Take down the Tourmaline tarp. It’s become a rallying cry on social media and in the neighborhoods of North Pacific Beach and Bird Rock.

According to a recent Instagram post, some residents are protesting the continued existence of an ugly, tattered leftover black tarp and concrete pouring on a short-term rental with a pool on the bluffs at 417 Sea Ridge Drive.

“Since 2016 there was unpermitted work on the bluffs, which you can see is a very regulated sensitive area,” said Harry Bubbins, a surfer and current president of City advisory group La Jolla Community Planning Association.

During a recent visit to the tarp site, Bubbins noted the black tarp “serves no functional purpose. It’s covering up unpermitted slurry concrete infill, and there was a partial collapse of the bluffs in 2016. So there’s been an open code violation for unpermitted work since then.”

Added Bubbins, “The beauty of our California coast is the exquisite views, clean water, and what’s good for the environment. This (tarp) has been a blight on the neighborhood for years. This is where everyone comes, and surfs, and sees this. We’re very glad that there is some action to be taken to address this.”

City hearing officer Duke Fernandez heard testimony from members of the public and an attorney representing the Sea Ridge Drive applicant during a July 26 meeting. Residents asked for the tarp’s removal as well as other measures to rectify the building of an unpermitted sand-and-concrete wall built in an attempt to stabilize the bluff. The tarp was an add-on to cover the infill, which a year later drew a notice of violation from the City.

At the July 26 hearing, the applicant’s attorney Matthew Khalil said the tarp has yet to be removed by the homeowner because the project is the subject of a code enforcement case, thus precluding making any adjustments or alterations to it. Khalil told hearing officer Fernandez the applicant would take down the black tarp as soon as his permit is approved.

“Fernandez was very clear that the applicant has to rectify everything that they did there that was unpermitted and not environmentally sensitive: That the tarp should come down, and the tarp can come down,” said Bubbins adding, “People are always wondering what’s going on there? It’s an eyesore, a blight, and it’s unpermitted work that could be dangerous for the condition of the bluffs in the long term.”