After three meetings within the past two months for the community to assess last-minute proposals to the Planned District Ordinance (PDO) that would increase density throughout La Jolla, the overwhelming consensus is that more time is needed.
The PDO, a policy document that governs how La Jolla will develop, has not been updated since its inception in 1982.
Although a hired mediator chaired the latest meeting, held March 23, in an effort to focus more on facts than on opinions as to how the amendments will affect La Jolla’s future, the discussion continually reverted back to Bird Rock.
Regardless of the merits of the proposals to increase the floor area ratio (FAR) in Bird Rock and permit three stories throughout La Jolla, everyone agreed that more time and a better forum is needed to assess their implications.
The La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) and La Jolla PDO sub-committee do not provide adequate space to work through the language, said Joe LaCava, who was instrumental in shaping Bird Rock’s original seven PDO amendments. LaCava added that he believes a solution can be reached.
“You have to play both ends,” he said. “You can work to stop something you don’t believe in, but you have to think about the fact that it might get approved, and you sure want to have your hand in that approval and to make sure that it’s fashioned the best that it can be.”
A deeper note resounded through the evening, as community leaders agreed that change is imminent ” and it will come whether the community likes it or not, said District 1 City Councilman Scott Peters, who lamented the tattoo parlor on Pearl Street and a proposed soup kitchen on La Jolla Boulevard.
“I’m not committed to any plan but I am committed to doing something,” Peters said.
Opponents argued that the original seven proposed Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) amendments recognize change and have addressed issues accordingly.
“There’s a reason to have different zones with three stories in one and two stories in another,” community member Ken King said.
Bird Rock residents repeated concerns that increasing the FAR and number of stories would result in less privacy for properties adjacent to La Jolla Boulevard, bulkier buildings and more congestion.
The number of residential units would not increase along the boulevard, reassured Paul Metcalf, a panelist and member of BRCC. Only two units are permitted on a 4,000-square-foot lot and that would not change with the FAR. The amendments would create larger dwelling units, though, which could accommodate more families, said architect Mark Lyon, who authored the amendments, along with architect Michael Morton.
A larger commercial space would also increase the number of parking spots required ” parking the village desperately needs, Morton said.
While three stories would mean a greater number of windows overlooking abutting residences, three stories would also provide the property owner with more space to set the building back from the alley, Morton said.
Residents worried that developers wouldn’t chose to do that of their free will.
The current proposals also wouldn’t prevent property owners from building a continuation of large bulky buildings down the boulevard, LaCava said. And even if greater FAR and more stories could create more parking, a well-designed building and greater setbacks, there are no mitigations in the PDO to ensure that happens, he concluded.
La Jolla needs an urban planner to place constraints in the PDO to restrict large, box-like structures and encourage good architecture, Metcalf suggested.
Not everyone is opposed to increased density, however. La Jolla merchants want third-story apartments so that people can live, work and play in the village, said Deborah Marengo, president of Promote La Jolla, who claimed that La Jolla is deserted after 5 p.m. Four buildings on Girard Street and four on Prospect Street recently closed their doors.
“We won’t have a village much longer if that continues,” Marengo said. “People can’t keep going in and out of business.”
Lyon reiterated that the purpose of the proposals is to provide property owners with the incentive to upgrade their buildings and provide more parking in order to restore blighted areas.
Neither La Jolla merchants nor Bird Rock property owners were present, however, to provide input. Pearl Street is a perfect candidate for redevelopment but no one from the area attended the meeting, said Gail Forbes, former LJCPA trustee.
The area “is shabby; the sidewalks are old; the streets are narrow; it’s difficult to park, walk and drive on,” Forbes said.
BRCC is a new group and is far more attentive to the PDO amendments than the rest of La Jolla, said Yvette Marcum, LJCPA president.
“I’ve talked with property owners and businesses in the village and it’s fine with them,” Marcum said. “They’re not as interested; it’s fine with them either way.”
While community leaders say they want constructive criticism and input, opponents of the proposals expressed frustration that their voices were even being heard.
“Our disagreement has to be taken into consideration; it seems that no minds have been changed,” one opponent said.
One Bird Rock resident said that she had presented 14 ideas for La Jolla Boulevard to the PDO sub-committee but didn’t receive any feedback.
Lyon countered that he ingested her ideas.
“They actually changed some of my opinions about some of the things we did,” Lyon said. “Her input was helpful in helping me understand a viewpoint that I hadn’t considered before.”
The variation process remains an unpopular option, despite one panelist’s assertion that it would ensure good design and privacy while redeveloping blighted buildings.
The insecurity of the variance process would prevent property owners from buying and redeveloping property, Lyon countered. Developers are not willing to spend thousands of dollars to go through a lengthy variance process with the prospect of being denied.
LJCPA will not send BRCC’s seven PDO amendments to the city until a decision has been made on the two new proposals. After sending the amendments back to the La Jolla PDO sub-committee and BRCC, LCPA will reconsider them at its next meeting on Thursday, April 6, 6:30 p.m., at La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St.
La Jolla has 34 amendments pending before the city to update its PDO. Peters gave Bird Rock until the beginning of 2006 to submit its own PDO changes.
The PDO will go through the city’s development services department, planning department, the coastal commission and city council, which will make the final decision. n