Wealthy residents of a glitzy bay-side community in California are demanding that the county pay to maintain the only road leading to their mansions or be held financially responsible for the billions of dollars in real estate lost.
Calle del Arroyo is a half-mile road off Highway 1 in Stinson Beach that has been battered by climate change, with routine flooding during king tides, a trend predicted to worsen, threatening roughly 500 properties among the Seadrift community, according to the SF Chronicle.
A recent sea level survey by Marin County predicts that by 2050, the two-lane street will flood during major storms. Monthly high tides between 2060 and 2075 are expected to make the road regularly inaccessible.
If the county were to leave the road to wash away the homes, which have a median sale price of $5.3million could see a catastrophic drop in value.
Debate over who is responsible for the road has prompted the representatives from the Seadrift community to go on the offensive, warning the county in a letter to the Board of Supervisors that if the road were to be abandoned, they could be hit with ‘billions in liability’.
To protect Calle del Arroyo (which translates from Spanish to creek street or street of stream) an estimated $22.8million would be invested to raise the street in a project that could take more than 20 years.
Robin Bartlett, principal civil engineer with Marin County’s Department of Public Works, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the project would not be easy, as it is connected to utilities that would need to be raised.
In addition to Calle del Arroyo, $53million would need to be invested in other roads in Stinson to protect them from rising sea levels, which could cost each property more than $100,000, according to the county’s report.
Calle del Arroyo is a half-mile road off Highway 1 in Stinson Beach, California that is threatened by rising sea levels
The two lane road is the only point of access to the roughly 500 homes within the enclave
Marin County is one of the wealthiest counties in the entire nation.
From 2019 to 2023, the median household income was $142,800. The median income in the state was $96,300, while the national median was $75,800, according to USA Facts.
According to Data USA, the median household income in Stinson Beach, home to just over 360 people, was $117,000 in 2023.
Marin County’s report said sea levels in the area are expected to rise by 10 inches by 2040 or 2050 from 2000.
The report states that natural disasters in the area will become prominent by 2050.
By 2085, sea levels are expected to rise by a staggering 3.3 feet from 2000. At this point, a severe, 100-year storm could cause up to $1.3billion in property damage, the report claims.
According to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, a two-foot sea level rise is expected by the end of the century, and Marin County would need at least $17billion to protect itself from it, which is about $65,000 per resident.
 Calle del Arroyo already regularly floods during king tides, a trend predicted to worsenÂ
Residents of the Seadrift community have threatened the Marin County that if the road was abandon that they could be held responsible for the billions of dollars lost in real estateÂ
Despite looming signs of doom, residents continue to make their way to the community.
‘I don’t think anyone thinks sea level rise isn’t going to happen,’ Ashley Bird, an agent at Seadrift Realty, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
‘They know they’re taking a huge financial risk. They’re just willing to take the risk because they love Stinson so much.’
Local realtors told the SF Chronicle that Stinson Beach residents are unfazed by the doomsday warning because they can afford to put their most expensive assets on the line.
They also have the funds to take preventive measures and make repairs to mitigate the damage to their properties.