In 1966, the La Jolla Shores Association — then named the La Jolla Shores Protective Association — was formed with the intent to maintain the architectural and environmental character of the coastal area.
Six decades later, the group is still striving for those ideals.
The association works to guide, advise and have discussions with groups such as the San Diego Parks & Recreation Department and UC San Diego, as well as offer a community forum to address local issues.
LJSA meets the third Wednesday of every month except December at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Martin Johnson House. The meetings present a mix of informational and action items with public comments and updates from area first responders and elected officials.
The organization was chartered Feb. 14, 1966, making this month the group’s official 60th anniversary. Here’s a look at how it formed, what has changed and what hasn’t.
Consistency amid changes
Pamela Boynton has been involved in LJSA since the early 1970s, when she moved to La Jolla Shores. Over that span, she served several terms as the association’s vice president and treasurer, as well as attending meetings as a community member.
This decade marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of La Jolla Shores. Over the years, parkland developed, including the shoreline Kellogg Park in 1951 and the pocket park called Mata Park (aka Laureate Park) on Avenida de la Playa between Paseo del Ocaso and El Paseo Grande in the 1970s.
Businesses sprang up along Avenida de la Playa, establishing it as a main thoroughfare for the area with retail stores, restaurants, concessionaires and art galleries.
“In the ’70s when I first arrived, The Shores — Avenida de la Playa [being] the main street — was geared strictly for residents,” Boynton said. “There were maybe one or two … tourist-oriented stores.”
“Over time … La Jolla Shores beach, Kellogg Park, was starting to get more notoriety, and consequently, the shops that had been serving the residents morphed into tourist-oriented businesses.”
A letter from the La Jolla Shores Association to the California Coastal Commission dated March 12, 1979, summarizes the LJSA board’s opposition to creating an artificial reef off the Torrey Pines State Beach area. (La Jolla Historical Society)
A pamphlet from 1991 shows the La Jolla Shores Association’s board of directors and other information about the group. (La Jolla Historical Society)
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A letter from the La Jolla Shores Association to the California Coastal Commission dated March 12, 1979, summarizes the LJSA board’s opposition to creating an artificial reef off the Torrey Pines State Beach area. (La Jolla Historical Society)
Though The Shores has changed quite a bit since she moved in, Boynton — now 82 — said many of the issues the community faces have remained consistent. Among them are trash pickup, parking, beach protection and preserving parks.
Boynton said two questions have dominated discourse within LJSA: how to make The Shores function and how to make it clean and safe.
“I hadn’t reflected on … being a part of something for 50 years,” she said. “We celebrate our marriages and milestones, and I think this is a milestone for the association, showing that it’s significant and serving the community of La Jolla Shores. Obviously if it’s still operating, it has served the needs of the community.”
Meeting the moment
LJSA changed its bylaws in the 2010s under then-president Janie Emerson in an effort to retain board members and provide the group a stronger internal structure.
Finding eight trustees every year and having members term out after two consecutive two-year terms made it difficult to fill the board, according to Emerson. Then the question became how existing members would fit under the new bylaws.
“Finally, we just decided we start fresh with the new bylaws, and everybody starts from there,” Emerson said. “I actually served 10 straight years as president, which you won’t have happen again and shouldn’t. I don’t think it’s good for an organization to have the same person be president for forever.
“We started a total turnaround of the organization, getting it much more involved in planning, much more involved in the environment with Mary [Coakley] Munk and Walter [Munk] and a lot of things like that. And then COVID came along and, of course, that changed everything again.”
Coakley Munk, a board member since moving to The Shores in 2000, praised LJSA’s partnership with the Walter Munk Foundation for the Oceans (named for her late husband) to maintain and improve Kellogg Park.
“They participate in our annual Walter Munk Day … event each year,” Coakley Munk said. “It’s hard to believe that LJSA is celebrating 60 years of serving our local community — a milestone we can all be very proud of!”
While some groups slowed their activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Emerson helped behind the scenes to welcome a street dining program orchestrated by Phil Wise on Avenida de la Playa. Emerson said she’s especially proud of the ability of Shores businesses to remain open through the pandemic doldrums.
LJSA took to meeting online during the pandemic, and today it meets in a hybrid in-person/online format.
Joaquin Quintero delivers updates on behalf of San Diego City Councilman Joe LaCava at the July 16 La Jolla Shores Association meeting. Community members can attend meetings in person or via Zoom. (Noah Lyons)
A key issue LJSA tackled during Emerson’s tenure as president was joining with the homeowners association of the Blackhorse Farms neighborhood in a lawsuit in 2020 against UC San Diego and the University of California over UCSD’s plan to develop the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood.
The sides eventually reached a settlement in 2021 in which “representatives of the Blackhorse Homeowners Association and the La Jolla Shores Association will join UC San Diego’s Community Advisory Group to ensure continued close collaboration between the university and the community,” LJSA announced at the time.
“That’s sort of the whole basis for the Shores Association — and Bird Rock Community Council for that matter, too. Our areas have their own unique issues that don’t get addressed by the groups that focus on The Village,” Emerson said. “There’s nothing right or wrong about that. It’s just reality.
“I think my biggest accomplishment was making people aware of the Shores Association, making sure they knew that … we do everything in The Shores and if there’s an issue in The Shores, it needs to come to the La Jolla Shores Association.”
LJSA today
The past two years, LJSA has been under the leadership of President John Pierce.
“He’s taken it in a little bit different direction,” Emerson said. “He wants to do more events, which I think is wonderful. And that’s why you change presidents. It’s healthy for an organization to do that.”
The first event of 2026 will take place Wednesday, Feb. 18, as LJSA meets at 5 p.m. — an hour before its usual start time — for drinks, snacks and other festivities. Afterward, it will proceed with its regular meeting.
Pierce called the 60-year celebration “a big milestone” that adds to the association’s legacy of civic participation.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done for our community to protect the beaches and serve our community,” he said. “The event we had, the ‘Tides of Creativity’ event [last June], I’m proud of. We plan on having more events this year for our 60th.”
La Jolla Shores Association board members Kathleen Neil and Ed Mackey, President John Pierce, past president Janie Emerson and board member Terry Kraszewski turn out for LJSA’s inaugural “Tides of Creativity” event June 21. (Vincent Andrunas)
Some of the issues Pierce cited as keys during his time as president so far were hearing updates on Promenade de la Playa (the street dining area on Avenida de la Playa), collaborating on a UC San Diego banner district and forming a closer relationship with the La Jolla Shores Business Association.
“The whole idea was to protect the beaches and the community and look at other interests,” Pierce said. “I believe the La Jolla Shores Association has been doing that for 60 years now.”
For more information about LJSA, visit lajollashoresassociation.org. ♦