La Jolla planning association to hold elections March 7

By Pat Sherman

The La Jolla Community Plan- ning Association (LJCPA) will hold elections for new and returning trustees at its March 7 meeting.

The candidates include: Patrick Ahern, Matthew Bothwell, Helen Boyden, Janie Emerson, Gail Forbes, Myrna Naegle, Bob Steck, Ray Weiss and Fran Zimmerman.

Officer elections will be held in April, at which point President Tony Crisafi and Secretary Dan Allen will be stepping down. (Allen was recently elected La Jolla Parks and Beaches board president, replacing Patrick Ahern.)

Nominations for available officer positions will be made from the floor during the April meeting.

In other Planning Association news

Hillel subcommittee:

The LJCPA voted to form an ad hoc committee to read through the recently resubmitted draft environmental impact report for the Hillel Jewish Student Center proposed near UC San Diego.

Serving on the committee will be trustees Mike Costello, Jim Fitzgerald, Tom Brady and Dan Courtney, who will present their findings during the March 7 LJCPA meeting, just days before the March 11 deadline for public comment on the document.

Response to fairness letter

: Trustee Tom Brady suggested that the LJCPA respond to a Nov. 5 letter the city’s Human Relations Commission (HRC) sent the former San Diego mayor and city council regarding the Hillel Jewish Student Center. The letter asks that the city consider the Hillel Center for Jewish Life on the project’s “merits, “without bias” or prejudice.

“It’s wrong and needs to be clarified to the HRC and various recipients,” said LJCPA trustee Tom Brady. “We’re not biased or prejudice and we only discuss land use issues. ... I think it needs to be dealt with for the protection of community groups who spend enormous amount of time discussing these issues.”

LJCPA president Tony Crisafi said he would write a response letter, but added, “I don’t feel like the letter was directed toward us (so much as) assuring that the process is objective and fair.”

Parking items pulled

: Two items unanimously approved by the Traffic and Transportation (T&T) committee were pulled from the LJCPA consent agenda for further discussion, including a request to relocate two 15-minute parking spaces from in front of the former Visitors Center on Herschel Avenue to Prospect Street, in front of the new La Jolla Information Center.

Also pulled for future discussion was T&T’s approval of a request for two-hour parking signs on Glenwick Place and Glenwick Lane.

Meanwhile, LJCPA trustees approved T&T motions to deny a green parking zone at 7841 Fay Ave. and a yellow zone on Pearl Street in front of the Maserati dealership.

For a primer on laws regarding various parking zone colors, visit

bit.ly/XMhInQ

Palm tree trimming

: The San Diego City Council approved a contract to trim thousands of palm trees within public rights-of-way, reported Erin Demorest with the office of City Council President Pro Tem Sherri Lightner. The work is underway, and will include many large palms within the Village, she said.

Cycling improvements

: Demorest also announced that Mayor Bob Filner has created a bike program initiative, and is seeking input on needed improvements to bicycle infrastructure, such as locations to place “sharrows” (arrows that remind motorists to share the road with cyclists), potential locations for public bike corrals, missing or faded bike lane markers and potential sites for new bike paths.

Suggestions can be e-mailed to: edemorest@sandiego.gov

Lifeguard tower

: Demorest announced that demolition of the old lifeguard tower and construction of a replacement tower at Children’s Pool beach will begin at the end of May, at the conclusion of the seals’ pupping season. The city has approved suspending a moratorium on summer construction to expedite the project.

Torrey Pines Corridor delay

: Trustee Dan Courtney said no “meaningful improvements” have been made to the long-proposed and partially funded Torrey Pines Road Corridor Project.

Courtney said he is aware of at least five accidents along Torrey Pines Road occurring in December. “I think we need to put it on the agenda ... and get down to the bottom of this,” he said. “The community deserves to know why nothing has happened on such a major project that was approved by community groups and the city council five years ago.”

Dog beach proposed

: During non-agenda public comment, former LJCPA trustee Rob Whittemore suggested the LJCPA discuss creating a leash-free dog run at the north end of La Jolla Shores beach, possibly available for use early evenings a few times per week.

Development near La Jolla High

: Trustee Frances Zimmerman suggested the association look into a residential development at 705 Nautilus St. (at Draper Avenue) that she said appears to be engulfing its entire parcel and taller than the adjacent high school. LJCPA President Crisafi suggested Zimmerman contact the city’s development services department. The project would be a code compliance issue, and not one for the LJCPA to address, he said.