The trees block an identified La Jolla viewshed on Nautilus but were paradoxically required by the city of San Diego.

In a rare request, the La Jolla Community Planning Association unanimously approved at its Nov 6 meeting to send a letter to the city of San Diego asking for several newly-planted trees to come down. 

The trees were planted at 1456 Nautilus Street by the applicant undertaking construction there for two homes.

The city required the trees to be planted as a condition of the permit approvals, LJCPA trustee Brian Will said; the trees are Torrey pine trees and will grow to be quite large.

Paradoxically, however, the trees were planted in an area identified on the La Jolla Community Plan, used as guidelines and recommendations for city planning.

That stretch of Nautilus Street is considered a viewshed according to the community plan, as it looks down across the ocean.

Public vantage points including viewsheds are protected in the plan, with landscaping, vegetation and other visual elements that “obstruct public views of coastal resources” prohibited.

After a discussion of community member concerns at the Oct 21 meeting of the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee, which operates under the LJCPA umbrella, DPR members wrote the proposed letter to the city, asking for protection of the viewshed and a removal of the trees, which DPR maintain should never have been required nor allowed.

Conversations with the homeowner and project applicant indicated no objection to removing the trees, Will, also DPR chair, said.

The issue with requesting the trees come down, DPR and LJCPA trustee Greg Jackson said, is though the La Jolla Community Plan map highlights the area as a viewshed, it is not specifically called out in the list of protected sites, so the city may argue against removal in favor of its rule that trees be planted during new construction.

“This is one of the most beautiful views,” longtime La Jollan Melinda Merryweather said, arguing for the viewshed protection.

“I’ve been driving this street for over 60 years, and I was absolutely horrified to see anything put in there,” La Jollan Sally Miller said.