In January, La Jolla Village Merchants Association heard about an upcoming Special Olympics and approved a city plan for concrete repaving of a portion of Coast Boulevard.
The business improvement district, which represents more than 1,200 merchants in a 30-block area in the Village of La Jolla, also heard a report from representatives from the short-term vacation rental industry, which is campaigning to revamp the city’s permit system to strengthen regulations governing rentals of 30 days or less.
The association announced it’s partnering with the 14th World Special Olympics, to be held among 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from around the globe, starting July 25 in Los Angeles.
City spokesman Bill Harris approached the association, asking it to sanction a short-term project to do concrete repavement of deteriorated portions of Coast Boulevard.
“That street is really narrow and we’ll do one half of the street and have one lane open, then we’ll do the other half,” said Harris. He advised that the construction project, to be performed weekdays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. in an estimated six weeks, will “limit access to driveways and parking in that area. We’re (considering) doing this now so it won’t interfere with any big event.”
Harris said the project must be done this fiscal year, which ends July 1, in order to qualify for grant funding that may or may not be available if the project is postponed.
Board member Claudette Berwin moved that the association approve of the project being done between Feb. 9 and the end of March. The board vote was unanimous in favor of her motion.
Jonah Mechanic, of the Vacation Rental Managers Association, told merchants the industry is in favor a revamped, citywide permit process that would “put some teeth” into enforcement of short-term vacation rentals in La Jolla.
“Based on figures from the San Diego Tourism Authority,” Mechanic said, “short-term rentals bring $312 million annually to San Diego, $39 million to La Jolla alone, as a direct economic impact.” Mechanic noted that figure translates to $112 per visitor per day in spending.
Board member James Niebling encouraged Mechanic and his associates to return at a later date to give a more detailed presentation.
Association executive director Sheila Fortune noted that the Concours D’Elegance classic car show is set for April.
In other action:
• Valery Belloso of Accion San Diego gave a brief presentation on small-business loans up to $75,000 available to La Jolla merchants. Belloso cited the Ooh La La Dance Academy on Cuvier Street, which took out a small-business loan to expand its studio, as one example.
• Heather Vrana, of the La Jolla Village Information Center, said more than 21,000 visitors took advantage of the center’s services last year. “Education is our big push this year,” noted Vrana.
“The information center just celebrated its second anniversary, and we’ve learned a lot, and there’s been a significant evolution,” Fortune noted. “We have it under control and it’s functioning well.”