental and business-related entities such as the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, 18 city councils, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Regional EDC, the San Diego Tourism Authority, and the San Diego Association of Governments. The first of its 18 city council presentations happened earlier this month in National City.

Additionally, public workshops will be held in each of the county's five supervisorial districts.

The 22nd DAA will also form a technical council of experts who will weigh in on the technical aspects of the new plan for the association's three properties, spread out across 324 acres.

Find out what's happening in Encinitasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"Our board of volunteers has made clear that our master-site planning process should be community-led -- not developer-led," said 22nd DAA CEO Carlene Moore. "We also understand that we are more than an events center to San Diegans: We are San Diego County's iconic community gathering place, a hub for economic opportunities, and stewards of our sensitive coastal ecosystem. We have been here at the Fairgrounds for nearly a century. Through Fairgrounds 2050, we can ensure that 25, 50, and 100 years from now and beyond, we continue to provide a thriving, innovative, and fun place in times of celebration -- and a place where people can turn to in their times of need."

More information on Fairgrounds 2050, including the survey for residents, is available at www.delmarfairgrounds.com.

In the city of Del Mar, near San Diego, most agree the train tracks must move off eroding bluffs. But debate over its new route has stalled the project while climate change raises the risks.

Surfers on their way to the beach in February crossed the rail line atop the bluffs in Del Mar, Calif. Erosion is threatening the rail line’s stability.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times

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Kate Selig reported from New York, and Vik Jolly reported from Del Mar, Calif.

Perched atop craggy bluffs in a beachside city north of San Diego, a railroad line offers passengers a sweeping view of the Pacific Coast. But the ground beneath it is crumbling.

No one denies the problem, but a fight over how to solve it highlights a broader challenge, and a worrisome reality, for California residents: how to adapt to climate change that threatens coastal living, a way of life that has long defined the state’s identity, from its economy to its culture.

The segment of track on the bluffs in Del Mar, Calif., connects San Diego to the rest of the state and the country, and is part of one of the busiest intercity passenger rail corridors in the nation. But the bluffs are eroding rapidly, and the track in some places is now only a few yards from the cliff edge.

Officials and residents in Del Mar and nearby communities broadly agree that the tracks need to be moved, but argue over where they should go. The debate has slowed progress, even as climate change accelerates the risks to the bluffs and the rail line.

On Friday, local representatives on the board of the county’s regional planning agency — the San Diego Association of Governments — voted to narrow the potential alternatives to four options, down from more than a dozen that were assessed in a recent report. But a final decision remains far off.

“It’s at a dangerous point, and with all the bureaucracy involved, it makes us wonder whether it will even be in our lifetime before it’s solved,” Barbara Myers, a former Del Mar school board member, said of the problem. She lives near the proposed location of a tunnel entrance to relocate the rail line, and she worries about toxic fumes or the possibility of street collapses.

With sea levels rising and stronger waves battering their shores, many other communities like Del Mar see a need to adapt, but are finding the options difficult.

Cliffside homes and apartment buildings teeter on the edge, some of them abandoned or demolished preemptively because of the threat of collapse from erosion. Infrastructure has taken a beating up and down the California coast: Sections of scenic Highway 1 have closed repeatedly because of landslides, and the Santa Cruz Wharf, a popular tourist attraction, was torn apart by towering waves in December. Communities are racing to protect shrinking beaches, reinforcing them with barriers and dredging sand from other areas in an effort to maintain and replenish them.

“The situation in Del Mar is a microcosm of a larger battle that’s unfolding,” said Charles Lester, a former official with the California Coastal Commission, a state agency that manages development along the coastline. He now directs the Ocean and Coastal Policy Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “What are we going to prioritize and try to maintain as these environmental changes happen?”

The Del Mar track is part of a 351-mile coastal rail corridor stretching from San Luis Obispo to San Diego. It is used by passenger, freight and military trains, including Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, whose name evokes the way sections of the route hug the coast. Millions of trips are taken along the route each year.

But the same coastal proximity that gives passengers scenic ocean views also makes the track vulnerable to erosion. Construction crews are now working on the fifth project since the early 2000s to stabilize the Del Mar bluffs, a $90 million effort that will, among other things, install additional support columns and retaining walls.

These projects are not a long-term solution. The rising ocean and erosion continue to pound the bluffs, leading to costly emergency repairs and repeated service disruptions. On average, the bluffs retreat a few inches a year, but there can be sudden collapses that chew away more than 20 feet at once. And not just in Del Mar: Erosion is also destabilizing parts of the rail corridor farther north, in San Clemente.

“Realistically, time is not on our side, with the acceleration of climate change,” said Fred Jung, who chairs the rail corridor’s board of directors. “We are forced to act right now.

City officials in Del Mar — a community of about 4,000 residents in an area of less than two square miles — have been talking for decades about moving the tracks off the crumbling bluffs. In 2017, the county planning agency completed a study outlining five possible new routes.

The idea gained momentum in 2022 when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a state budget that allocated $300 million for relocating the tracks. In June 2024, the association of local governments announced that it had narrowed the options down to three, all involving inland tunnels.

The reaction was swift. Del Mar residents raised concerns about tunnel construction and operations beneath their homes, citing risks from vibration and pollution. People who lived near the entrance and exit points of the proposed tunnels worried that homes would be demolished.

A proposed route running through a lagoon was opposed by environmentalists because of how it might affect sensitive habitats. A route that would tunnel under the San Diego County Fair grounds and into neighboring Solana Beach met resistance from that city and from fair organizers.

And looming above the debate is the question of money. The project is expected to cost billions of dollars, and county voters rejected a half-cent sales tax increase in November that would have raised money for regional transportation and infrastructure projects, including the Del Mar track relocation.

In light of all that, the agency re-examined the issue, ultimately leading to the vote on Friday. Three of the options now on the table would move the line off the bluffs; a fourth would keep the track where it is, reinforce the bluffs and add a second track next to the existing one.

As required by state and federal law, the agency would also study a fifth option: no project at all.

The meeting, with two hours of discussion, grew emotional at times, as officials and residents voiced concerns about the proposed options. Mayor Terry Gaasterland of Del Mar abstained from voting.

The mayor said in an interview before the meeting that none of the remaining options is likely to satisfy everyone.

“We’re going to need to step back and minimize the sum total of the unhappiness,” she said. “And also spread it out.”

That debate was on display on a recent Saturday in Del Mar, as construction crews were working to stabilize a section of the bluffs supporting the tracks. Near the top, workers used excavators, a giant drill and other heavy equipment. In several areas, chunks of the bluffs had eroded and crumbled, sending dirt, rocks and vegetation tumbling down onto the beach.

Officials acknowledge that neither the current stabilization project nor emergency repairs offer a long-term solution to the challenges of the rising ocean and coastal erosion.

Jim Hindman, 64, a financial consultant, lives with his family just one house away from the bluff-top tracks. His voice was sometimes drowned out by the construction trucks that kicked up dust as they pulled in and out of his street, which ends at the tracks.

Mr. Hindman said the option to add a second track to the existing rail line would alter the character of his neighborhood and the bluff. He said the bluffs were a beloved community space where people gather to watch sunsets, spot whales and dolphins, and even celebrate weddings.

“Tranquillity by the sea? Not happening for the next couple of years,” he said, referring to the stabilization work and the potential for a tunnel project to follow.

Richard Sfeir, 66, has lived for three decades in Del Mar Heights, a San Diego neighborhood bordering the city of Del Mar. Many houses in the Heights perch high above downtown Del Mar along narrow, winding streets. One relocation proposal would route the tracks through a tunnel under the neighborhood, an idea that he called “crazy” because of its cost, timeline and impact on a protected environmental area.

But Mr. Sfeir, a businessman, said that something needed to be done.

“No solution is not an answer,” he said, “unless you get rid of the train, period.”

Kate Selig is a Times national reporter and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their career.

A version of this article appears in print on March 5, 2025, Section A, Page 12 of the New York edition with the headline: A Destabilizing Debate Over Relocating a Scenic Route. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

See more on: California Coastal Commission, Amtrak, Governor Gavin Newsom

More on California

California state leaders and local leaders met in San Diego County on Saturday to discuss the importance and funding of the Del Mar Bluff Stabilization Project.

“This is a must do project, not a would be nice to do. We are not going to have the train falling into the sea,” U.S. Senator Adam Schiff said.

Schiff’s visit to discuss and tour the project marks his first official visit to San Diego since being sworn in as a U.S. Senator.

The tour included other leaders like California State Senator Catherine Blakespear, SANDAG CEO Mario Orso, San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, Mayor Pro Tempore of Carlsbad Priya Bhat Patel, North County Transit District CEO Shawn Donaghy and California State Transportation Agency Policy Advisor Anthony Serna, among others.

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The Bluff Stabilization Project is currently in Phase 5. During this phase, more support columns and drainage improvements will be added along with new retaining walls, according to SANDAG.

Phase 5 is expected to cost approximately $88 million dollars.

“Right now, we put in about 100 plus million dollars in the stabilization in five different stages. The current stage is an $88 million dollar project that is basically putting piles on the beach to try to hold up the bluffs,” SANDAG CEO Mario Orso said.

Federal funding is important along with the state and local funding for the project.

“I am gravely concerned about the temporary halt or freeze or imperiling of funds for this project and many others,” Senator Schiff said.

On Friday, SANDAG also moved the proposed Lossan Corridor Rail Realignment Project into the environmental review process. Local leaders are continuing to urge the federal government to partner with them to bring the project to a successful completion.

“We are so grateful for the State of California for that initial funding but ultimately the federal government will need to step in for a project that can cost anywhere from $1.5 billion to $5 billion dollars in the long run,” San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava said.

Editor's note: This article was updated to note Mayor Pro Tempore of Carlsbad Priya Bhat Patel was also a part of the tour.

SANDAG approved a revised rail relocation plan for the Del Mar bluffs on Friday.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Sen. Adam Schiff took the train along the coast to see the Del Mar bluffs for himself Saturday. Erosion along the bluffs has threatened the stability of the train tracks.

On Friday, The San Diego Association of Governments approved a revised list of potential routes for relocating the train tracks that currently run close to the eroding bluffs. SANDAG officials, along with State Senator Catherine Blakespear and other local leaders boarded the train with Schiff.

As he looked out the window he said he could understand the concern.

“There are sections of the railroad tracks that go right upon the edge where if you look out your window, you’re pretty much looking down," Schiff said.

“This is a must do project, not a nice to do project. We’re not going to have it fall into the sea so we’ve got to get it done.”

Some of the proposals include constructing tunnels to shift the tracks away from the unstable edge. Another includes a tunnel beneath the community which some Del Mar residents have opposed.

The revised plan also introduces the possibility of leaving the existing tracks in place on the bluff while installing a second set of rails to improve train traffic efficiency. But the California Coastal Commission doesn’t like that option.

SANDAG officials say cooperation is imperative for a project like this.

“It takes a partnership, it takes a village and the partnership of local, state, and federal government to pull this type of endeavor all together," SANDAG CEO Mario Orso said.

Local, state and federal funds have been allocated to secure the Del Mar bluffs, but federal funding is matched by state funding which is matched by local funding.

With federal funding freezes and looming tariffs, Schiff is pushing for more federal support.

“Whatever estimates we have today to work on this project, you can multiply that if all of a sudden the cost of wood, steel and other vital building materials go up," Schiff said.

The 351-mile Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo corridor is used for not only passengers, but also freight, and military movement through the San Diego region and beyond. SANDAG says there were 3.74 million passenger rides on this corridor in 2023.

With the revised proposals now approved, SANDAG’S decision lays the groundwork for more studies, community consultations, and coordination between local, state and federal agencies.