In a collective effort to streamline projects and repairs for public amenities in La Jolla’s coastal areas, the La Jolla Parks & Beaches board and the burgeoning La Jolla Coastal Conservancy are continuing to explore ways to work together.
Following a heated debate at Parks & Beaches’ September meeting, trustees heard from conservancy members on Oct. 28 about their vision for the groups working alongside each other.
Parks & Beaches President Bob Evans is the Coastal Conservancy’s executive director. LJP&B trustee Brenda Fake is the conservancy’s board chairwoman.
The conservancy — which formed earlier this year, inspired by the public/private collaboration between the city of San Diego and La Jolla’s Friends of Coast Walk Trail, of which Fake is president — aims to provide a mechanism for private entities to conduct repairs on city land by using a right-of-entry permit and relationships with the city instead of starting from scratch for each project.
The conservancy has a three-year right-of-entry permit with an option for a two-year renewal. The group already has drafted a short list of projects it says could be done immediately under the permit, including repairs to belvederes, or gazebos, in La Jolla parks and fixing various beach access stairs that have been closed because of safety concerns.
The areas to be covered include Coast Walk Trail, Scripps Park, South Casa Beach, Wipeout Beach, Cuvier Park and Whale View Point.
LJP&B already is engaged in similar work but is fundraising and getting permits on a project-by-project basis. In 2022, the group shepherded a project to create and install a picnic grove in Scripps Park and is working to develop a second one.
Questions have risen lately as to how LJP&B and the Coastal Conservancy could work together.
“I think we all agree that we want our shoreline parks to succeed, and I think we all believe that this La Jolla coastal strip of land … is so unique and so incredible and unlike anything else in Southern California,” Evans said. “We also know that this shoreline area suffers from decades of neglect and lack of investment in infrastructure. That puts us where we are now.”
If the community doesn’t take an active role, “we really do risk losing it all,” he said.
Evans said the conservancy has a strategy to “extensively and comprehensively fundraise” and apply for county and state grants, and to allow naming rights for certain projects. Coupled with the multi-year right-of-entry permit, the conservancy is set up to “get stuff done,” such as bench installation or repair, tree trimming and fence painting, he added.
Conversely, Evans said, because the LJP&B board rotates its members every few years, it does not “have the multi-year capability to develop a feasibility study” and raise funds.
Fake argued the conservancy’s effort “absolutely does not” affect LJP&B in that the board would have the option to work with the conservancy on a project or work independently.
“If this [LJP&B] board [identifies] something you want to see repaired, you can raise the money or come talk to us,” Fake said. “But what [the conservancy] can help you with is the permits. The permits are something we can work with the city on.”
Brenda Fake (standing), a member of the La Jolla Parks & Beaches and La Jolla Coastal Conservancy boards, speaks at LJP&B’s meeting Oct. 28. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
When a new project comes up, Fake said, the conservancy would report to its own nine-member board and to LJP&B.
By the same token, “we would expect [LJP&B] to come to us if you need help,” she said.
The idea is that such communication would help ensure their efforts don’t overlap.
In the event both groups decide to pursue the same project, “we would need to discuss how we are going to pay that vendor,” Fake added. But she noted the conservancy would already have the permit in hand.
The discussion is expected to continue and the relationship to be refined as the conservancy takes on more projects in coming months.
Other Parks & Beaches news
Bottom Scratchers QR code: A project to add a QR code to the Bottom Scratchers plaque in La Jolla’s Scripps Park went before the LJP&B board for input at the Oct. 28 meeting.
The QR code would lead users to a three- to four-minute video about the Bottom Scratchers free-diving group. The video is being developed.
The Bottom Scratchers, considered one of the earliest free-diving associations in the United States, formed in San Diego in the 1930s with a focus on catching local seafood to feed members’ families. The participants didn’t use snorkels or fins but instead held their breath while diving deep into the ocean, often off La Jolla.
Bottom Scratchers members have been credited with inventing or improving diving and spearfishing technology, initiating creation of the La Jolla ecological reserve, pioneering underwater photography and forming the first San Diego Port District dive team. They also helped scientists conduct research dives.
Volunteer Volker Hoehne said he wanted to create a video to showcase the group’s history, innovations, conservation and/or individual members, and he sought the board’s input as to what to focus on.
Amid a flurry of ideas, the board supported the concept of focusing on the Bottom Scratchers’ role in conservation and members’ innovations.
Evans asked Hoehne and his team to return with more refined plans for a vote and added, “We really want to see this happen.”
New plants: As part of its ongoing work to add native plants to Coast Walk Trail, Fake reported that Friends of Coast Walk Trail would be installing $10,000 worth of such plants in the coming month.
La Jolla Hermosa Park: In recent months, city crews treated a bench and picnic table in La Jolla Hermosa Park in Bird Rock with an anti-graffiti coating, LJP&B member Barbara Dunbar said. Additionally, trees and other landscaping in that area were trimmed.
“The view from the park has been greatly enhanced,” Dunbar said.
Next meeting: Given that the next two regularly scheduled La Jolla Parks & Beaches meetings would fall close to holidays, the board will hold a combination November/December meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. The agenda will be posted 72 hours in advance at lajollaparksbeaches.org. ♦