Before the city incorporated, the county allowed highly concentrated development of large condominiums atop the sandstone bluffs. Geologists studying erosion in period between 1947 and 1977 found little change in the face of the bluffs. It turned out this was a time of very few storms with very little erosion along the coast. The city has had to deal with bluffs collapsing onto the beach and damaging the improvements above. Owners threatened by wave and storm damage to the cliffs have few options.