Enhance La Jolla, dedicated to the maintenance and physical improvement of the Village of La Jolla through its maintenance assessment district, held its quarterly board meeting on July 18 at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla.

A nonprofit, ELJ is authorized through a contract with the City to make improvements in the public right-of-way, and may also implement privately contracted capital projects, in addition to the maintenance services are underwritten by property-owner fees.

To catch up with ELJ, La Jolla Village News held a Q&A with its district manager, Brian Earley, and its board president, Ed Witt.

LJVN: Could you summarize for us the experience you’ve had launching and establishing the maintenance district between October 2019 and the present day?

ELJ: Enhance La Jolla was established to manage the maintenance assessment district (MAD) by the La Jolla Community Foundation in 2016 but a lawsuit delayed its start until 2019. Since 2019, the services known as an “extra benefit” to the property owners within the designated district have been in operation every single day. These services are in addition to the City’s baseline service that is provided to all San Diego. We are authorized through a contract with the City to make improvements in the public right of way (PROW). It is the third largest MAD in the City and its ability to keep up with the demands of one of its most popular tourist destinations is always a priority.

LJVN: Did things go according to expectations? If not, what were the unexpected issues that arose?

ELJ: The conditions of the sidewalks created an unintentional hazard for Enhance La Jolla. We conducted a review of every sidewalk documented the potential trip and fall hazards and reported them to the City. Recently, the city absolved MADs from trip hazards, but it remains a challenge for all involved.

LJVN: Is summer a busier time than usual because of seasonal crowds? If so, how do you deal with the larger volume of work?

ELJ: La Jolla’s MAD sees millions of visitors and residents during the summer, so we increased our power washing of sidewalks from three to four days a week and also have two people on janitorial service during the weekends. Our janitorial service operates every day of the year even holidays picking up trash, dog poop, cleaning spills and otherwise keeping the district looking good.

LJVN: What exactly do your responsibilities involve?

ELJ: Witt leads the big picture for the organization seeing what is needed in the future of the MAD, our contracted vendor services, and working with the City’s Economic Development Department on its annual budget. All with the collaboration with Earley.

Earley manages the four primary vendors that carry out the services on behalf of the property owners who pay the assessment. Brian guides the landscape, janitorial, power washing, and graffiti abatement services working directly with those organizations who were awarded the service contracts. Brian also develops innovative partnerships with property owners, retail businesses, and other nonprofits by inviting them to donate to special projects that increase the beauty of downtown La Jolla. He also works directly with City departments, crucial for evaluating code compliance issues so that they are resolved quickly.

LJVN: Tell us about the contractors you employ to do the work.

ELJ: Nissho has two of the most impactful services, landscape, and janitorial. The company is based out of Vista and provides onsite landscape services like trimming trees and bushes from sidewalks and maintaining a quality look of established potted plants. They are credited with assembling the hanging baskets with Earley and are now caring for nearly 100 baskets a week that hang from streetlights throughout the commercial and retail streets. Urban Corps of San Diego provides the power washing service to sidewalks early in the morning for residential, and late at night for commercial areas. It makes a big difference as to how the PROW looks especially during the long summer with rain. Chris Cott, a professional airbrush painter, provides nonstop graffiti abatement. He removed stickers from public signs, taped advertisements on poles, and sprayed graffiti every week, all year long. At times, he can remove some 60 a week, and is one of the most appreciated services we provide.

LJVN: Looking ahead, what are ELJ’s plans for the rest of 2024 and 2025?

ELJ: We have completed an additional 30 hanging baskets on Girard Avenue and are in the middle of the Bench Renewal Project. Japhet Painting Co. was awarded the contract to restore the condition of the established memorial benches for 70 wood and 30 metal benches that have rarely seen an upgrade since they were first introduced to our sidewalks as far back as 25 years ago. We are also preparing for the Streetscape Plan by the Community Foundation and Enhance La Jolla. It is a four-phase, $15 million project to renovate Girard Avenue between Silverado and Prospect and the area known as “The Dip” at Prospect.

Along with the stormwater, sidewalk, crosswalk, landscaping and lighting work, the project includes conversion of northbound Prospect to a public pedestrian way between Girard and Herschel avenues and converting the southbound side of Prospect in that area to two-way traffic. Streetscape means the appearance or view of a street, and Phase 1 work is planned to include the addition of stormwater drainage channels, sidewalk and crosswalk paving, landscaping, improved lighting, and expanded pedestrian spaces on Girard Avenue between Prospect and Silverado streets. La Jolla Community Foundation is seeking an additional $3 million needed to complete Phase 1.

LJVN: What would you like the district to be doing in the future that you’re not doing now?

ELJ: The streetscape initiative will set the pace for urban development through community funding. It is the likely result of a MAD being established; we want the Village of La Jolla to be the best it can be. We are also interested in the repair of all streetlights, street sweeping, a larger police presence in the MAD and are dependent on the City to make this happen.

LJVN: What can residents and merchants do to help you do your job?

ELJ: If you walk your dog, please use our dog stations for bags and disposal. If you see some trash on our sidewalks, there is a trash can nearby. If it’s graffiti, take a picture and send it to [email protected]. All other broken or misplaced property of the City, no matter what it is, can be sent through the Get It Done app, downloadable to your cell phone. We are limited in what we can make better in the La Jolla MAD but are unlimited in our desire to make our MAD as good as it possibly can be.

ENHANCE LA JOLLA

ELJ is one of 64 maintenance assessment districts citywide. Its 13-member board guides the organization in carrying out its primary goal, which is to help create inviting and appealing public spaces. The La Jolla Community Foundation was established in 2008 to enhance the aesthetic character of the community through private investment and to create inviting public spaces. The La Jolla Community Foundation is ELJ’s fundraising arm. ELJ board meetings are held the first month of each quarter on the third Thursday at 4 p.m. For more information, visit enhancelajolla.org. To report issues needing attention within the La Jolla MAD, call 858-444-5892 or email [email protected].