An adjusted proposal to convert a strip of land near Kellogg Park into parking for the La Jolla Shores outdoor dining was presented April 10 at the La Jolla Shores Association meeting. 

The new proposal, recommended by the city of San Diego, is the latest in a series of attempts by the La Jolla Shores Business Association towards satisfying a statewide parking requirement for its outdoor dining program after last year’s initial proposal and would replace a sand berm along Camino del Oro at the Kellogg Park parking lot with a sidewalk and parallel parking adjacent to the street. 

The dining program, originally a 2020 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 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.

A November proposal – 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 – met with arguments from nearby residents and others about the lack of safety and community input and concern with private enterprise using public property for financial gain.

In January, Shores Business Association representative Phil Wise presented two new ideas: remove a green strip of land along Camino del Oro on the south end of Kellogg Park between the lot entrance and Vallecitos and put 24 spaces in its place; or create diagonal stalls from parallel spots along the sand berm that currently exists between Camino del Oro and Kellogg Park, at the eastern edge of the park’s parking lot. 

The city’s suggested latest adaptation eliminates the diagonal parking but maintains the sand berm location. 

The city felt this was the best way to add parking and not impact residences, … the integrity of the park [or] the Kellogg parking lot,” said LJSA outgoing President Janie Emerson.

Shores resident Tamara O’Brien opposed the proposal, concerned about the loss of greenery from removing the sand berm.

LJSA board member Karen Marshall liked the new idea, noting the location is a good one. 

Others, however, wanted drawings detailing the proposal before weighing in. 

“I don’t see how the association can take a position on this unless we have a detailed picture of what they’re actually planning,” board member Richard Dahlberg said. 

“It’s hard financially to push the process forward with renderings without even having the approval for a spot,” said Business Association member Darren Moore, who also owns two eateries on Avenida de la Playa.

“The general feedback from the community is that they want this to get done,” he said.

The item was heard as discussion only with no vote.