No-three-story signs will likely remain staked throughout neighborhoods, but the fight is over for now. The La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) voted 5-4 to reject proposals that would have allowed three stories throughout La Jolla and increased density in Bird Rock and parts of La Jolla Boulevard, at the LJCPA meeting on May 4. The proposals were considered as amendments to the Planned District Ordinance (PDO), which governs development in La Jolla.More than 250 people, mostly against the proposals, spilled out of the La Jolla Recreation Center onto the lawn, where the NoThirdStory nonprofit had set up speakers to accommodate the crowd. In an unusual move, District 1 City Councilman Scott Peters called the LJCPA to dispense with the proposal to allow three stories throughout La Jolla, and to restart Bird Rock’s PDO process with a professional consultant. “Nobody involved in the La Jolla development economy, no matter how well-intentioned, can lead a review of our development restrictions,” Peters said. “The community will only trust a process led by those without financial interests.” Bird Rock needs more time to create a vision for its commercial district, despite more than six months of community meetings that produced Bird Rock’s 12 PDO amendments, according to Joe La Cava, a member of the Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC). “Those were important changes,” La Cava said. “But we’re looking for a much bigger scope, a much grander attempt to re-look at the commercial district to see what it can be.”Bird Rock initially intended to create a long-range vision for the community, but decided to restrict itself to considering smaller, non-controversial changes when Peters imposed a deadline of Jan. 30, 2006. The three-story proposal and a recommendation to eliminate the first-floor retail requirement were initially being considered, but the BRCC PDO sub-committee felt the proposals were too large and emotional to consider in the short timeframe, La Cava said. Trustee Glen Rasmussen, who is also president of the La Jolla Town Council, made the motion to reject the proposals since they faced too many unanswered questions. Architect Robert Thiele seconded. “We don’t have adequate sewer, electrical, [or] street capacity and the city is under economic stress and can’t afford these upgrades right now,” Rasmussen said. LJCPA trustees also came under fire during the meeting. City Attorney Michael Aguirre announced that his office is keeping a close eye on the planning association.”We have a number of concerns about the voting process, about the consignment of having to attend three meetings, and about the delay in becoming eligible to vote,” Aguirre said. “It’s more difficult to qualify to vote here than it is to vote for the president of the United States.” Community members must attend three meetings within a calendar year to qualify to vote, according to LJCPA bylaws.The city attorney’s office also requested that if any trustee “would be financially enhanced by an increase in density of this PDO that he or she should at least declare it publicly,” said Linda Workman, who spoke on behalf of the city attorney’s office. The LJCPA board of trustees comprises five architects, two real estate brokers, one real estate company partner, a construction company owner, a real estate entrepreneur, a real estate investor and a development consultant, among other trustees. Conflict of interest provisions do not apply to community planning group trustees, however, since they are not public officials, according to Council Policy 600-24. Trustees are required to recuse themselves from participating or voting on a project if they have a direct economic interest. None of the trustees recused themselves during the vote, although Mark Lyon announced that after discussion with the city attorney’s office and planning department, he has a “perceived conflict of interest,” and so decided “to err on the side of caution” and abstain. Lyon is seeking city approval for a three-story development in Bird Rock. La Jollans for Clean Government Inc. announced that it had filed a lawsuit against LJCPA in the Superior Court on May 4 for “holding secret meetings, manipulating board votes, denying membership to residents, destroying or altering public documents, engaging in conflicts of interest and threatening those who raised questions about their activities.” Recently elected trustee Alice Perricone resigned after hearing about the lawsuit.”I don’t work for free to get sued,” she said.