‘You Can’t Beat Mother Nature’: Destroyed Cafe Gives Pacifica Look at Climate-Changed Future

After officials announced the cafe’s demolition, about a dozen people spoke out at a city council meeting on Monday, voicing their anger over the cafe’s closure. Others expressed concern about rebuilding the historic pier, which cracked last week and slanted toward the ocean, as rising seas from human-caused climate change continue to threaten the city.

Mayor Christine Boles said the pier and the tearing down of the cafe are examples of what’s at risk here because of global emissions causing the sea to rise.

“We’re on the forefront of climate change with sea level rise and erosion,” Boles said. “The ocean is going to win in the end.”

The council unanimously voted to declare a state of local emergency around the pier, and is seeking a state of emergency from the governor. Officials said a third party will prepare a formal report, but aren’t sure when the final product will come out. Boles said previous reviews found that seawater and sea spray had weakened the concrete pier, which required $19 million in repairs before the latest damage.

“The more deeply we look at the assessments, the more money that is needed before [the pier broke],” Boles said at the meeting. “These have been long-term issues we’ve been trying to deal with, but it’s really hard to find the money.”

Supporters of the cafe owners started a GoFundMe to help them cover the cost of materials they may lose during the teardown.

“Unfortunately, for safety reasons, no one is currently allowed to enter the building to recover any of these items, and it is uncertain if they ever will be able to,” organizers wrote.

Local surfer Bob Battalio met with his friends at the coffee shop every week for years. He said he’s mourning the loss of his favorite spot to meet up with his buds.

“The pier is closed, and I don’t know when they’re going to be able to open it, if ever,” Battalio said.

The L-shaped, 1,140-foot-long pier opened in 1973, becoming famous for Dungeness crabbing and attracting anglers worldwide, according to the city’s website. The end of the pier was closed in 2021 due to collapsing handrails, and then, in 2023, waves and high tides closed part of the pier through part of 2024.

Patrick James Cavanaugh, executive director of the Pacific Beach Coalition, said the need to tear down the cafe is an example of acting rather than adequately planning for the future.

“We no longer have time to plan,” Cavanaugh said. “Is the pier the asset, or is our ability to live and thrive in a healthy living environment part of the investment as well?”

Jolie Bauman has lived in Pacifica for four decades. She told the council that she thinks the pier is worth saving.

“Today, we’re seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance,” Bauman said. “I urge the city council to view the pier not as an expense, but as an investment in Pacifica’s future.”

Moss Beach resident David Belkin said he has fished off the pier and brought his kids there. He thinks a public-private partnership could save the pier and the city should consider creating a charitable trust.

“I’m heavily invested in the idea of the pier being here for future generations and not necessarily waiting for me to pass to get to that point,” Belkin said.

But others questioned whether permanently retreating from the ocean and its constant waves and potentially not rebuilding the pier is a better option than reconstructing or strengthening the existing concrete structure.

“This whole anti-managed retreat position is just really irresponsible; whether we want to admit it or not, we are ground zero for climate change,” Sam C., who did not give a last name, said. “Now that we have to basically take down the Chit Cafe in an emergency declaration, we’re left with unmanaged retreat. Is that what we’re going to continue to do?”

Every year, high tides eat away at the sea wall protecting Beach Boulevard and the homes behind it. The Pacific Ocean has risen by about 8 inches since the 1880s.

State scientists project an additional rise of over a foot by 2050, and up to 6 feet or more by the end of the century in worst-case scenarios.

This year’s potential super El Niño could result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, in a recent YouTube office hours.

“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.

Boles, the city’s mayor, said the possibility of regular and high tides being even higher this fall and winter is very concerning for flooding.

“We have a lot that’s vulnerable closer than 40 feet to the edge right now,” Boles said. “It is terrifying.”

The project to rebuild Pacifica’s sea wall, known as Pacifica’s Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project, could cost between $80 million and $114 million. The city is still searching for funding.