An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled May 3 that the City of San Diego’s attempt to close the Children’s Pool beach in La Jolla is unlawful.
Judge Frederick Horn ruled in the case of Friends of the Children’s Pool vs. City of San Diego and the California Coastal Commission, that the city and the commission are prohibited from enforcing the Local Coastal Program amendment and the coastal development permit issued by the commission and the city ordinance for the seasonal closure of Children’s Pool.
In 2014, the city ruled that Children’s Pool be closed off from Dec. 15 to May 15 for five years during the resident seals’ pupping season.
According to a press release from the Friends of the Children’s Pool, the court based its decision on the city’s violation of citizens’ right to coastal access under the California Constitution, the California Coastal Act and the 1931 state legislation granting the Children’s Pool to the city as a public park, playground and recreation area for children.
The court also found the city and the commission to have violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act by failing to secure a federal agreement to manage marine mammals when they closed the pool.
This ruling means the city may be required to remove the barriers to access to Children’s Pool Beach and not attempt to enforce the 2014 ordinance.
Friends of the Children’s Pool called on city officials to immediately restore the Children’s Pool for public use. — KUSI TV