The “Season’s Greetings” sign over Torrey Pines Road welcoming guests each year into La Jolla during the holidays may not go up again until next year.
The La Jolla Village Merchants Association, the community’s business improvement district, which has been the custodian of the Yuletide sign, opted not to hang it this year in favor of allocating that funding elsewhere.
“Holiday décor is allowed in conjunction with City of San Diego banner districts,” said LJVMA’s executive director Jodi Rudick. “After doing some research it was clarified that LJVMA can add décor within its banner district on light poles in the village. La Jolla Shores has a separate banner district allowing them to add holiday décor to poles in the Shores district.
“Historically, LJVMA has housed, maintained, and installed the Season’s Greetings sign for many years. This year, concerns were raised at a La Jolla Community Planning Association meeting about permitting signs on the bridge. Once concerns were raised, LJVMA decided it was best for La Jolla Shores Association to take over décor in its district.”
Subsequently, the La Jolla Shores Association board has unanimously backed rehanging the Season’s Greetings sign. Efforts to keep the sign aloft have also been bolstered by La Jolla Kiwanis Club, which has stepped in offering to sponsor putting up the sign using monies raised from its annual La Jolla Half Marathon fundraiser held this spring.
Unfortunately, due to the lateness of the date, city permitting, and other requirements, there may not be enough time to get the Season’s Greetings sign-up for this year.
La Jolla Kiwanis spokesperson Glen Rasmussen noted there are problems, other than funding and permitting, standing in the way of the sign being rehung this year. “The Village Merchants Association owns the sign that has been passed down to them,” he said adding “The sign does not have the permitting it needs. It has not been properly put up in a long time.”
When La Jolla Kiwanis heard LJVMA had opted to discontinue responsibility for the signage, Rasmussen said club members realized it was “a very special thing, so we decided to take it over.”
Part of the problem of rehanging the sign is technical, however, noted Rasmussen.
“It has a long extension cord,” he said adding the sign’s lighting is old and needs to be converted to more modern LED lighting that produces light up to 90% more efficiently than incandescent light bulbs. “We want to make sure it’s safe.”
Complicating matters, added Rasmussen, is that this sign, due to its location over a major thoroughfare leading into the community, has to be hung especially by a truck late at night to avoid interfering with traffic.
“We’re trying to find a path forward this year to hang the sign,” concluded Rasmussen. “But it would have to be done on the same basis as last year. We don’t have time to apply for new permitting.”
Rasmussen added funding to put the Season’s Greeting sign up again this year is not an issue. “We made more money, a half-million, than ever from our La Jolla Half Marathon this year,” he said.
