La Jolla post office gets some clout in its corner Erin Demorest, representative for District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner, announced the councilwoman is working with the mayor’s office, local congressional representatives and a U.S. senator to try to save the Wall Street post office. “We know that is important to a lot of you in La Jolla, and we hope you all can join us in fighting to save that post office,” Demorest said. Trustee Joe LaCava reiterated the importance of the community to get involved quickly. “This is really important for us as a community to come together and get organized on this,” he said. “This movement is only two weeks old, but it’s going to be a very fast fight. This could be over in 60 to 90 days. The post office has the right to move that fast, so I hope you all pay attention and get involved, and stay tuned and try to figure out a strategy to benefit the community as a whole.” Fireworks shows may be off CEQA’s hook State legislators are seeking ways to change the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to exempt certain one-time special events employing fireworks shows from environmental review, announced Demorest. “The La Jolla Fireworks Show and a lot of special events that are near and dear to us are at stake, so we want to do everything we can to try to preserve those,” she said. For LJ Shores PDO, size does matter The city attorney responded to trustees’ requests in September for the City Council to confirm that citywide floor area ratio (FAR) constraints exist in all zones, including the La Jolla Shores Planned District. “The city attorney was not comfortable with that approach at all,” said Demorest. “They are recommending that we go through a full La Jolla Shores PDO amendment process to amend the PDO to include floor area ratio if that is the route that the community wants to go.” Lifeguard station to get a new lease on life Trustees voted to approve a site development permit and coastal development permit for a proposed modification to the La Jolla Cove lifeguard station, including the addition of an accessible ramp from the street level to the mid-level deck to comply with ADA requirements. The project entails three components including the replacement of the tower itself, a new view deck, and a new, sloped ADA-compliant walkway from the park level to the view deck and mid-level landing. Two benches, cubbies and an informational sign for the La Jolla Cove Swim Club will also be constructed as part of the project. The project is expected to begin in the fall. Shores neighbors call for committee member’s resignation La Jolla Shores resident Peggy Davis and neighbors urged Michael Morton’s resignation from the La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee, due to what she said was his misrepresentation of the Gato project, located at 8368 Paseo del Ocaso, which is currently under construction. “Michael Morton’s behavior has been unethical, self-serving and we request Michael Morton’s resignation from the La Jolla Shores PRC. We are also requesting that he not serve on any La Jolla community committee that represents La Jolla, including the La Jolla Community Planning Association,” she said. “Michael Morton presented untrue statements to the La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee, the La Jolla Shores Community Planning Association, and development services at the city of San Diego. If you go down there, you can see the community’s concerns about this massive structure that should never have been built.” Around town: • Project manager Eugene Gay and project engineer Chris Gascon provided information about the Colony Hill Pipeline Relocation Project, which will replace water pipelines on Caminito Aviola, Via Avola, Via Capri, Via Rialto and Caminito Rialto. “We have a lot of experience in this area. We were the same contractor that did the work on Nautilus Street, so we’re very in tune with the La Jolla area, and we hope to continue the relationship,” Gay said. Construction will run from March to June. • Anu Delouri, representative from UCSD’s Physical and Community Planning, announced that five projects will begin construction in 2012, including the renovation of the University House and construction of the Jacob’s Medical Center, a 225-inpatient medical facility on the east campus. • Trustee elections will take place prior to the annual member meeting next month on March 1. Elections will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. in the room just north of the arcade at the La Jolla Recreation Center. The annual member meeting will begin at 6 p.m. • The LJCPA voted to ratify the appeal of the Hennessey’s Sidewalk Cafe project, which will be heard by the planning commission on Feb. 16. • The LJCPA approved the new signage for Rush Indoor Cycle Studio, street closures for the San Diego Sports Commission Triathlon on May 11 and 12, and Bird Rock Fine Wine’s conformance to the La Jolla PDO. • The LJCPA voted to approve the bylaws submitted by the Ad Hoc Committee on Bylaws, taking into consideration suggestions made by trustees and the public at the meeting and incorporating a motion to ratify appeals by a majority vote. The bylaws will be presented to the public for review by the association’s membership at next month’s meeting.