LA JOLLA SHORES ASSOCIATION (LJSA) Meeting Minutes February, 13, 2008.
Next Meeting: LJSA Meeting Wednesday, March 12, 2008 7 PM at Martin-Johnson House (Bldg T-29) at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Present: John Metzger, Sharon Luscomb, Jim Heaton, Dave Laney, Sue Weissman, Alex Varon, Greg Salmon, Mary Coakley, Pat Nissan, Andrea Dahlberg, Tim Lucas, Izzy Tihayni. Audience + 20 approximately.
UCSD Representative - Milt Phegley reported on two topics. The Scoping meeting for Southwest Fisheries project is scheduled 2/20/08 and will be held at the Science Center. He passed around the map of the site and a tour will be scheduled following the Scoping Meeting. The Ventor Institute project is scheduled to be heard by the Coastal Commission on the April 9th-11th meeting in Santa Barbara. The Final staff recommendation will be out 3 weeks prior to meeting.
Police Representative - Lt. Brian Ahearn- reported that a City Council request was made for the Police Dept. to submit a grant application for the Security Camera project. Paperwork has been completed and once approved will be on file with Police Foundation. People can contribute donations to this account as part of the Police Foundation. Audience member, Tom Hassey brought up crime issues in the La Jolla Shores area, the need for more protection and the need to communicate this problem to CD1. Lt. Ahern offered to provide numbers to be included in CD1 communication. Lt. Ahern introduced Sergeant Joe Bane to report on local La Jolla Shores parking issues. He provided an update on enforcement of cars parked in front of properties on La Jolla Shores drive. A letter was provided to the residents on these streets and the law will be enforced per the specifics of this letter. A copy of the letter will be available on the LJSA website.
Approval of the Minutes –LJSA approved both 12/07 and 1/08 minutes were approved. Minutes will be kept on the LJSA website.
Treasurer’s Report - John Metzger reported balance of $3,574.49. There were $75 in donations.
CD Representative – Keely Sweeney –not present. Jim Heaton provided an update on her behalf. The Hidden Valley portion of the Hidden Valley/Via Capri traffic calming issue was passed at the CPA. Gary Pence will initiate the request for Council action so that Council can vote on it. Council is expected to hear it at the March or April meeting and Council President Scott Peters has dedicated over $100K from a limited discretionary fund to the complete the project. There will be a staff meeting regarding the Kayak RFP to discuss feedback and suggestions that have been received so far. Staff is focusing on implementing contracts after the 2008 summer season. CD1 is currently looking for ways to further improve the existing permit in time for this summer. Please forward suggestions to KSweeney@sandiego.gov. At the request of the community, CD1 has asked that no streetlights be installed at Princess/Spindrift streets unless necessary from a public safety standpoint and that any lights that must be installed include adequate shielding.
Chair’s Report – Jim Heaton
City Parking Board- Ken King is still the representative for LJSA. Jim Heaton reported that as long as the Parking Board issues are still unresolved, Ken will stay on until the Board is clear. Should Ken step down Jim will assume the seat until the disclosure issues are solved and then. Audience member, Lance Peto, reported that Parking Board members are submitting disclosures on property they own, etc.
Jim Heaton reported on the La Jolla Shores parking plan that was previously approved by the LJSA and discussed going back to the City and requesting to re-do the time zone to what was originally approved to 30 minutes. Some of the spaces ended up as 15 minutes instead of the approved 30 minutes spaces. LJSA Board agreed that Jim Heaton should write a letter to the City (Gary Pence) to have this corrected and it will then agree to original approved plan.
Roundtable Discussions (per the Feb. Agenda). The following is a summary of the Roundtable discussions and Chairs for each topic. The deliverable at the March LJSA is that the Chairperson of each roundtable with return after getting more input from business owners and residents, and leads our discussion on the topic, recommendations and action steps. At that point, the LJSA will craft a position statement and suggestions creating the Inaugreral State of La Jolla Sores report.
· La Jolla Beach and Boardwalk: Greg Salmon-Chairperson. Fire pits, Parking Lot, Time of Operations, Open/Close gates (10:00PM- 4:00AM), Drive spikes.
· Kayaks: Andrea Dahlberg-Chairperson. Reported issues such as safety in water, sidewalk, and boat launch. Rules and regulations, number of permits distributed. Issues with the permit money and where does it end up. Parking of trucks in neighborhoods, too long, too big and blocking public thoroughfares. Public property use such as Laureate Park. The need for Community responsibility and Corporate Citizenship. The paddles being carried down the sidewalks to the Boat Launch is a safety issue.
· Surfing Schools: Alex Varon-Chairperson. Alex reported that the program has been initiated and the issue is to get the City to follow through with enforcement. The cycle of time is reported not to be efficient since the permits are not re-issued until right before the summer season. The largest issue seems to be around the timing of decisions. New options to renew are expected to be 5 years and the Renewal option will establish a threshold. The other issue reported is where does the permit money end up and how can we get it back to the Park and Recreation areas.
· Scuba Schools: Tim Lucas-Chairperson. The issue of the areas where trucks are unloading could be improved. There is currently no permit program. Suggestions made were to set up staging area so that trucks can get there early. Initiate an RFP to establish rules of conduct, number of commercial trips and use of a public park for commercial gain. Tarps, etc.
· Parks: Chairperson-Mary Coakley, Sue Weissman and Pat Nissan. Biggest complaint is that there are approximately 40,000 people attending our beaches and we have no enforcement and no Park Ranger. The Playground equipment is also reported to need refurbishing.
o Kellogg Park-Sue Weissman
Use by for profit firms (Scuba), Security cameras, Playground, Tents, Private BBQ usage, maintenance of the play ground equipment, Trash collection
o Laureate Park- Pat Nissan. It is reported that the park is being used for kayak instruction. There are maintenance and water issues with the upkeep of the grass
· Avenida De La Playa Business District: Dave Laney-Chairperson. Homeless people are reported to be an issue. People are not obeying the stop sign rules. Board member brought up that we should be notifying business owners that we are considering a BID district. There was a BID district meeting that Izzy Tihayni held in efforts to help clean up the street and bring merchants together on this effort. Next meeting is scheduled for Friday 2/15 at 2pm at La Jolla Shores Hotel. David Laney agreed to be the residential liaison at these meetings. Sue Weissman also brought up the street light issue to be added to this effort.
Committee Reports
· Children’s School – Joe Dicks was not present but mediation with the Children’s s School was reported to have gone well so far.
· Land Use - Sue Weissman –LJSPRC & LJSAB. Note will go out about 30 minutes parking vs. the 15 minute spaces per the Chair’s report mentioned above.
· Traffic & Transportation – Todd Lesser-no update. La Jolla marathon was approved and the La Jolla United Methodist Church got the land vacation approved at the CPA meeting that had been unresolved for many years.
· Parks & Beaches – Mary Coakley reported that the Map is scheduled to break ground by the end of March. Discussed the statue of “JJ the baby gray whale” and adding the statue to the project. Donations are still needed and greatly appreciated.
Public Comment: Sue Weissman reported that very tall 30 foot street lights are being installed in all La Jolla Shores neighborhoods and they are very out of character in the La Jolla Shores area. These are the same as those previously installed on La Jolla Scenic Drive North. Sue brought up a petition against this for Spindrift Drive. Sherri Lightner wrote a letter a year ago against the size of the street lights. Sue’s Petition will be put on LJSA website. Motion Approved: Lucas/Nissan 12:0:0 to reconfirm letter of June 2006 against the currently proposed street lights and also to post Sue’s petition on the LJSA website for people to sign.
As part of Public Comment, Alex Varon brought up the update for Site 653. It is currently under the Appeal process and this costs money. Alex reported that if we don’t fight appeal the case could be lost in appeals court and the Student center could still go up if we lose. Taxpayers for Responsible Land Use need funding in order to fight the appeal. The website for more information is www.trlu.org. Mary Coakley brought motion up that will be moved to next meeting for LJSA to donate $1000 to this lawsuit. This will be brought to next meeting.
Audience member, Lance Peto, brought up the CPA elections that are March 6th at 3pm at the Rec Center. There are currently 9 vacancies on the board. A requirement is that the person attended one meeting as the previous year and filled out an application. Tim Lucas recommends that you review the websites for CPA.
Meeting adjourned at 9:08 pm.
Minutes submitted by Sharon Luscomb