Re: “Open Letter to Councilwoman Lightner” (Aug. 9, Page 6) In response to Bob Whitney’s open letter published on Aug. 9, Mr. Whitney’s first contact with my office about the status of the alleged code violations was on Aug. 6 after close of business. On Tuesday, Aug. 7, we contacted the city’s Neighborhood Code Compliance Department for an update on the status of the alleged violations.  The Neighborhood Code Compliance Department is under the direction and control of the Mayor’s Office and prioritizes violations based on whether they constitute an imminent health and safety hazard or environmental concern. Lower-level violations, such as unpermitted garage conversions, are addressed as time and staffing levels allow. With these types of violations, the department works with the property owner to resolve the issues before assessing any penalties or fines. The Neighborhood Code Compliance Department has informed my office that it is working with the property owners at 2210 and 2226 Avenida de la Playa to address the outstanding issues and to bring the properties into compliance. Nearly all the mixed-use buildings in the La Jolla Shores Commercial Center are previously conforming uses or structures, which means that regulations may have changed since the buildings were built. Some of the business owners in the Shores may remember when all of the sidewalk cafes were cited for not being permitted and how the Neighborhood Code Compliance Department worked with us to affordably get the appropriate permits without any fines or penalties and without shutting down the businesses. Finally, in response to Mr. Whitney’s last question; it is up to the community to determine who is eligible to serve on the volunteer community planning association and its subcommittees. I know the La Jolla Community Planning Association Board takes their responsibility to the community very seriously. — Sherri S. Lightner, District 1 City Councilwoman

Letter to Lightner flawed, politically motivated Mr. Whitney’s letter embodies three themes that require redress: it reveals his fundamental ignorance regarding how Neighborhood Code Compliance works; he is hypocritical, as he is in violation of similar neighborhood codes; and his letter is an inappropriate and politically motivated attack on Sherri Lightner.   First, Whitney assumes that any city citation for neighborhood code violations is correct and the owner is at fault. Both of these propositions are patently false. In many cases, a homeowner purchased the house decades after a code violation occurred. Although the homeowner is responsible for bringing the home into compliance where there is a violation, there is no guilt associated with the process. Furthermore, city records often fail to accurately reflect whether a proper permit was obtained or not, especially with older records. The city is often wrong in these situations and admits to same. In the case of the Naegle property at 2210 Avenida de la Playa, both Dale Naegle, before he passed away late last year, and his wife, Myrna Naegle, have been working with the city to resolve issues from the time they first received the notices.  Numerous meetings with the city and correspondence reveal that some of the alleged violations were not violations at all. The reference in the Civil Penalty Notice to an egress path required for the retail store was totally wrong. Dale Naegle immediately rectified the city’s mistake by quoting from the code. A letter dated March 14, 2012 from Duke Fernandez, senior land development investigator for the Neighborhood Code Compliance Division, to the Naegles states: “After several meetings, the city honored the reduction of four parking spaces represented on the Coastal Development Permit to three as shown on the B-202050-03 permit. The city also has honored your request to keep the garage door leading to your required commercial parking for security reasons.” The only outstanding issue involves the conversion of a garage to an office space. This conversion was completed to make it possible for Mr. Naegle, who suffered from polio since childhood, to more easily reach his office on the ground floor. The elevator went directly to the garage and when it became too difficult for Mr. Naegle to access his office on the first floor from the elevator the only viable solution was to move the office to the garage. This arrangement was approved by Robert Vacchi, deputy director of Neighborhood Code Compliance Division. There are ongoing issues concerning the rights of owners under the Americans with Disabilities Act and whether changes that were made in compliance with the ADA can remain after the person with the disability dies, which will be resolved in due course. Mr. Whitney’s assertion that nothing has been done is ludicrous, mean-spirited and uniformed. Mr. Whitney’s own mixed-use project was rejected, not only by the La Jolla community, but by the City Council. He selectively filed complaints against those who opposed his project. And the city went along with this “selective prosecution” with sometimes devastating effects. Take the case of Carol Sasaki at 2222 Avenida de la Playa, who received a civil penalty notice from the city at Mr. Whitney’s instigation. She states, “Is the city doing this to all the places on the block like mine that had their garages converted so many long years before any of us bought?”   After losing her home, Ms. Sasaki wrote, “What was done to me was evil and will affect me always. I am so depressed from losing my home. What they did to me over the garage and forcing me to come up with money I don’t have or lose my home is awful. I cannot believe that in America they can do these third-world tactics. Shocked still.”  Mr. Whitney is himself in violation of development codes. He owns two adjacent properties — one is residential with two bedrooms that requires two off-street parking spaces, and another that is commercial, over 1,000 square feet, that also requires two off-street parking spaces. Thus, while Whitney is required to have four off-street parking spaces he has only two. His excuse: he applied for a project that would resolve these issues. But his project was rejected by the City Council. Should Mr. Whitney be charged the penalties for code violations while he takes years to obtain an EIR or develop and process a new project? As Whitney asserts, the city’s financial situation could benefit by the collection of these penalties. Mr. Whitney’s letter to Councilwoman Lightner is politically motivated and reveals his lack of understanding of the fundamental workings of the City of San Diego. Lightner is in the legislative branch, which does not direct the Development Services Department (DSD). The Mayor’s Office is charged with overseeing the DSD and the Neighborhood Code Compliance Division. But Mr. Whitney supports Lightner’s opponent, Ray Ellis. And, as Ms. Lightner supported the community opposition to his behemoth project, a project that would have been over one-third larger than allowed in any other similarly situated community in San Diego, Whitney seeks to tarnish her reputation. — Rob Whittemore, Hetty DeJong, Myrna Naegle, Dick McCormack, Grace McCormack

Please help protect our beaches! Like most people who live in beautiful La Jolla, I love the beach. But when I was walking home from La Jolla Shores Beach last week, I noticed how people abandon their toys in the sand and leave their plastic bottles just lying there to wash out into the beautiful blue sea. And, I realize if people keep this up, our beaches might not be so enjoyable anymore. The first thing I don’t get is why people don’t just throw away their trash in the trashcan. It is not like the beach has a shortage of them. You can’t even go 10 feet without seeing a trashcan. The only thing that will happen if you throw your trash on the sand is it will go out to sea and an animal will eat it or it will become part of the great Pacific garbage patch. If an animal does eat your piece of garbage, it will die. Some animals don’t have the greatest of eyesight, so plastic bags look like jelly fish, packing peanuts look like fish eggs and sometimes fish hook with bait can look like a small fish. So your laziness might be taking away an animal’s life. And if an animal doesn’t eat your garbage, it will go into the great Pacific garbage patch, which is two times the size of Texas now and still growing. The great Pacific garbage patch is located in the central North Pacific Ocean. When you drop a piece of trash on the ground, later that night the tide comes up and washes it out to sea, and then the current pulls it out to the great Pacific garbage patch. However, there is a way to help. You can join a beach cleanup. You can start one yourself or you can join an existing one. It is a way for you and your friends to have fun and help the environment. The San Diego Coastkeeper and the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation created a monthly beach cleanup. For more information, go to www.sdcoastkeeper-.org/act/green-events-in-san-deigo/san-diego-beach-clean-ups.html. Additionally, you can also help by buying a California license plate with a whale tail on it. Some of the money from these license plates will go to helping clean up the ocean and beaches. So next time you see a piece of trash lying on the beach, pick it up, and we’ll make the ocean cleaner one piece of trash at a time. — Abby Martin, Age 10, Muirlands Middle School

Keep the year-round rope going forward To the members of the San Diego Planning Commision, Please approve the City of San Diego’s site development permit application for the year-round rope at Children’s Pool Beach! I am a business owner here in the village (Jewels by the Sea, 1237 Prospect St. #B), and I feel very strongly about preserving Casa Beach for the seals. I always have wonderful feedback from locals and tourist alike when the seals are on the beach, and people can view them and enjoy them from a safe distance. Being able to watch the seals in their natural ways is not only an education, but also a relaxation for so many who visit and live in La Jolla. When the people are on the beach, and consequently the seals are not on the beach, I often get questions like “Where are the seals today?” — and many people are disappointed. Please keep the rope up year round, and let the seals have some peace and the people have the joy of watching nature’s creatures in their natural habitat. — Linda R. Jalving, owner, Jewels by the Sea