Our family is pleased to announce our lawsuit against the La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) and the city of San Diego has been resolved. With the filing of our lawsuit, we wanted both the LJCPA and the city to acknowledge the automatic appeal policy and procedures of the LJCPA were inconsistent with City Council Policy 600-24 and their own city-approved bylaws. Although our family is regretful as applicants we were required to take this course of action, the purpose in filing and pursing our lawsuit has been accomplished. The LJCPA has been instructed to incorporate its appeal policy and procedures into its city-reviewed and approved bylaws. In order to comply with the city’s request, the LJCPA has established an ad hoc committee instructed to rewrite and incorporate their appeal policy and procedures into their city-approved bylaws. We are hopeful the ad hoc committee members read and understand City Council Policy 600-24, Appeal Procedure Information Bulletin 505 and Information Bulletin 620 (Community Planning Committees) prior to rewriting and submitting their appeal policy and procedures to the city. Following the city’s receipt of the ad hoc committee’s request, the city planning staff will review the amendment language for content and conformance with Council Policy 600-24, the city-approved bylaws shell and the Brown Act and submit their appeal policy and procedures to the City Attorney’s Office for review. Following city review, staff will work with the ad hoc committee on any needed changes. If the ad hoc committee’s appeal policy and procedures conform to the City Council Policy 600-24, the city-approved bylaws shell and the Brown Act, they will be approved administratively by signature of the deputy director of planning and the deputy city attorney. Additionally, since the filing of our lawsuit, the city of San Diego on Aug. 4 changed the San Diego Municipal Code to comply with California state law concerning their own appeal review process involving environmental appeals. Having accomplished our goals, we have decided to dismiss our lawsuit and concentrate in 2012 on obtaining the final approval from San Diego City Council for our mixed-use project on our 3,952-square-foot commercial lot. To date, our project has been approved by the city of San Diego planning staff, a city hearing officer and the San Diego Planning Commission. Based on District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner’s request, we will now prepare a costly full environmental impact review for the City Council’s final approval. We want to thank the many La Jolla residents who have logged on to www.lajollashorestoday.com and registered their continued support for our dream and the fundamental concept of personal property rights that we all share as residents of La Jolla. — Bob Whitney and the Whitney Family