Permit reviewers want the plan to go forward with consideration for a management plan.
After more than an hour of discussion on its second review, a plan to reopen a Princess St. beach access passed unanimously, with La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee members asking for extra consideration for management and security before construction moves forward.
The project would reopen beach access at 7957 Princess St.; the scope of work calls for a five-foot wide stair structure made primarily of wood components with landings and stairs – no longer called a “ship’s ladder” – down to the beach.
The California Coastal Commission will process a coastal development permit for the proposal in a separate action.
Pam Heatherington shows DPR a current image of the Princess Street beach access.
At its initial review, DPR asked project lead Pam Heatherington, acting director of the Environmental Center of San Diego, to return with more information addressing concerns of liability of adjacent homeowners, ongoing site management and further details on what the staircase will look like.
DPR had also asked for a spelled-out timeline of access and ownership of the trail, as residents claim there is no public access and other community members maintained there always was.
After showing detailed renderings of the staircases to be built on the access trail, Heatherington said state liability coverage extends to the project and adjacent homeowners Ure and Dianne Kretowicz, “unless they do something to corrupt the trail.”
Heatherington sent DPR members and others the California booklet “Limitations on Liability for Nonprofit Land Managers” for further information.
“I don’t believe [the booklet] actually defends the landowners in the area,” said Ure Kretowicz. “I don’t believe it actually defends the city of San Diego. It’s an insurance policy that just says you can’t sue.”
Kretowicz is reserving final opinion until the booklet is reviewed by his attorney, he said.
Access to the trail will be controlled by a gate, which will be locked from dusk to dawn, Heatherington said.
Speaking to concerns about recreating public access, Heatherington produced a 2011 from the La Jolla Community Planning Association asserting that by a unanimous 16-0 vote, CPA supports the restoration and maintenance “of the historic full and open public beach access at 7957 Princess St.”
That particular coastal access point has had a convoluted history; the trail closed in 1979 due to a previous landowner’s privatization of the trail.
The Kretowiczes, who bought the home in 1994, have been involved in litigation with government agencies over the easement condition since 1999; the Coastal Commission ruled in 2012 the gate was on public land and mandated its reopening.
Heatherington referenced a now-posted timeline of the history of public use of the trail, which she said “has always been a public right-of-way.”
“We know that there’s interest” in the Princess Street beach access, Heatherington said, noting Surfrider Foundation conducted a 50-person low tide walk Nov 17 and had a wait list.
Land use consultant Chandra Slaven, representing area residents, expressed “significant concerns regarding the environmental implications of this project.”
Increased access will “result in further degradation of vital biological resources, particularly the tide pools that are there in the marine reserve,” Slaven said.
The project also “lacks clarity regarding essential elements” like erosion control measures and more, she said, “to safeguard the sensitive environments and to ensure the safety and integrity of both natural habitats and the surrounding community.”
The Environmental Center “has been part of the marine protected area for the last seven years,” Heatherington responded, adding there will be education on marine reserve etiquette.
Mike Reynolds, son of trail-adjacent Princess Street resident Dave Reynolds, said there still isn’t enough information to assuage his concerns with traffic blocking the narrow road, graffiti, loitering and more.
The project will “create a big issue in our neighborhood,” he said.
“I haven’t seen any plan whatsoever that discusses how this thing’s going to be maintained” or managed, Kretowicz agreed.
Noting that social media and other factors have created different consequences for public access than when the trail was first accessible, DPR member Diane Kane said she “would really like to see some management if this site were to go forward.”
DPR agreed to approve the project’s physical plans but stipulated “we cannot recommend approval of the project as a whole until” issues of security, biological preservation and traffic concerns are specifically addressed.
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