Coastal Commissioners would ‘very much’ support limited access to La Jolla Cove – San Diego Union-Tribune

Members of the California Coastal Commission recently said they would “very much” support a proposal for limited access to La Jolla Cove. Though no action was taken, the board discussed the idea during its Sept. 10 meeting.

The limited-access proposal was recently submitted by the La Jolla Parks & Beaches board and is being considered as part of ongoing efforts to keep distance between people and the sea lions that rest on the beach at La Jolla Cove.

The proposal would keep La Jolla Cove open to swimmers, snorkelers and divers — while prohibiting other forms of access and beach recreation there — during the sea lion pupping season of June 1 to Sept. 15 annually.

The discussion came after months of efforts to mediate the situation.

During the commission’s December meeting, San Diego Parks and Recreation Department director Andy Field explained that a multistep plan was in place to keep people and sea lions apart while keeping the Cove open. Some of these measures have already been implemented, with additional ones planned.

Steps already taken include adding more rangers equipped with bullhorns to issue warnings to those on the beach, posting new signage and authorizing the use of cones as a visual deterrent should beach-goers get too close to animals. Possible next steps include the construction of a viewing platform overlooking The Cove and the installation of cameras.

As those measures were gradually being implemented, a video surfaced online in July appearing to show a person chasing and kicking at a sea lion near La Jolla Cove.

In the video, the sea lion appears to have been sitting atop a low wall that separates the colony at La Jolla Cove and Point La Jolla from a public walkway. The video shows a young man taunt and then kick at the sea lion before chasing the animal as it tries to escape along the wall.

Sea lions are protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, making it illegal to harass, harm, pursue, feed, capture, injure, restrain or kill the animals. Such actions may be punishable through fines or jail time, according to a statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Tyler Muehl, an 18-year-old La Jolla resident, admitted to attacking the animal as it sat on the sea wall the night of July 22, according to a plea agreement.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

At the August coastal commission meeting a few weeks later, Commissioner Matt O’Malley said he was “beyond angry” about the incident and questioned whether a partial closure of La Jolla Cove would be appropriate “until the city gets their program implementation figured out and investigates what is going on here.”

Soon after, the La Jolla Parks & Beaches board introduced a resolution recommending reduced access to La Jolla Cove at its Aug. 24 meeting.

At the time, La Jolla Parks & Beaches member Chas. Dye said, “The threat is imminent of completely closing (The Cove), and some action needs to be taken. Given the choice of closing The Cove or this, I would take this.”

During the Sept. 10 CCC meeting, Commissioner Matt O’Malley said he agreed with “proactive management approaches” that have been proposed to keep people away from the sea lions, including using caution tape, cones and rangers in the sand when needed.

“That said, it hasn’t happened and I don’t know if it will happen in the future,” he said.

He said he would support a plan in which “ingress and egress to the water is preserved” but wildlife viewing would be limited to the areas above the beach.

“That might be the only workable solution,” he continued. “I think because the city has not been able to implement, for various reasons, the protocol it came up with, you are seeing the abuse of the wildlife in that area constantly. … The idea of having wildlife viewing from above and the beach just being for ingress and egress … there may be some interest in doing that. If that is the baseline and we can phase in a potential active management of The Cove, that might be a better way than trying to undo what exists right now. I would be very much in favor of that and will continue to advocate for that.”

Agreeing, Commissioner Caryl Hart said limited access “makes a lot of sense to me” and that “You don’t see anyone lying around on those beaches … most of the time, people are accessing the beach there to take selfies or get close to the sea lions.”

CCC executive director Kate Huckelbridge said “We are still trying to figure out the best way to get through this issue. I think everyone is loath to completely eliminate access to this beach area, and that’s understandable. … So that is a solution we would be interested in exploring with the city.”

Representing the office of San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, Brian Elliot said “This conversation is starting to drift in that direction of what access looks like” but that the council office was “really leaning into” the community for guidance and support. He did not offer any concrete details or next steps.

During public comment, several requested the city of San Diego enforce the laws that are already in place rather than implement new changes to access.