New parking plan to replace parking spots repurposed in La Jolla Shores for restaurant use faced steep opposition at two planning group meetings Nov 15, with both boards delaying a vote on the proposal until more input is gathered.
The Shores outdoor dining program, which began in July 2020 as a response to pandemic-related restrictions, has kept one block of Avenida de la Playa closed to vehicles so that restaurants can place outdoor seating on the street.
The program has continued through a city of San Diego Special Events permit, but needs to find a replacement for the 24 parking stalls it has taken over per a recent California Coastal Commission requirement that parking must be preserved to protect access to the beach.
The La Jolla Shores Business Association put forth its parking plan to address the Coastal Commission’s parking requirements at a morning meeting of the La Jolla Planned District Advisory Board; the business association made a similar presentation at the La Jolla Shores Association’s monthly Zoom meeting later that evening.
Both meetings were crowded with residents; the LJSA meeting hit its 100-person cap for the first time.
The parking plan
The proposal would take city property along a frontage road just east of and parallel to La Jolla Shores Drive from Avenida de la Playa to just south of Paseo Dorado, currently largely unused and hidden behind hedges but not marked as official parking, according to architect Mark Steele, who is assisting the Shores Business Association.
The parking plan would improve what already exists, Steele said, paving and marking the land to allow for 24 parking stalls there.
There is now parking for 15 vehicles due to current conditions. “We’re just taking existing stalls there and making them legal,” said Phil Wise, a member of the La Jolla Shores Business Association who has helped engineer the dining program since its inception.
“This is a plan paid for by the restaurants because the community wants to see it,” said Darren Moore, who owns Shore Rider on the affected block of Avenida de La Playa, among other restaurants, and who helped plan the parking proposal as a member of the La Jolla Shores Business Association.
“I serve the community,” Moore said, adding the restaurants will fail without the parking plan.
The parking plan, if approved, would also allow the business association to further work on improving and beautifying the street closure, Wise said.
At both meetings, supporters and opponents both voiced reasons for their side of the project.
Arguments for the plan
“There are 15 spots there today. They’re just unimproved,” resident Steve Hamerslag said. “What we’re talking about is taking 15 spots, not adding more traffic, not any more parking. … We’re talking about paved or unpaved.”
“The parking spaces are already there,” agreed resident and former LJSA board member Brandon Price.
Shores resident Tamara O’Brien empathized with those opposed but felt “we all live in parking zones in La Jolla Shores … [and] we need this environment to thrive.”
Others weighed in, agreeing the parking plan was a solid one.
The opposition
Those opposing the plan cited a lack of safety and community input and concern with private enterprise using public property for financial gain.
Using the narrow frontage road for parking access would impede resident ingress and egress, said John Pierce, whose home directly abuts the proposed parking location.
Emergency vehicles would also be unable to properly access homes there, Pierce said, imploring city officials to conduct a traffic study for the plan.
Pierce also took issue with only being told of the plan a week ago, noting dozens of letters in opposition have been written, along with a petition collecting more than 127 signatures.
“If these people involved the community to begin with, we could have helped them find parking that was not in front of our house,” Pierce said.
“I feel betrayed by the restaurant owners whom we diligently supported during the pandemic,” neighbor Judy Solomon said. “They’ve obviously been working on this plan for a long time, and they’ve neither told us about it nor sought our input until … after the plans were drawn.”
Several residents echoed Pierce and Solomon’s reservations.
Resident Edi Nelson also worries about the precedent this plan might set, as “there is not another parking lot like they’re proposing in a low-density housing zone,” she said.
LJSA board member Cindy Goodman wondered about the use of city land for commercial purposes, saying the plan seemed to take “existing public parking and essentially privatizing it.”
No decision yet
“There are a lot of questions that remain,” Advisory Board member Herbert Lazerow, adding a question of his own as to whether the Coastal Commission would accept this plan as the requirement is to replace parking, not repurpose parking that already exists.
Lazarow also voiced concerns that the parking is not close enough to the beach.
Advisory Board chair Jane Potter asked plan organizers to meet with the residents to discuss further options; the board agreed to table the matter until early 2024.
“We all want the success of The Shores; we all love those restaurants,” Potter said.
Summarizing concerns and lingering questions, LJSA President Janie Emerson felt “it would be appropriate if somebody would like to make a motion” requesting both sides meet to “come up with a new mutually agreed upon parking plan that supports the entire La Jolla Shores community.”
Noting the dining program is “really special,” Emerson emphasized that “when we work together as a group, we can do amazing things.”
