Highway to the danger zone Luckily, the recent emergency landing at MCAS Miramar, the second threatening La Jolla and University City that we know of in the past 16 months, did not result in any deaths. This means we can talk freely about what these incidents signify without getting sidetracked into talk about fuel levels and degrees of patriotism. Descending into Miramar over La Jolla and University City is prohibited in flight safety rules currently in place in California. The landing pattern is incompatible, to paraphrase the official language, with the land-use development that lies below it. The Marines and Airport Authority know this, which is one reason why the route is scarcely used and why it does not appear in the current Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan — a state-mandated plan governing things like airport arrival and departure paths. The fatal 2008 crash brought to light a tragic loophole in this governance; the Marines can keep the route open because it existed before the current rules were put in place. What is considered too unsafe to put in place now is considered okay if it already exists. Unlucky for us, the value of the route is in its proximity and orientation to the Pacific. It is ideal for emergencies commencing at sea; better than other approaches to Miramar that may require more maneuvering than a trainee in a distressed plane can do. This signals that, while rare, it is likely that planes descending over La Jolla and University City on their way to Miramar are planes in danger of crashing. Our communities must live with the reality that if it’s overhead, the chances are good it’s a plane in extremis hoping to avoid a crash. There is no logic in formulating landing route safety guidelines and then ignoring them because of historical patterns any more than there is in telling a 6-year-old they have to wear a bike helmet while their 9-year-old sibling does not because they were born before the helmet law existed. The Marines and the Airport Authority know this pattern is unsafe. They keep it open to protect one plane and one pilot over any number of civilians on the ground. It may be legal but it isn’t right. – Bob Stein, University City UCSD in turmoil The latest in the string of race-related incidents at our prestigious UCSD university was the KKK-style hood foisted on the statue of the revered late Dr. Theodore Geisel, who died in 1991. While I vehemently agree with Chancellor Marye Anne Fox’s statement that “the vast majority of students are the greatest,” I respectfully would like to make a suggestion she could convey to them. The nonprofit volunteer program founded by President Eisenhower to promote international friendship and understanding between American communities and those overseas through educational and humanitarian exchanges would allow bored or racist students a new perspective and chance to make a difference. San Diego’s Sister City in Spain is Alcala de Henares, and has a 500-years-old university. For further information, contact: Sister Cities International, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 850, Washington, D.C. 20004. – Alfonso de Bourbon, La Jolla Stick to the plans Some background is needed on the creation of Calumet Park. When the properties along the cliff were being built, residents realized that the development threatened to wall off the ocean and prevent community access. The community, the developer and the city accepted Calumet Park as a compromise. The agreement promised ocean access via a stairway, and this stairway clearly shows on the plans for Calumet Park. Calumet Park was never meant to function as a front lawn for the adjacent residents, most of whose occupants have moved in since the park was created. Calumet Park was meant to be a community park and when the City Council approves a “community park” you can be sure they include Clairemont and University City as part of the community. In effect, the city has already approved the stairway although it was never built by the developer. But should ocean access be provided? Look at the La Jolla Community Plan under goals. It says, “Enhance existing public access to La Jolla’s beaches and coastline areas … in order to facilitate greater public use and enjoyment of these and other coastal resources.” You can find the La Jolla Community Plan online. The letters to the Village News editor were not without humor, however. One letter asks “… why would they (the Coastal Commission) allow the lovely natural cliff path to be cemented with stairs?” It is difficult for me to believe the writer has ever been down this “lovely natural cliff path.” The path is always wet and slick, and has a 4-foot drop at the end. There is rope to repel down the last four feet, but I noticed the bolt holding the rope wobbles — no thanks. Also, the actual staircase proposal made to the Bird Rock Council called for natural wooden stairs rather than cement. The City should stick to the plans and commitments it has made and improve the ocean access at Calumet Park. – David Little, Bird Rock Outside the norm The commercial district in La Jolla Shores has always been a quiet enclave of shops and restaurants that exist to serve the community within a village atmosphere. Small-scale development has been the norm and it is clear size does matter when it comes to a village. The proposed Whitney Building on Avenida de la Playa is larger, taller, less landscaped and architecturally out of character with the surrounding La Jolla Shores atmosphere. It is outside the norm. La Jolla Shores is a community developed with a fabric of common need and use. It has taken years of community input and struggle to obtain the current ambiance. The Whitney project is not cut from the same cloth and does not add to the village character. The Whitney Project creates a different feel and context and is more urban and metropolitan than the vicinity. Following the business district west along Avenida De La Playa from the intersection at La Jolla Shores Drive to its termination at Camino Del Sol, there are 13 corner parcels. Currently, there are seven two-story structures and six one-story-or-less structures on these corner lots. The general configuration at the corners is a composition of low rising stepped back from the sidewalk edifice creating an open visual environment. The Whitney Project would be the first and only three-story element introduced into the setting. The height and bulk of the proposed building would create a direct contrast to the openness of the surrounding area corners. The proposed design utilizes architecturally out of scale and context arches which are claimed as homage to the popular Irving Gill architecture. This is nothing more than an over-used developer’s gimmick. Poorly designed and executed imitations of Gill’s empathetic designs exist around La Jolla, most created in an effort to influence and sway decision makers. This mimicry is more mockery than honor — Mr. Gill had more sense than to impose an out of context, over-sized structure on a tiny lot. In the years to come, redevelopment will occur in La Jolla Shores. Now is the time to set the bar and create the scale on which future projects will be marked. To allow deviation from the village atmosphere today will sanction the destruction of the village ambience in the future. The permit approval being sought is a discretionary decision that should be based on the desires of the community to maintain the current neighborhood character. A simple concurrence with UBC or zoning code ordinances which do not take into account the discretion of the decision maker is not sufficient to grant approval. The decision maker must positively infer and affirm that the proposed project complies with section 1510.0101 of the La Jolla Shores Precise Plan. – Fritz Liebhardt, La Jolla Smell is coming from bird guano The stench that people are smelling around La Casa beach in La Jolla is not coming from the harbor seals, it is coming from the bird guano on the rocks below the green shade hut above the east end of the beach. Pelicans, cormorants, gulls of several species and pigeons all roost in this area. (I know exactly what harbor seals smell like, having studied more than one wild population at close range and having done rehab with them.) Not once have I smelled the La Jolla harbor seals from the sidewalk area. I have certainly smelled the bird guano and also occasionally the fumes from the portable bathrooms near the lifeguard entrance. – Caryl Pearson, California state park harbor seal docent No clear-cut policy The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has no clear-cut or adequate policy and implementation of that policy in human-pinniped interactions on U.S. Beaches. Let us simplify the issue by taking as an example the La Jolla coastline. For many years, pinnipeds have been using a 1.5-mile stretch of La Jolla coastline (beaches and rock formations) regularly, to haul out or to give birth to their pups. Are there sufficient, visible and easy to understand NOAA signs posted along the coastline to warn the public not to harm or harass pinnipeds? No there are not. The few signs that are posted at the Children’s Pool (CP) seal rookery are completely invisible at night, and inadequate in giving the public an idea of what a “safe distance” from a pinniped is. Moreover, is the NOAA office really enforcing the 1972 MMPA at CP seal rookery or at La Jolla Caves, where a small colony of sea lions are constantly harassed (flushed, poked, hit by rocks and even shot) despite numerous reports to your hotline)? The answer, again, is negative. Every year, unwary visitors pick up stranded baby seals (it happened this year, too) or sea lions without even realizing that touching marine mammals is illegal. There are no signs posted along the coast warning visitors or informing them what to do in case they encounter a marine mammal in distress. You argue: “The reason that there does not need to be special provisions by local authorities is because human interaction with pinnipeds is already prohibited by the overarching federal legislation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which is NOAA’s mandate for dealing with human-pinniped interactions.” How in the world is the general public supposed to know all that if there are no signs to warn and inform them? – Marjane Aalam, Senior Seal Watch coordinator