04/26/2020
I have received many phone calls, texts and emails — some kinder than others — about our city’s decision not to re-open our local beaches tomorrow. First. let me state what should be, but apparently is not, obvious. We have no incentive other than the health and safety of our residents to prolong the beach closures longer than necessary. As for the decision of other jurisdictions to open beaches, I will speak only for myself. While it is not easy to stand up to political pressure from constituents and even close friends, I was elected to make what are sometimes difficult choices. In my various roles as councilmember, professional leader and parent, I am accustomed to making decisions that don’t necessarily please everyone. Long story short, I wholeheartedly support the attached joint statement from the Mayors of Solana Beach and Del Mar.
Factors that enter into our decision-making process include, but are not limited to, data driven analytics, the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our marine safety personnel and the ability to enforce any guidelines or regulations we establish.
As many of you know, we tried to keep the beaches open earlier in the course of the crisis, but visitors did not maintain social distancing guidelines despite our best efforts to enforce them, and we were forced to close access. Our hope is that, when the time comes, individuals better respect the public health guidelines as Solana Beach is too small to qualify for any federal financial relief that would allow us to boost resources on our end to mitigate noncompliance.
As far as the data are concerned, when we control for increased testing, we still see an upward trend in the number of individuals testing positive per test in San Diego County. Similarly, we are looking for a consistent downward trend or a plateau that has not yet materialized in the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions.
Rest assured that we are continually monitoring the situation as more information comes in with the goal of re-opening our beaches in the near future, while keeping residents as safe as possible. Believe me, I also miss walking our treasured shores and I hope we cross paths on the beach very soon!
The Official Website for the City of Solana Beach, California
