Having undertaken dozens of improvement and maintenance tasks in The Village this year, the nonprofit is planning more beautification in 2026.
In 2025, nonprofit group Enhance La Jolla oversaw several projects in The Village aimed at improving and maintaining public space, and seeks to continue the work in 2026.
Enhance La Jolla was established in 2019 by the La Jolla Community Foundation to manage the Maintenance Assessment District, or MAD, for The Village, taking on landscape maintenance, street and sidewalk cleaning, litter and graffiti abatement and additional trash collection.
“Our efforts … benefited property owners, retailers and the community as a whole.” MAD Manager Brian Earley said in a statement to lajolla.ca.
Enhance La Jolla also added new hanging baskets and large planters along Girard Avenue, introducing an extra watering service to meet the increased demand in commercial areas and ensure ongoing beautification.
The group also restored 15 metal benches, beloved for their seahorse motifs and more than 25 years old, to their original appearance.
Enhance La Jolla partnered with local businesses to plant trees this year, with Orli La Jolla sponsoring the replacement of a large palm tree adjacent to the La Jolla Recreation Center; Life Time La Jolla replacing a magnolia tree destroyed by a car; and the mixed-use development at 801 Pearl Street planting jacarandas to replace original trees removed.
The nonprofit’s goals are to provide efficiency in beautification within a budget collaborated on with the city of San Diego’s Economic Development Department, assisting the city when budgets are strained, Earley said.
In 2026, Enhance La Jolla will continue to focus on improving the community as it grows, with leadership seeking San Diego County and state grants to address city shortfalls.
Enhance La Jolla plans to allocate funding towards repairing streetlamps, “which are essential for creating safe, welcoming environments that encourage shoppers and support local businesses,” Earley said, along with adding planters to Fay Avenue.
La Jolla Community Foundation
The group will also support La Jolla Community Foundation’s Streetscape project, which is planned to extend public plazas into the street along Girard Avenue and create mini-parks at each intersection, add decorative features to the intersections, enhance a mid-block crossing between Silverado and Wall streets and improve streetlights and add trees and benches throughout the area.
The Streetscape planners will enter a public bidding phase in early 2026, according to a Dec 12 update from LJCF Executive Director Lidia Rossner, a delay from the last estimate that had construction beginning in January.
Enhance La Jolla will assist during and after Streetscape construction, Early said, taking on maintenance of the new trees, plants and lighting.
Outside of the MAD, Enhance La Jolla will be installing four benches at the Rec Center’s bocce court and will continue working to keep La Jolla Parkway free of weeds; both projects are funded by private donations.
For more information, email manager@enhancelajolla.org.
