The Village News article of Feb. 8 (“LJCPA bylaws OKed by Aguirre,” page 3) was both timely and accurate. The La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) overwhelmingly approved revised bylaws at a Special Membership Meeting held Jan. 18. At that meeting, the membership also voted to have the revised bylaws become effective immediately. That action was ratified by the membership on Feb. 1. The new bylaws were also verbally “endorsed” by City Attorney Mike Aguirre on Feb. 1.
These actions are most significant for the La Jolla community and the community planning process.
These actions confirm that the membership of the LJCPA has, as an independent California Corporation, the right to revise its own bylaws. The City, as a municipal corporation with its Charter and General Plan, and the LJCPA, with its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, has equal footing under the law.
These actions, endorsed by the City Attorney, allow bylaw amendments to become effective upon adoption and then to be submitted for review and approval by the City Attorney, City Planning Director and City Council. The former bylaws did not require City Council review.
The new bylaws recognize that the City Council has the ultimate authority regarding the rules under which officially recognized planning groups must function. The new bylaws are also more compliant with the content and intent of City Council Policy 600-24 and the Administrative Guidelines that implement that policy.
The City Attorney confirmed that the LJCPA will remain certified and recognized by the City as the official planning group from La Jolla and that the LJCPA will retain its rights to legal defense and indemnification.
By his actions, the City Attorney gave recognition and support to community planning groups, in general, by stating how much he appreciated their efforts to assist and advise the City on local community planning concerns.
Since the LJCPA Revised Bylaws are effective immediately, the LJCPA elections to be held in March can be conducted with less stringent requirements for membership, allowing a broader participation and better representation of the LJ community.
With the provision that LJCPA bylaw amendments are effective upon adoption, the LJCPA can avoid the “Black Hole” problem of the past, when bylaw revisions were sent to the City for review and no response was ever received. Now, the LJCPA can function with amended bylaws and the burden is on the City to respond, if they have any questions or objections.
A much healthier relationship exists between the City and its planning groups when the City receives independent community input. The LJCPA is not a part of the City Planning Department, rather it is an independent agent that provides community input. All planning groups in the City should support the General Plan, their Community Plans and promote the concept of a City of Villages. If the City attempts to control the LJCPA and its bylaws, this valuable and independent community input is compromised.
In October 2006, the LJCPA Membership overwhelmingly rejected the rewrite of the LJCPA Bylaws based upon a totally inadequate City-drafted “shell document,” where one version of the CPA Bylaws was to fit all CPAs in San Diego. This “one size fits all” approach did not work for the La Jolla Community Planning process and compromised the various LJ groups that have always been mutually involved in the process.
As a result, a few very concerned La Jollans formed an ad hoc committee and started to rewrite the City drafted “shell document.” Under the leadership of the LJCPA President, Tim Golba, and the LJCPA Bylaws Committee Chairman, Lance Peto, the LJCPA Bylaws Committee was reconstituted and expanded to have broader community participation. The LJ community came together and the new bylaws were drafted.
A few self-interested people have suggested the new bylaw revision actions were a “power struggle.” Nothing could be further from the truth. By simple observation and review, it can be easily seen that the La Jolla community has come together, as a community, to become involved, to be selfless in the best interests of the LJ community and to be responsive and responsible to the City and its policies.
We can now be proud of what the LJCPA Bylaws Committee has achieved and we look forward to a LJCPA Trustee election in March that is open to all members, fair in its conduct and honest in its results.
” Ed Ward and Rob Whittemore, along with Orrin Gabsch, are members of the Ad Hoc Bylaws Committee of the La Jolla Community Planning Association.