{"id":492781,"date":"2026-10-11T17:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T17:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/492781\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T17:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T17:04:10","slug":"scripps-coastal-reserve-access-plan-hearing-pushed-back-again-with-no-limits-on-resubmittals-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/492781\/","title":{"rendered":"Scripps Coastal Reserve access plan hearing pushed back again, with no limits on resubmittals \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a series of withdrawals and resubmittals, an application to formalize the Scripps Coastal Reserve management and access plan has been withdrawn once again. It was scheduled to be heard during the California Coastal Commission\u2019s Oct. 8 meeting. The withdrawal continues a cycle in which the reserve\u2019s current limited access is maintained and a more concrete plan is pushed down the line.<\/p>\n

And it might not be the last time.<\/p>\n

Representatives from the California Coastal Commission confirmed last week that UC San Diego (which administers the nearly 1,000-acre reserve adjacent to UCSD\u2019s Scripps Institution of Oceanography) is allowed to withdraw and resubmit their proposal for as long as they see fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no limits to withdrawing and resubmitting,\u201d Coastal Commission spokesperson Joshua Smith told the La Jolla Light, adding that UCSD does not need the Coastal Commission\u2019s approval to withdraw the application.<\/p>\n

UCSD spokesperson Melinda Battenberg told the La Jolla Light that \u201cUC San Diego withdrew and resubmitted its Scripps Coastal Reserve Coastal Development Permit application with the California Coastal Commission to provide additional time for stakeholder input and discussions with the Coastal Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Smith said, \u201cUCSD has resubmitted its application, and the matter is on track for a hearing before the end of the year.\u201d\u00a0Thus, there are two more opportunities for it to appear on the Coastal Commission\u2019s agenda: the Nov. 4-6 and Dec. 9-11 meetings.<\/p>\n

Per the state\u2019s Permit Streamlining Act, Smith said the Coastal Commission is required \u201cto hear permit applications within 180 calendar days of receiving a complete application for a Coastal Development Permit, with the option for a 90-day extension, given permission from the applicant.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cAny project that is not acted upon within the appropriate time frame is subject to automatic approval.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a hearing eventually is held, it will be after over six years of the reserve being predominantly closed to the public<\/a> and after about two years of exchanges between Coastal Commission staff and UCSD.<\/p>\n

The scenic site, which can be viewed from a half-mile loop trail along what is known as the Mesa across the top of the reserve, has been mostly closed since the beginning of statewide COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020. Volunteer maintenance is allowed from 8 to 10 a.m. Fridays, and a docent-led tour<\/a> is offered from 9 to 11 a.m. the first Saturday of each month.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Scripps Coastal Reserve encompasses nearly 1,000 acres. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)<\/p>\n

Before the restrictions, the reserve was open from 7 a.m. to sunset daily. Now its gate is locked unless tours are being given or the reserve is being used by UCSD students.<\/p>\n

The managed access plan includes a proposal to \u201callow for the continued preservation and adaptive management of the (Scripps Coastal Reserve\u2019s) biological resources, cultural resources, management of public health and safety risks, and prioritization of the UC Natural Reserve System research and educational mission and the protection of long-term deployments of research instrumentation\u201d by continuing the limited and supervised access to the reserve with tour guides, according to the application.<\/p>\n

A 2023 administrative post on the Scripps Coastal Reserve\u2019s Facebook page said visitors\u2019 misuse of the area<\/a> was the primary reason for the closure.<\/p>\n

That has been disputed by many La Jolla residents, who also point to the California Coastal Act, which requires a coastal development permit for a change of public access to a coastal site. Residents have accused UCSD of violating that law by continuing to limit access without a permit after the state officially lifted its pandemic emergency declaration in February 2023, though the university did not apply for a permit until 2024.<\/p>\n

After months of questions and back-and-forth, commission staff said in late 2024<\/a> that it was likely the application would be considered complete and ready for a hearing by April 1, 2025. But in March 2025, staff extended the hearing deadline<\/a> to June 30.<\/p>\n

Several continuances have been granted since then.<\/p>\n

La Jolla Shores resident Mike McCormack has kept tabs on the reserve since its partial closure and spoken about it at multiple La Jolla Shores Association meetings.<\/p>\n

With current access he considers \u201cextremely limited,\u201d McCormack described the area as \u201cessentially \u2026 closed for all users.\u201d With however UCSD chooses to proceed, McCormack is an advocate for well-monitored access including attendants in the area that ensure it\u2019s not overrun by visitors.<\/p>\n

In response to this latest application withdrawal, he told the Light that \u201cIt seems like we\u2019re caught in a cycle of continuances without addressing the downside of completely open access. It is one way to kick the can down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 La Jolla Light editor Ashley Mackin-Solomon contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a series of withdrawals and resubmittals, an application to formalize the Scripps Coastal Reserve management and access…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,930,5184,6804,6953,74,84,76,75],"class_list":["post-492781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-california","tag-la-jolla","tag-la-jolla-light","tag-la-jolla-light-news","tag-la-jolla-shores","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}