Candidate Q&A

1. CLIMATE ACTION: The City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) is now 10 years old, and a long-overdue Update is now planned for FY 2026-2027. What are your top three priorities for changes/revisions to the CAP, and why?

Meghan Spieker: I applaud the engaged residents who advocated for the long-overdue update to Del Mar’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). My three priorities would be:

First, rely on the best available science and data. The updated CAP should establish clear, measurable goals and prioritize strategies that deliver meaningful environmental benefits.

Second, build on programs where Del Mar has already demonstrated momentum. Our single-use plastic bans and other waste-reduction efforts provide a strong foundation. We should evaluate what is working, expand successful initiatives where appropriate, and demonstrate how a small community can lead by example.

Third, prioritize climate adaptation that addresses Del Mar’s particular vulnerabilities. Our exposure to flooding, storm surge, wildfire, and other climate-related risks requires practical investments in resilience. That includes effective flood protection along the San Dieguito River, as well as ensuring that our firefighting capabilities and emergency preparedness keep pace with increasing wildfire risk.

The updated CAP should be ambitious but also practical—grounded in science, measurable outcomes, and the specific environmental and public-safety challenges facing Del Mar.

Jeff Sturgis: Del Mar’s CAP focuses on the following locally implemented strategies: Transportation; Energy & Buildings; Waste, wastewater & water; Urban tree planting program. I support maintaining these strategies. My CAP priorities:

First, update the CAP with current data to see where each CAP strategy has been achieved or where any strategy has fallen short.

Second, focus on further measures that help achieve any strategy where Del Mar has fallen short.

Third, accelerate City wide undergrounding in a fiscally responsible manner as that reduces the risk of fires and as well as the current need for tree trimming thereby preserving Del Mar’s tree canopy. In conjunction with this I would accelerate a tree planting program that restores and complements investments in road and median improvements.

Terry Gaasterland: First of all, climate change is real, and it is happening worldwide now. Therefore, it is important for each individual person to make choices that reduce greenhouse gases. For example, rooftop solar panels with battery backup, electric vehicles, electric appliances, and skylights and lightwells are all choices each of us can make.

The city is hiring an expert consultant to evaluate and make recommendations to our Climate Action Plan. We have been implementing our CAP for 10 years.

My top priority is to receive the consultant’s recommendations with creative ideas and new solutions, and to build them into an updated Plan. My next priority is to encourage our residents to become more familiar with the Plan and the importance of each of us doing as much as we can. Another priority is for the City to find ways to reduce greenhouse gases in the City’s operations and plant more greenery throughout the city without blocking views. For example, we can aim for an all-electric or hybrid vehicle fleet. We also need to stay informed on what other cities and agencies are doing so that we can incorporate their innovations in Del Mar.

Jas Grewal: The Climate Action Plan should:

Convert voluntary green-building recommendations into enforceable building codes, including all-electric requirements for new construction.

Expand EV charging infrastructure and create safer, better-connected pedestrian and bicycle corridors.

Protect Del Mar’s tree canopy by replacing removed trees, requiring fire-resistant trees in new development, and encouraging additional planting citywide where appropriate and feasible.

2. REGIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: How do you assess the City’s relationships with key regional and governmental partners, including SANDAG, NCTD, the Fair Board, and our representatives in Congress and the state legislature, and what would you do to build on/improve these relationships to the benefit of Del Mar?

Jas Grewal: Del Mar’s regional partnerships depend on Council Members building strong, productive relationships. We have good working ties with Congressman Levin and other state representatives who have helped secure important grant funding, and NCTD. But past actions by a single councilmember have damaged relationships with SANDAG and the Fairgrounds. Rebuilding that trust is essential. My priority is to meet with these agencies, reopen communication, restore productive partnerships, and ensure Del Mar has a strong voice in decisions that directly affect residents.

Terry Gaasterland: Regarding SANDAG, I have been a proactive partner on SANDAG and have vigorously defended the interests of Del Mar residents during regional decisions that impact our City. I have built alliances, mutual trust, and open lines of communication with Board members from the county and the cities in our region.

Regarding NCTD, I have relentlessly opposed fencing on our bluff and sought to work with NCTD to find ways for our residents to get to the other side of the tracks for beach access. I believe strongly that railroad development plans can be accomplished without tunneling, eminent domain, or undue stress to our residents, and without destroying Del Mar’s natural beauty.

Regarding the Fair Board, Del Mar has done its part to be a good partner while also protecting the interests of Del Mar residents, including traffic-calming measures, paving Jimmy Durante Blvd, and sharing our Fire Station. The Fairgrounds is a state agency and controls its own zoning.

The City has excellent, longstanding relationships with our Congressman and our state representatives. We also have a lobbyist in Sacramento representing the interests of Del Mar residents.

Our relationships are strong and productive. Let’s keep it that way.

Jeff Sturgis: Del Mar’s relationships with key governmental bodies/agencies have been demonstrably ineffective. Improving these relationships are critical but requires tailored solutions. Look at the recent Fairgrounds board vote. After spending years, over a million dollars on grant funded consulting services and countless staff time, the fairgrounds board said “No.” This is emblematic of the majority of residents that cite “Del Mar hires consultants and studies everything to death, but never does anything.” When the North Coast Transportation District (NCTD) attempted to install fencing along our scenic bluffs, the City clearly failed to take any action with the Surface Transportation Board and the California Coastal Commission (CCC) to stop it. Why? Because this City had established no working relationship with these agencies. Residents formed the Friends of Del Mar Bluffs (FDMB) and stopped the fencing. As a resident and Board member of FDMB, I will never stop fighting against NCTD fencing and maintaining our right to beach access. Del Mar is not effectively lobbying our governmental entities to retain local control. We need to engage all levels of government and form coalitions with other cities to create more of a force with the regional, state and federal governmental bodies and agencies.

Meghan Spieker: Too many of Del Mar’s regional relationships are poor, as evidenced by the recent breakdown in all affordable housing negotiations with the Fairgrounds. Del Mar’s standing with SANDAG has likewise declined since 2018, when Del Mar’s Mayor served as SANDAG’s chair. To achieve the best outcomes—including on rail realignment and preservation of local control—we cannot operate in isolation. We need strong advocacy and effective working relationships.

As I have said from the outset of my campaign, “Del Mar needs a bridge builder. That’s what I am.” Rebuilding relationships with regional stakeholders is one of my core objectives. I have already begun that work through meetings with state legislators and other decision-makers, as well as the broad coalition reflected in endorsements from Congressman Levin, the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, and the Sierra Club.

I will bring the strategic thinking and legal perspective I developed through more than 15 years as a business litigator, along with the patience, discipline, and communication skills I developed through nonprofit leadership and advocacy. My goal is to advocate firmly for Del Mar while finding common ground wherever possible. We can be principled advocates without being isolated ones.

3. WATERMARK: Construction is now underway for a 50-unit, 4-story apartment development on the empty lot at the intersection of Jimmy Durante Blvd. & San Dieguito Dr.  Earlier, the developer was pursuing a Specific Plan for a 38-unit, 2-story project, with 6 affordable units, 3 to be donated to the City. Question for incumbent candidate (Gaasterland): In hindsight, do you regret your opposition to the Specific Plan? Do you think the proposed 38-unit project would have been a better outcome for Del Mar? Question for non-incumbent candidates: Do you think the 38-unit project under a Specific Plan would have been a better outcome for Del Mar? What do you think are the “lessons learned” for Del Mar from the Watermark experience?

Jeff Sturgis: The smaller project residents fought for would have undoubtedly been better.  The higher density 50-unit project has more mass and height that impacts residents’ views – something Del Mar vigorously protects.

The larger Watermark project is the result of a series of events including California declaring Del Mar’s failure to implement parts of its 5th Housing Element adopted in 2013, The 5th Housing Element contained an unrealistic number of affordable units. The current 6th Housing Element also has an unrealistic number of affordable units. Why?

Because Del Mar failed to challenge inaccurate data used to determine affordable units. The City Council and SANDAG knew the allocation was wrong yet did nothing. Had the allocation been correctly calculated, Del Mar’s affordable housing allocation would have dramatically decreased. Less allocation equals less drastic rezoning measures and less chances of large “by-right” developments like Watermark and the proposed Seaside Ridge.

Lesson learned – letting inaccurate “garbage” data drive our 6th cycle Housing Element was a monumental disaster. We must proactively ensure we don’t repeat this mistake in our 7th Housing Element. Otherwise, more state mandated, high-density, and build by right development will completely undermine the Community Plan and our sense of place.

Jas Grewal: Clearly yes. If a developer brought that project to the City Council, it could benefit all stakeholders. The lesson is clear: when circumstances allow constructive negotiation that seeks common ground, a win-win outcome is best.

Meghan Spieker: Clearly, a two-story, 38-unit project would have been more in keeping with our village character than the bulk and mass of the four-story, 50-unit project we will now have. I feel for the neighbors in this area. The Watermark experience also illustrates an important lesson: under current state law, saying “no” to a project does not necessarily mean a better outcome will follow.

Del Mar has a longstanding reputation for simply rejecting development proposals that do not fit our vision. I, too, have opposed projects that I believed were inconsistent with our community’s interests. But the legal landscape has changed. State “by-right” provisions and other mandates can limit the City’s ability to shape development once certain conditions are met.

We therefore need to change our approach: engage earlier, plan more proactively, negotiate thoughtfully, and consider the potential downside of saying no. That does not mean approving everything. It means using every tool available to achieve better outcomes—protecting our village character while realistically accounting for state mandates.

The lesson from Watermark is not that Del Mar should stop fighting for what we value. It is that we need to be more strategic about how we fight for it.

Terry Gaasterland: Watermark received “by right” development in 2013. Unfortunately, on July 5th, 2016, the city council did not adopt a citizens’ initiative to require a vote of the people on high density residential projects in commercial zones. This paved the way for Watermark. If the council had adopted the measure, Watermark would not have been approved without a vote of the people. Those councilmembers were Dwight Worden, Don Mosier, Sheryl Parks, Terry Sinnott with Al Corti recused because he lived next door.

That 2016 initiative went on the ballot as “Measure R.” Dwight Worden published an argument AGAINST it in the Sandpiper, and the measure was narrowly defeated.

In contrast, I have done everything possible to oppose high density development adjacent to single family homes. I participated in the 2020 Referendum to OPPOSE the 3-2 council vote that upzoned the entire 16-acre North Commercial district. The citizens agreed to withdraw the Referendum in return for guarantees to (1) NOT upzone 8 acres of riverfront parcels, (2) complete a wildfire evacuation plan, (3) upgrade San Dieguito Drive to public road quality, (4) protect wetlands on Watermark’s property, and more. These actions were critical to reduce Watermark’s impacts.

I STAND BY MY DECISION.

4. TOP PRIORITY: If elected, what will your top priority be, and how do you plan to achieve it?

Terry Gaasterland: My top priority is to finish removing the utility poles and wires throughout all neighborhoods in Del Mar as quickly as possible. The funding was made possible 10 years ago when the City‘s residents passed Measure Q, a one-cent sales tax. Everyone benefits from undergrounding utilities. The project will greatly enhance fire safety, neighborhood beauty, and the views of everyone in Del Mar.

The city’s Undergrounding Program has already completed one district. Two are underway. The Beach Colony is being designed. Design is a fraction of the total cost but requires the most time to complete. Therefore, we should do the designs for the rest of Del Mar now so that the projects are shovel ready as funding becomes available.

Concurrently, street paving funded by a separate $3 million must be done to bring all our residential roads up to high standards. For undergrounding districts further into the future, repair the roads now. For districts underway, repair the roads as soon as undergrounding is complete.

As we establish priorities together, I will consider the viewpoints of all residents before deciding how to vote. Let’s work together to find viable solutions to our challenges and opportunities.

Meghan Spieker: My top priority will be to rebuild Del Mar’s influence. Put differently, I will work with fellow councilmembers, staff, and residents to earn the respect and support of regional partners and decision-makers. That influence can make or break Del Mar’s success on challenges we already face—such as rail realignment and the erosion of local control—as well as challenges we cannot yet anticipate.

At just 2.2 square miles and with just 3,200 registered voters, Del Mar is a tiny community. Yet we have often punched above our weight. In conversations with former Mayors and Councilmembers, I have heard a consistent explanation: Del Mar benefited from a sterling reputation, a talented pool of residents, and an effective City Council.

I want to rebuild those strengths. That means restoring Del Mar’s reputation as a thoughtful and constructive regional partner; encouraging greater civic engagement and developing new community leaders; and bringing preparation, discipline, and follow-through to the Council’s work.

We cannot control our size or every decision made in Sacramento or the region. But we can control how effectively we advocate for Del Mar. My goal is to make sure our small community has an outsized voice when it matters most.

Jas Grewal: Put residents first by maximizing local control over affordable housing while protecting neighborhoods, infrastructure, and Community Plan—including LOSSAN relocation, wildfire and sea-level-rise mitigation without managed retreat, and protecting our financial health.

Jeff Sturgis: My highest priority is listening to the entire community, thinking and acting independently, and making sure I govern with integrity and doing what I feel is best for all Del Mar residents. I plan to achieve it by continuing what I have done throughout my service to Del Mar.