Pacific Grove takes both a short and long view when preparing for sea level rise at Pt. Pinos.

“Loved to death” is a good phrase to describe Pt. Pinos in Pacific Grove. Every day, hundreds of visitors park in gravel pull-offs just inches from the top of bluffs. People scramble down to the beaches, tidepools and rocks below. The reason for its popularity is obvious: The scenic views rival any found along 17-Mile Drive in neighboring Pebble Beach, but access to Pt. Pinos is free – including parking.

Over the decades, visitors have made their mark, carving dirt paths between Ocean View Boulevard and the edge of the cliffs. The informal trail connects parking lots, but disappears into each lot, leaving hikers to dodge cars before finding the next segment of the trail. It’s a problem the city recognized in the 1998 Pacific Grove Coastal Parks Plan, according to City Councilman Bill Peake. But until now, there’s been no money to pursue solutions.

Two years ago the California Coastal Conservancy approached the city with a $150,000 grant to pay for planning costs for a decomposed-granite trail, parking lots and stairs to the beach. The 0.08-mile section of trail will also provide a key piece of the California Coastal Trail the state hopes to one day complete, from Mexico to Oregon. When finished, the Pt. Pinos Trail will offer a continuous trail from the Rec Trail in Castroville all the way to Pebble Beach.

Constructing the trail will be complicated, P.G. Public Works Director Daniel Gho says. Nesting seasons of native birds create a year-round challenge during construction, as does monitoring for the remains and artifacts of indigenous people who once populated the area. If approved, it could take as long as a year to complete. Gho says there is no estimate yet on how much the project would cost.

Planning the trail presented its own challenges in the wake of climate change. Although it’s been discussed, the city had not previously officially recognized sea level rise or made plans for managed retreat, the practice of letting some parts of the coast erode into the sea as opposed to using armoring methods like sea walls. In a discussion earlier this year, council members seemed to lean toward armoring.

Consultants presented a citizens advisory committee with several options, and the one they settled on is a compromise of sorts, with a short – and long-term plan. In the short-term, the trail would be constructed on the other side of a 30-year setback line marking where erosion may occur. However, if measurements show sea level rise, the long-term plan would be reducing Ocean View Boulevard from a two-way street to a two-way bike path.

“The big thing was, we think the Coastal Commission will approve it,” Peake says, “[because] we are recognizing officially sea level rise, and this is a program of a very modest retreat.”

The city is accepting public comments through Thursday, Nov. 9, and City Council is scheduled to consider the plan on Dec. 6. If the council and the Coastal Commission approve the plan, it will be the first official plan for managed retreat in Pacific Grove.

In the meantime, construction began on Oct. 30 on a boardwalk that will connect an informal trail to an established trail at Asilomar. That’s part of a five-year project the city has been working on to restore native vegetation near the Great Tide Pool.

Editor's Note: The original story stated that the city is taking public comments through Nov. 6. The deadline was pushed back by three days to Nov. 9, according to new information from the city.