The La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) is updating its bylaws.
The board was slapped with a lawsuit in May during a brouhaha over permitting three-story mixed-use buildings in part of La Jolla and Bird Rock.
The lawsuit brought up plenty of questions and concerns, such as: Who are the board members representing the community? Why are so many of them architects or involved in real estate? Why must La Jollans attend three meetings each year before they can vote?
Such questions were discussed at the Bylaw Subcommittee’s second meeting held Thursday, July 27. Trustees Lance Peto, Phil McConkey and Marty McGee headed the meeting, with representatives from the city’s planning department and city attorney’s office. Only three community members attended, albeit with much experience and strong opinions.
Discussion first turned to the issue of the board’s composition. While some planning groups assign trustee seats by residential districts, or include business seats, the needs of La Jolla are different, the subcommittee concluded. La Jolla is already built-out. It doesn’t have tracts of new development that require developer seats. It is also an active community with well-organized groups to represent the interests of the various districts, including the La Jolla Shores Association and Bird Rock Community Council. Promote La Jolla, which represents the businesses, also has a strong, active voice at meetings.
Discontentment brews in the community, however. During the third-story meeting on May 4, resident Linda Workman indicated that the board includes five architects, two real estate brokers, one real estate company partner, a construction company owner, a real estate entrepreneur, a real estate investor and a development consultant.
McConkey defended the number of architects on the board, claiming that it’s important to have trustees with expertise and knowledge who understand how to decipher the numerous proposals for redeveloping homes.
“There’s an appearance [of conflict of interest], but it is reality versus perception,” McConkey said, later adding that anyone who owns a home in La Jolla could potentially benefit from a project.
The apparent perception causes the community a great deal of stress, though, said resident Mike Costello. Some people have been on the board for 15 to 18 years and it’s time to break some of those bonds, he said.
According to city bylaws, trustees can only serve for nine consecutive years and then must take a one-year hiatus before running again.
Suspicion has also fermented over the rule that says La Jollans must attend three meetings each year in order to vote. The city only requires that voters live, work or own property in La Jolla and be 18 years old. So far this year, 663 people have attended meetings but only 121 have reached membership status, according to the board’s membership list at www.lajollacpa.org.
“We’re the most restrictive,” Peto said.
Peto defended the rule as a way to involve and educate citizens about the community. If people only show up to vote in March, they will know little about the candidates except for the short, five-minute speech. And the most knowledgeable and active candidates may not speak as eloquently, Peto said.
Issues are complicated and technical in La Jolla and voters need to familiarize themselves with the public players involved, who often attend countless meetings before they run. And unlike voting for presidential or congressional candidates, local newspapers are the board’s sole means of outreach.
“We’re trying to get people involved in the community,” Peto said. “We want to qualify people more.”
Costello likened the rule to literacy tests or poll taxes that kept people from voting ” and now meeting requirements, he said.
“People feel disenfranchised,” former LJCPA trustee Dave Little said.
Who exactly are the trustees trying to prevent from voting, he questioned.
The frustration also stems from a blotched system of tracking attendees. Community members sign up and then their names are not listed on the Web site, according to Costello. During one meeting, the list omitted Pennie Carlos, who spoke during the meeting and chairs the Bird Rock Community Council, he said.
“What makes us bubbling on our chairs is not that it happened last year, but that it’s happening right now,” Odile Costello said.
Meanwhile, the board doesn’t verify that voters actually live, work or own property in La Jolla when voting begins. The board should issue numbered IDs to citizens, who must first present a picture ID with their address, Little said. The trustees could verify the address.
Trustees acknowledged that it’s difficult for the secretary, especially when crowds tipping 300 turn out. However, attendees can check their status on the group’s Web site and dispute the issue with the board before elections, Peto said.
Finally, Little asked where to take grievances. The city wants the community groups to sort through their own problems, but Little said it’s impossible when his grievances are with the LJCPA. He complained of one former trustee who had no ties to La Jolla, yet the community couldn’t throw him off the board.
Sarah Osborn with the city planning department said the city will step in when it’s appropriate.
“The board is a private organization and can rectify certain issues, but if there are larger issues, we’ll work with the board to handle those issues,” she said.
The LJCPA is a community-elected, advisory board to the City Council on land use issues for the area. Community groups throughout San Diego are in the process of updating their bylaws. The planning department expects La Jolla to complete its revisions by October.
Meanwhile, as Deputy City Attorney Alex Sachs monitors the board’s meetings, it remains unclear which city entity is investigating the allegations brought against the board. Representatives from both the city attorney’s office and mayor’s office were uncertain and were not able to respond before press time on Aug. 2.
At the upcoming Aug. 24 meeting, the Bylaws Subcommittee will discuss the process for closing LJCPA and filing a new association, the planning group structure and subcommittee responsibilities and will summarize the bylaw review and recommendation process.
The subcommittee meets from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. at the La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave. For more information visit www.lajollacpa.org or call (858) 456-7900.