Should La Jolla Shores\u2019 commercial strip along Avenida de la Playa have more or less development in the future?
\nLa Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) opted for less, voting 13-3-2 against a revamped plan by Bob and Kim Whitney on their reintroduced, mixed-use, three-story redevelopment in La Jolla Shores.
\nThe vote came at the LJCPA\u2019s Dec. 5 meeting, during which the advisory group, which makes land-use recommendations to the city, also approved a controversial proposed sidewalk caf\u00e9 in front of La Valencia Hotel by a 10-7-1 vote.
\nBob and Kim Whitney, who\u2019ve owned the property at Avenida de la Playa and Paseo Grande since 2007, want to demolish the one-story residence there and replace it with street-level retail with parking underground and condos on two levels above.
\nWhitney project opponents continue to contend that the project\u2019s floor-area ratio (FAR) \u2014 the total building square footage compared to the square footage of the lot\u00a0\u2014 is excessive and makes it out of scale and character with surrounding development.
\nThis is the second go-round for the Whitney project, which in May 2011 was ordered to do a full environmental impact report by a 6-1 City Council vote.
\nIn discussing project revisions, Tim Martin, the Whitney\u2019s architect, challenged community planners “to find a building that\u2019s more articulated in La Jolla than this one.”
\nDefending his revised development, Bob Whitney said, “It will be a wonderful addition to the area. We\u2019ve done everything the community wanted” in terms of providing setbacks drawing the building back so it wouldn\u2019t crowd adjacent properties.
\nAttorney Julie Hamilton, representing the Whitney project opposition, argued the project would be precedent-setting and should be nixed.
\n“If you allow this project to go forward, you will set a baseline condition for other similarly large projects on Avenida de la Playa,” Hamilton said. “It would significantly change the character of this community, which so many people have worked very hard to protect.”
\nLa Jolla architect Michael Morton disagreed, insisting it was time for the Shores to move in a different direction development-wise.
\n“We\u2019ve seen this project evolve and development in the Shores change from its 1950s building stock into an urban beach community,” he said. “It is time to let this project be approved and move on. I urge you to look ahead to future generations and let this community grow and develop, let it become what it should be.”
\nLJCPA secretary Helen Boyden spoke of the “creeping size” of Shores redevelopment, noting the La Jolla Shores PDO (Planned District Ordinance), which governs future development, was “established to change the course of development” (curbing it).
\nLJCPA trustee Patrick Ahern said the Whitney project as presently construed “complies with the rules and regulations.”
\n“The subtext of this meeting is anger,” said trustee Gail Forbes, pointing out building transitions can be “hell on earth” if not done right, while noting the Shores is a “very tight-knit” neighborhood and one set in its ways.
\nTrustee Phil Merten, an architect, said, while he felt the proposed Whitney building was “well articulated on three sides, it\u2019s the fourth side I have a problem with.”
\nMerten spoke for many opposing the project, noting “It is 30-plus percent bigger than any other building in La Jolla Shores.”<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Should La Jolla Shores\u2019 commercial strip along Avenida de la Playa have more or less development in the future? La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) opted for less, voting 13-3-2 against a revamped plan by Bob and Kim Whitney on their reintroduced, mixed-use, three-story redevelopment in La Jolla Shores. The vote came at the LJCPA\u2019s […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11560","_seopress_titles_title":"Civic report: La Jolla Community Planning Association, Dec. 5","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11560,11551,11593],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-la-jolla-village-news","category-news","category-no-images"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}