Bitter words flew over last-minute amendments to Bird Rock’s Planned District Ordinance (PDO) at the chaotic La Jolla Planned District Ordinance (LJPDO) meeting on Monday, Feb. 6.
More than 80 people packed a small side room at La Jolla Recreation Center to protest new PDO amendments presented by Bird Rock business owner Mark Lyon and Michael Morton with Marengo Morton Architects in La Jolla.
The Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) cried foul since it had submitted its 12 amendments one week earlier to the LJPDO, and representatives said they had no knowledge of the abrupt proposals. In defense, LJPDP Chairman Chuck Berke said anyone is allowed to present suggestions before the LJPDO subcommittee.
The PDO governs how La Jolla will develop, with more tailored specifications than the city’s general plan.
The Bird Rock proposals called for increasing the base density, bonus density and floor area ratio (FAR) along La Jolla Boulevard to equal the amount permitted in Zones 1, 2 and 3 in the village. Bird Rock is part of Zone 4.
The plan would also permit buildings of three stories in all of La Jolla, including Bird Rock. Only two stories are allowed under the current PDO.
Base density allowed in zones 1, 2 and 3 in La Jolla is 1.3 multiplied by the square footage of the lot; in Bird Rock, it is 1.0. On a 10,000-square-foot lot, a developer could build a 13,000-square-foot building in La Jolla, but only a 10,000-square-foot building in Bird Rock.
“Right off the bat, if I’m an investor I’m not going to go to Bird Rock; I’m going to go downtown,” Lyon said.
One resident shouted out, “That’s the idea!” The crowd burst into applause.
Bonus density provides developers incentive to build mixed-use buildings that include both residential and retail components. In downtown La Jolla, the bonus density is 1.7 multiplied by the size of the lot; it is only 1.3 in Bird Rock. The discrepancy cancels Bird Rock from mixed-use and multi-family zones, Lyon said.
“We feel that this is unfair,” Lyon said. “(It’s) one of the reasons that Bird Rock has been fumbling along for so long without the same opportunities that some of the other zones in La Jolla have.”
The proposal for three stories would allow no more than 25 percent of the total gross floor area to be on the third floor in order to prevent bulky, box-like structures.
“This would be an attempt to reduce the top floor to a penthouse-type configuration,” Morton said.
Lyon submitted a petition to the LJPDO consisting of 100 signatures of commercial property owners, merchants and residents who support his recommendations to the PDO. Lyon could not quantify the percentage of merchants, as opposed to property owners, who signed the petition since some people hold more than one title.
“The merchants want something more bold; the residents want status quo,” Lyon said. “There is nothing wrong with either of our opinions. It’s just that we happen to differ.”
Lyon said that these individuals feels disenfranchised from the BRCC, and are not comfortable attending the meetings.
Lyon does not represent all the merchants, however. Thirty-six merchants also signed a petition saying that they support the PDO amendments the BRCC has issued, and that the BRCC is the appropriate group to represent them.
“Mark has frequently used the merchants as a justification for the changes,” said Joe La Cava, BRCC board member. “I find that confusing myself, because there really is nothing in these proposals that benefits the merchants. There’s nothing to improve the viability of their businesses or the business environment as a whole.”
The commercial property owners will benefit, but the small merchants who rent their stores will not, La Cava said.
La Cava also emphasized that the three-story proposal will affect all of La Jolla, not just Bird Rock, and that the community has not been properly notified.
Two trustees recommended a variance process that would allow three stories and greater density when appropriate.
“What most of the people are here for is what they are afraid of: what may come; what bad design may come; what kind of monolithic structure may come through,” La Cava said. “If the project in and of itself is good, it can perhaps gain the support of the community through the variance process.”
Residents are not considering the future when they object to the proposals, one trustee said.
“If you really like urban sprawl, you’ll only want to have two stories,” Hal White said. “And if you really love urban sprawl, you’ll knock it down to one story. I think a lot of people are only looking in their own backyard and not realizing the big picture.”
Promote La Jolla also supports Lyon’s recommendations as it follows San Diego’s City of Villages plan that seeks to add density to an area instead of sprawling out.
A vocal majority of the crowd bitterly opposed Lyon’s amendments.
“I would ask unfair to who,” one resident said. “Should it be unfair to the homeowners who have bought homes with Bird Rock in mind exactly as it is with our views preserved? Should we be discriminated against as opposed to the developers who don’t live in Bird Rock but are representing the idea of maybe being able to sell at a better profit?”
Residents and BRCC members also fumed that Morton and a representative for Lyon had sat through all the BRCC meetings and then brought their own proposals to the LJPDO.
“They were at the meetings when 160 people showed up and made their intentions or wishes at that point clear,” BRCC Chairwoman Pennie Carlos said. “It’s very hard to override everyone else for the sake of the opinion of a few.”
The LJPDO decided not to accept the amendments until a full hearing could be held in La Jolla. The La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) will hold a special meeting to consider the amendments on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St.
The BRCC PDO subcommittee, chaired by Morton, originally brought the proposals before Carlos in May. Morton was eventually dismissed as chair because he does not live or work in Bird Rock, Carlos said.
Carlos said she felt that the changes were momentous and required more input from the community. BRCC held meetings from July through December 2005 to review the recommendations, establishing focus groups on density, parking, retail and landscaping. After months of review, the BRCC decided that it did not have enough expertise to accept the changes.
Carlos feels that District 1 City Councilman Scott Peters instructed the group to review a narrow set of issues within the timeframe. The deadline precludes tackling larger issues of density without further study, she said. The BRCC intends to implement phase two to review the density proposals after it is finished issuing the first amendments.
The BRCC needs “input from outside architects, consultants; someone who wouldn’t have a stake in making a profit in Bird Rock,” Carlos said.
However, the city is skeptical that BRCC will be able to get anything else through. The city is not updating any of the other community’s PDO, due to a lack of resources.
“It could be possible but that’s not something that we’re looking to do,” said Chanelle Barry, Peters’ policy analyst. “That’s why we gave Bird Rock time to look over their portion of the PDO.”
La Jolla has 34 amendments pending before the city to update its PDO. Peters is holding the amendments back to give Bird Rock the opportunity to present its own PDO changes. La Jolla’s PDO has not been updated since 1982.
The PDO will go through the city’s Development Services Department, planning department, city council and the Coastal Commission.