The Association for the City of La Jolla has begun collecting signatures on a petition showing La Jollans’ support for the effort to incorporate.

La Jolla is currently a community within the city of San Diego, beholden to San Diego’s laws and policies; ACLJ believes incorporating La Jolla into its own city will benefit the entire San Diego region.

The new petition – presented to the registered voters within the boundaries of La Jolla and requiring 25 percent of them to sign  – would ask San Diego County “to explore the possibility of La Jolla becoming its own city,” said ACLJ Vice President Janie Emerson.

The petition is part of the ACLJ’s eventual application to the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, which helps communities incorporate; along with the petition and application, ACLJ will submit its completed Preliminary Comprehensive Financial Analysis, showing the association believes a city of La Jolla is fiscally viable.

LAFCO, which approved ACLJ’s petition drive May 31, would then begin its own research into the feasibility of a city of La Jolla.

The current petition is not asking La Jollans “are you for or against” the proposal, Emerson emphasized. “It’s nothing to do with a vote; it asks whether the county should look into the idea.”

If LAFCO approves the initiative, it would then move to a dual public vote: La Jolla residents would need to vote whether they support self-governance; San Diego residents outside La Jolla would also have to vote to support the detachment.

The decision would not require San Diego City Council or mayoral votes.

For more information, visit cityoflajolla.org. To sign the petition, email info@cityoflajolla.org.