Marina aims to preserve coast and avoid threat of rising sea levels

MARINA, Calif. (KION) Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado said it's been his mission to protect his city from rising sea levels.

Marina's stunning, and nearly untouched, coastline has drawn people to the area for decades. Delgado said Marina is also home to the highest erosion rate in the state, and battling the issue is not easy.

"Sea level rise and erosion of the land varies from place to place. We've been loosing between four and seven feet of our land every year," said Delgado.

Many neighboring communities choose to develop near, or on, the water. Delgado said he would rather the City of Marina not take that risk.

The mayor said Marina will loose 1/16 of a mile along the coast by the end of 2020. Delgado partly blames a century-old sand mine for this.

"If you overdevelop or ignore sea level rise your city's quality of life will be decreased. You want to take a long term view, consider future generations and do what we can now," said Delgado.

Not everyone agrees that immediate action is necessary. "Global warming and all of that has been going on for years. We have some control over it, but I'm not really that worried about it," said nearby resident, Mike Razzeca.

Right now, the mayor said he is focused on redeveloping blighted, old buildings inland. Delgado hopes this is where the city will even be able to build new development.

"We've seen where the windows have been knocked out of the restaurants on Cannery Row from the high sea waves and how it comes up and over the walls in Pacific Grove. I feel they need to really think about what they do before they endanger everybody else's lives," said nearby resident, Cheryl Molinari.