The “massive loss” would affect the entire region, said the advisory group chair. A Saturday reduction at the La Jolla/Riford Library is also on the table.

Amid San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s draft budget to address a $118 million deficit is the proposal to fully close the La Jolla Recreation Center in Fiscal Year 2027 (which starts July 1).

Also proposed: a half-Saturday or full Saturday closure for the La Jolla/Riford Library.

An April 27 memo from the mayor’s office includes a Performance and Analytics Department (PandA) analysis of each of the city of San Diego’s 37 branch libraries and 56 recreation centers to aid City Council in reducing expenditures for the Parks & Recreation Department by $5.4 million and the Library Department by $2.4 million.

The analysis ranked each library and rec center using nine criteria that cover community, education, access, social and socioeconomic factors such as service area; crime rate; childcare scarcity; next nearest library or rec center; and more.

The La Jolla Rec Center ranked 54 out of 56; the La Jolla/Riford Library ranked 37 out of 37.

“The facility score indicates the overall need or impact of a facility on the area it serves,” the analysis states. 

An attached proposal for rec center hour reductions offered three options for various hour reductions and closures — all three options placed La Jolla at the top of the list for a full closure.

Representatives from the Parks & Recreation Department did not immediately answer whether “full closure” means only the building, restroom and indoor spaces would be closed with no staff or if the closure would extend to the park, playgrounds and sport court spaces. 

Alan Dulgeroff, chair of the La Jolla Community Recreation Group (the city’s advisory board for the La Jolla Rec Center), also questioned whether there would be maintenance for the outdoor spaces should those remain open during the full closure.

The shut down of the auditorium for karate and theater classes and community meetings, the gym space and more would be devastating, he said.

There are “lots of questions,” Dulgeroff added.

Whatever the terms, any closure would be “a massive loss,” he told lajolla.ca, not only for the residents of La Jolla but also for the rest of the region.

The “most important thing to realize,” he said, is beyond the 111-year history of the Rec Center as a space dedicated by Ellen Browning Scripps for public use and its longevity as such, is that “this is a center for all of San Diego.”

“People flock to the coast for seaside recreation,” Dulgeroff said, noting the one-block proximity of the Rec Center to the shoreline and the Rec Center’s use by many visitors.

La Jolla is “fairly urban with very little open space,” he said. “This is critical.”

“I’m going to do everything in my power to avoid that from happening,” San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, told lajolla.ca in an email.

The City Council will hold budget hearings starting Monday, May 4. The public is invited to provide feedback at 6 pm May 4, and Dulgeroff hopes many will let their voices be heard. 

“This is a call to action for our whole community,” he said.