La Jolla Community Planning Association in February approved conceptual plans for new restroom and shower facilities at the Cove and endorsed a scaled-back proposal for a single-family home remodel/addition in the Shores.
Several people — Ed Comartin, Dede Donovan, Janie Emerson, Jim Fitzgerald, Sary Frymann, Steve Haskins, David Little, Michael Morton and Glen Rasmussen — have tossed their hats into the ring vying for open seats in the advisory group’s annual trustee election to fill seven open positions on Thursday, March 5.
In his president’s report, Joe LaCava also noted an appeal hearing at the city Planning Commission on the controversial Whale Watch Way mansion project, which the association denied because of its large size, will likely be postponed until April.
Taal Safdie, of Safdie Rabines Architects, clued the association in on preliminary design plans for the La Jolla Cove Pavilion, a long-term project to replace outdated and deteriorating restroom-shower facilities with an attractive sustainable pavilion honoring the beauty of the Cove and Scripps Park. To date, $30,000 has been contributed by La Jolla’s Cove Swim, Kiwanis, Bridge, Rotary and Sunrise Rotary clubs for pavilion design, which, according to the pavilion’s Facebook page, the city of San Diego has agreed to fund in 2016.
“The project was given to us, and we came up with a (design) scheme and also a general development plan, and what we really want is for Scripps Park to have a nice view corridor as much as possible to the Cove,” said Safdie noting the pavilion plan is “quite linear.”
Safdie said revised Pavilion plans include a combination of sex-specific, unisex and family bathrooms with sinks, showers and storage areas on the outside of the building.
From the audience, diver and La Jolla Parks and Beaches, Inc. member Bill Robbins lauded the contributions of generous service clubs and individuals, noting, “Local donations allowed us to get this far without (using) any city money.”
Association trustee Phil Merten said he thought the number of suggested toilets was too high, suggesting that cutting a little could allow the pavilion to be redesigned further to “open up views from the park to the Cove.”
Merten’s suggestion was incorporated into a motion to give conceptual approval to preliminary pavilion design, which passed by a 12-1-1 group vote.
Architects for the Fentisova residence at 8374 Paseo del Ocaso in La Jolla Shores presented a significantly downscaled plan to remodel and add a second-story addition to the existing one-story, single-family residence. The project had previously been voted down in subcommittee on a 4-1-1 vote due to the project’s bulk and scale, which planners felt was too great and out of character with the surrounding neighborhood. But LJCPA planners were impressed by new design changes from the architects and voted overwhelmingly in favor of their revamped design.