Shores board calls for La Jolla lot declared eligible for sale to be saved as open space

A recent effort to get a pocket park developed on Soledad Road near La Jolla’s Village, coupled with a recent city of San Diego vote to clear a piece of land on Torrey Pines Road for sale, is giving rise to the idea to have the Torrey Pines Road lot remain as open space. 

The La Jolla Shores Association board voted Nov. 12 to send a letter to applicable city departments, as well as City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, asking that the approximately 10,000-square-foot parcel on Torrey Pines between Lookout Drive and East Roseland Drive remain undeveloped. The letter will argue that “it would be a great benefit to us as a community to keep it as open space,” possibly as a nature area, said LJSA President John Pierce. 

Earlier in the past month, a plan to create a small park on a portion of what currently is vacant land at 1510 Soledad Ave. got support from local planning groups. A house is to be built on the remaining portion of the lot. When the plans were introduced, neighbors argued for more space for a park, and the applicant team eventually agreed to develop about 2,100 square feet of the lot for public use.  

On Nov. 6, the City Council’s Land Use & Housing Committee declared the parcel on Torrey Pines Road as surplus and one of five city properties determined eligible for sale. The four others are in the North Park neighborhood.

According to a staff report, city-owned properties may be considered for sale if they meet certain criteria, including that “the property is not currently used by any city department; the property does not support a municipal function and does not have a foreseeable city use; the property is a non-performing or underperforming asset; [and] the property, if sold, would provide a greater public benefit than retention or lease.”

Additional benefits for the city include the financial boost from the sale and releasing it from responsibility for maintenance and brush clearing on the property.

The Torrey Pines Road property, because it is in the coastal zone, “must first be offered for open-space purposes through the notice of availability (NOA) process to government park and recreation agencies before the disposition,” the staff report said.

Also before any sale, city staff will go to applicable City Council committees for approval to retain and pay a broker to market the property and sell it at or above appraised value.

“No sale of the properties will occur until such time that staff receives authorization from the council in a subsequent action to be brought forward in the future,” city spokesman Benny Cartwright previously told the La Jolla Light. He added that there is “no specific buyer in mind and no proposed uses other than what is allowed under the Municipal Code.”

Pierce wondered whether the Torrey Pines Road land could have “a pocket park with a couple of benches [like on Soledad Avenue]. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy.” 

However, LJSA member Kathleen Neil cautioned that there are “an awful lot of conditions that go into creating a park, but that is different from open space. If someone was interested, they could try to argue that open space is valuable. It could be like a nature park that is not improved, does not have benches, does not have any city sponsorship.” 

Trustee Mike McCormack suggested a path be placed there to serve as a connector between La Jolla Shores and Mount Soledad or other areas of La Jolla. “Look at how much people love the La Jolla Bike Path,” he said. “So if that’s possible, I would love it.” 

The board unanimously passed a motion to ask the city to consider leaving the parcel as open space, with the additional request that the city separate the review of the Torrey Pines Road lot from the lots in North Park and give it additional consideration.

Other LJSA news

Season’s greetings sign: Looking to get ahead of the holiday rush, LJSA gave its support to the Kiwanis Club of La Jolla to hang the annual “Season’s greetings” sign on the pedestrian bridge over Torrey Pines Road. 

Kiwanian Glen Rasmussen said the club would use a professional service to hang and maintain the sign and would like to continue to hang it every year. 

Last year, the status of the sign was in question after the La Jolla Village Merchants Association decided it would no longer put it up because of costs and risks and to focus on other decorations and enhancements.

In addition, the footbridge is in the La Jolla Shores banner district, not in the La Jolla Business Improvement District, or LJVMA, banner district. 

But the sign received a lifeline last November when the Kiwanis Club offered to continue the tradition, thanks in part to proceeds from its La Jolla Half Marathon and La Jolla Shores 5K. The club purchased the sign from LJVMA for $1.

Rasmussen wanted to hang the sign on the bridge last year but could not secure a city permit in time. Thus, it was placed on a private wall facing Torrey Pines Road. 

Next meeting: The La Jolla Shores Association does not meet in December, so the next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the Martin Johnson House on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus, 8840 Biological Grade. Learn more at lajollashoresassociation.org.