The coastal town of Pacifica is toeing a fine line, balancing Coastal Commission regulations on sea-level rise and erosion, which favors strict remodel standards and minimizing armoring in threatened areas, with residents’ desire to protect property and homes with physical barriers and redevelopment. Scientists refer to a gradual pullback from the coastal shoreline to move development out of harm’s way as “managed retreat” — a term the Pacifica City Council rejected outright when preparing a 2020 draft of their Local Coastal Land Use Plan, a document which regulates land use, resource protection and development along the coast.