Advocates of La Jolla cityhood continued to make their way through local community groups as they delivered fundraising updates and fielded questions from the La Jolla Town Council on April 9.
The Association for the City of La Jolla is working to have La Jolla detach from San Diego and become its own city. Members of the group have met since September 2021 and have been a frequent presence at community meetings and events.
Ed Witt, ACLJ’s vice president, led the conversation at the Town Council meeting. He was joined by fellow cityhood advocates including Jack McGrory, a former San Diego city manager who is serving as a chief negotiator and strategist for the group.
The next step in the cityhood process is a comprehensive fiscal analysis required by the Local Agency Formation Commission, a regional agency that provides guidance to communities seeking to incorporate.
A preliminary analysis was completed early last year, but the final study will dive deeper into the costs of infrastructure and utilities, maintenance, start-up costs, responsibilities for debt, contracting services and more.
Cityhood backers are raising funds to cover the analysis and other costs. Witt said they have brought in more than $300,000 so far and are seeking an additional $568,000 this year.
Some of the projected costs are $150,000 for LAFCO fees, $200,000 for a certified fiscal analysis and $362,000 for specialized consulting.
If LAFCO approves the cityhood application, the proposal would proceed to an election in which a majority of voters both in La Jolla and the rest of San Diego would need to support it.
Backers hope to have the issue on the ballot in 2028.
Story gallery: “Leaving San Diego?” A series about potential La Jolla cityhood
Much of the crowd at the Town Council meeting was critical of the city of San Diego and receptive to the La Jolla cityhood effort. Questions included how the proposed city would be governed and what precedent it could set for other communities that might look to separate from San Diego.
“That actually can work in our favor because when we go to different events, we see people from PB [Pacific Beach], from Carmel Valley, and a lot of them say ‘Take us with you,’” Witt said. “So many of them wish us luck, because they might want to do this.
“Part of the work we’re doing is to get this template down to show other people how to be democratic … [and] how to have local rule.”
McGrory said San Diego’s “strong mayor” system is “a disaster” and that La Jolla would have to decide whether to be a general law or charter city. General law cities follow state law, while charter cities can have more local control. McGrory said he would argue for being a charter city.
Witt said the group would propose hiring a city manager and having the mayor come from among elected City Council members.
Besides that, McGrory said positions on specific issues will have to wait.
“We’ve got to win this campaign and we don’t want to preclude the new mayor and council from making decisions that people are going to elect them to make,” he said. “So we’re trying not to make too many decisions in advance other than the form of government.”
The Association for the City of La Jolla will hold a public informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave.
In February, the San Diego City Council agreed to pay $116,000 in legal fees associated with a court battle over the cityhood process.
In June, the city filed a lawsuit calling on LAFCO to rescind a ruling allowing the La Jolla effort to move forward. On April 29, LAFCO had issued a “certificate of sufficiency” indicating ACLJ had gathered the required number of petition signatures to keep the movement alive.
The lawsuit sought to stop LAFCO and its executive officer, Keene Simonds, from continuing the process, which includes an administrative review of the application filed by ACLJ in January 2025.
The dispute centered on LAFCO’s actions during the process of verifying the petition signatures, which ultimately reversed the San Diego County registrar of voters office’s initial determination that ACLJ’s petition drive had failed to gather enough valid signatures.
The city also contended the La Jolla cityhood review process would impose “substantial irreparable harm” on San Diego due to the costs associated with staff time required for the next steps and that dedicating staff members’ time to that process would take away from “performing their core functions” — a claim cityhood advocates dispute.
ACLJ responded with a court motion arguing that the city’s case was a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP, calling it a “meritless attempt to obstruct democratic participation and silence a public interest effort through costly litigation.”
In October, Superior Court Judge Judy Bae granted LCLJ’s motion, dismissing the city’s lawsuit and allowing LAFCO to move to the next steps in the process.
The city had the option to appeal Bae’s ruling but decided not to. As a result, the city had to pay ACLJ’s legal fees.
Other Town Council news
Budget priorities: With San Diego staring down a $120 million budget deficit projected for the 2026-27 fiscal year, Mayor Todd Gloria’s administration launched a digital budget survey to gauge residents’ opinions on what matters most to them.
The survey asks which three issues residents are most concerned about and which areas they’d choose to protect from cuts in the next budget.
Town Council President Mary Soriano addressed those questions April 9, sharing the local council’s priorities and asking what people at the meeting would like to see.
La Jolla Town Council trustees discuss the city of San Diego budget and issues of primary concern. (Noah Lyons)
The Town Council identified its biggest concerns as trash, litter and illegal dumping; poor street and sidewalk conditions; and bathroom maintenance.
The areas it would most like to protect from cuts are fire and rescue services, emergency response and police services.
Residents, meanwhile, said road conditions, homelessness and traffic safety are top of mind and that library and recreation services and road maintenance are important to preserve.
The city survey is available at datasd.typeform.com/2027budget.
Board election: The Town Council is still seeking candidates for its upcoming board election.
To be eligible, candidates must live or work in La Jolla, have attended at least three Town Council meetings in the past 12 months and be a Town Council general member.
Applications are open online through Thursday, May 14. Announcements of the newly elected board members will take place at the group’s June meeting.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Town Council next meets at 6 p.m. May 14 at the La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St. Learn more at lajollatowncouncil.org.
— La Jolla Light staff writer Ashley Mackin-Solomon contributed to this report. ♦