The Lunada Bay Bluff Got Its Stone First, and the Planting Comes Last
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
When did the boulders show up along the Lunada Bay bluff? If you've walked Paseo del Mar lately, you've probably noticed low rocks in a line along the path, stone benches facing the water, and a new sign at the beach. By the city's September 17 Public Works report, the rock benches and trail-marker boulders were in, a beach sign had gone up that day, more blufftop signs were being installed, and crews were setting up a temporary water line "so landscaping can begin."
The last part of that report matters most. The pieces you can see on the bluff now are the quick ones. The piece that will change how the bluff looks and feels is native planting, and it can't start until water reaches the site. After that, the contract includes six months of plant care. The September deadline that pushed this project forward covers construction. A finished bluff will take longer.
The improvements come from the September 2024 consent decree in Cory Spencer, et al. v. Lunada Bay Boys, et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. BC629596. The case was about public beach access at Lunada Bay, and the City of Palos Verdes Estates was a defendant. When the case settled, the city said the improvements would include stone benches along the bluffs, a better version of the existing path, and simple signs to help people find their way "and to ensure the public is aware that the beach access at Lunada Bay is available to everyone."
The settlement gave the city 24 months to finish the blufftop work. It also set a design goal. The improvements should "make the blufftop area inviting and to welcome visitors, but also which will continue the natural look and feel of the blufftop area." The required list was specific: a trail of natural stone-like material marked with common PV stone, drought-tolerant native plants with invasive species removed, at least two Lunada Bay welcome signs, a trail marker at the south trail and the "Goat Trail," at least four PV stone benches "similar to those at the Bluff Cove overlook," an interpretive sign, and a drinking fountain with a dog bowl near Paseo del Mar and Avenida Mirola.
Design took most of the two years. The city hired the consulting firm Dudek in January 2025, and the City Council accepted a concept design on March 11, 2025. Final design and construction management were added in September 2025. Bids went out in summer 2026. That left a short construction window. The July 28, 2026 staff report planned 40 working days for the main contract plus 10 more for an add-on, with work starting in August and finishing in September. The same report warned that rebidding the job could push it past "the September 2026 deadline established under the Settlement Agreement" and force the city to ask the plaintiffs for an extension.
The Planning Commission approved the coastal development permit, CDP-005-26, on August 18, 2026. The site is listed as the intersection of Paseo del Mar and Avenida Mirola. The permit's itemized scope is the best guide to what's coming, so here it is next to the city's most recent status report.
| Item in the permit | Quantity | Status as of the Sept. 17 Public Works report |
|---|---|---|
| Stone benches | 4 | In place |
| Native rock trail markers | 34 | Trail-marker boulders in place |
| Welcome signs | 2 | Signs being installed; beach sign up Sept. 17 |
| Welcome rules and regulations sign | 1 | Signs being installed |
| Advisory sign | 1 | Signs being installed |
| Public access sign | 1 | Signs being installed |
| Interpretive sign | 1 | Signs being installed |
| Drinking fountain with pet water bowl | 1 | Not reported |
| Erosion control blanket and coir logs | Bluff slope | Not reported |
| Temporary irrigation and water service | 1 | Crews working on a temporary water line |
| Native plants, mulch and seeding | Planting areas | Waiting on water |
| Plant establishment and site maintenance | Six months | Not started |
The top half of the table is done or almost done. Benches and boulders are placed once and then they're finished. The bottom half depends on each step before it. The water service has to be tapped and metered first. Then irrigation can run, then the planting areas get prepared and seeded, and then the contract allows six months for the plants to take hold. If planting starts in October, that care period runs to about April 2027.
The plans include some of the sign wording. Visitors will see "Welcome to Lunada Bay," "Keep on Trail," and "Danger Unstable Bluff." Only one sign location is pinned down exactly. The public access sign goes above the Rocky Point Road seawall. The plans call the other locations "diagrammatic" and subject to approval in the field, so the final spots for the rest may differ from the drawings.
The design brief asked the work to keep "the natural look and feel" of the bluff, and the budget pointed the same way. The city received three bids on July 17, 2026. Marina Landscape Inc. bid $210,544, KASA Construction bid $218,736, and Leonida Builders bid $301,350. Even the low bid broke the budget. The city had set aside $274,000, but with design, management and a 10 percent contingency the total came to $337,598. The council had to move another $63,598 from the General Fund.
Most of the money comes from a 2018 Park Bond Act per capita grant of up to $186,230, paid back to the city by California State Parks. The grant requires the city to match 20 percent. With the higher bid, the city's General Fund share went from a projected $87,770 to $151,368. At that price, the bluff gets four benches, a line of local rock and a few signs. It doesn't get pavement, railings or a built overlook. A modest blufftop was the design goal from the start, and the bids kept it that way.
The work at Lunada Bay doesn't settle everything nearby. The city's July 2026 work plan lists two goals for meeting the consent decree: the blufftop project and "disposition of the Rocky Point Staircase." An earlier version of the plan noted a City Attorney letter on whether the stairway is legal and why it should stay. It set September 2026 as the target to finish the stairway approval process. We haven't found any public record of a final decision on the stairway. Until one shows up on a council or Planning Commission agenda, the only Rocky Point item we can confirm is the new public access sign above the Rocky Point Road seawall.
The bluff isn't the only construction near Lunada Bay. Resurfacing on Palos Verdes Drive West, from Apsley Road to 621 PVDW, began September 8. Paving was scheduled for September 21 to 25, and the project is set to finish October 9. The city notes that schedules can change. Farther along the road, the Palos Verdes Drive West retaining wall project is substantially complete. Crews are regrading, putting down native topsoil and getting ready to hydroseed the slope. That's the same kind of planting stage the Lunada Bay bluff is about to begin.
The new benches already give you a place to sit and watch the water on the walk. The rest of a short morning out is a few blocks inland at Lunada Bay Plaza on Yarmouth Road and nearby on Palos Verdes Drive West.
Hours change, so check with each business before you go. Over the coming weeks, watch for the temporary water line, the erosion blankets on the slope and the first planting areas being seeded. Those are the steps between the bluff as it is now, with stone and signs, and the native-planted blufftop the settlement described.
If you live near Lunada Bay and want to know how projects like this one affect your street or a future sale, Lisa Gipe and The Gipe Group follow Palos Verdes Estates council and Planning Commission agendas closely, and we're glad to share what we're seeing. Ask us about the bluff, Rocky Point or anything else on the city calendar, and while we talk, we can show you our exclusive private listings.
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