Cheers and clapping erupted from 130 residents Feb. 1 when City Attorney Michael Aguirre announced that the La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) would remain indemnified by the city despite the Jan. 18 approval of its revised bylaws.
The document contained a clause making the bylaws effective immediately ” prior to review by the city planning department and the city attorney’s office ” which some trustees believed would put the group in jeopardy of losing certification with the city.
“We’ve been spending lots of time on the bylaws with the attorneys, and the city attorney’s office approves these bylaws,” Aguirre said. “The city is in a crisis right now, and the only way to get out is for people to pay close attention, and you are doing that. Thank you for your hard work, and let’s get this thing through and get the city behind you.”
The city attorney’s office sent a memo to District 1 City Councilman/Council President Scott Peters’ office requesting that Peters place the LJCPA bylaws on the council’s agenda in the near future.
His support prompted the resident members to vote 123-8 in favor of ratifying the approval of the revised bylaws, making them effective as of Jan. 18 and urging LJCPA President Tim Golba to recommend the approval of the bylaws to Community Planning Chairs (CPC) and council members.
But the planning group may still be at risk of losing its certification with the city, according to Golba.
“One reason why some of the trustees are resisting the immediate effectiveness of the bylaws is because the document requires two approvals ” from both the planning department and the city attorney’s office,” Golba said by phone after the meeting. “Ultimate jurisdiction to keep us as a planning group rests with the planning department. We exist to provide service to the city of San Diego Planning Department, and if they decide what we did is not acceptable, they can take us off the table.”
But the meeting’s large turnout wasn’t solely due to the bylaws vote. Many residents from La Jolla Shores and Bird Rock rose to their feet during the third hour of the meeting to demand answers from LJCPA trustees.
The night’s agenda included a controversial discussion on Bird Rock Station, a project that was proposed more than a year ago by developer Michael Krambs and architects Mark Lyon and Michael Morton.
Many community members opposed the project, which proposed an increased Floor Area Ratio and third-story buildings. In May 2006, the LJCPA voted against considering an amendment in the La Jolla planned district ordinance (PDO) that would allow for three-story buildings, according to Golba.
Since then, design consultants Howard Blackson and Michael Stepner have been working to develop a form-based code (FBC) for Bird Rock, a process that allows residents to chose the way they want their neighborhood buildings to look.
However, during a Jan. 30 Coastal Development Permitting Committee meeting, the design created from the FBC was decided to be less visually appealing than Lyon’s initial Bird Rock Station design, according to Pennie Carlos.
Carlos, joined by eight other residents, told trustees to consider the time and effort the community had spent on developing the form-based code.
“We were of the understanding that Mr. Lyon would work with us, and instead he is here today to rush the vote because he is scared of the CPA makeup changing in the next month,” Carlos said, referring to the group’s March trustee elections. “We have tried to come to the table to reach a compromise, and to have the CDP tell us that one design is better over another without even considering the public benefit is an abusive digression and is unacceptable.”
Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) secretary Darcy Ashley pointed out that the Bird Rock community had been presented with the project once in February 2006.
Lyon, who presented visual diagrams of both the form-based code and the Bird Rock Station buildings, stated his intent was not to amend the PDO but instead to gain a planned development permit from the city to complete the project.
“The question is, does a three-story building produce a better project than a two-story building?” Lyon said. “The answer is yes. The footprint of a two-story building is 10,000 square feet per floor and a three-story is 7,000 square feet per floor. This allows for more open space, more landscaping and better ventilation.”
BRCC member Joe LaCava proposed a motion, which passed by an 8-1 vote, to deny Lyon’s project and set a condition that he revise his design to incorporate the form-based code and that it be reviewed by the CDP subcommittee when completed. Two trustees recused themselves from the vote.
Fifteen residents also spoke out about a proposed traffic signal at Torrey Pines Road and Princess Street to provide additional safety, reduce speeding and improve pedestrian conditions, according to Robert Thiele, chair of the Traffic and Transportation Committee.
The signal would provide a pedestrian crossing signal and allow only left-hand turns from Princess Street onto Torrey Pines Road, Thiele said.
Although the project was rejected by the LJCPA’s Traffic and Transportation Committee, La Jolla Town Council, Promote La Jolla and the La Jolla Shores Association, the LJCPA voted 8-4 in favor of the traffic signal project, which will now be submitted to city council.
The project is ranked fifth in priority on the city’s list of safety improvements, according to Thiele.
The LJCPA meets the first Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St. For more information, visit www.lajollacpa.org.