The year-long local debate on a controversial, revised plan to build a 13-unit townhome building with about 1,100 square feet of ground-floor retail space on La Jolla Boulevard came to an unceremonious end Nov. 7 when the Bird Rock Community Council decided not to take a position on the proposal.
The project, Adelante Townhomes, is now slated for review by the San Diego Planning Commission.
“The objective of the BRCC was to provide information about the project to the community and to hear from the community about their concerns,” council President Joe Terry said. “I think that objective has been met. Therefore, going forward, the focus of the BRCC [as it pertains to this project] will be to provide updates and the status of the project.”
No board objected to not taking a position.
The proposal from developer Murfey Co. seeks to demolish an office building and construct the 13 townhouses (down from the original 14) and retail space at 5575 La Jolla Blvd., at Forward Street. The project would total 21,485 square feet and include a basement, covered parking and roof decks.
The townhouses are to be offered for sale, with one considered affordable for lower-income residents.
Because Adelante Townhomes includes the affordable unit, Murfey Co. requested a waiver to a requirement in the La Jolla Planned District Ordinance (a blueprint for development) that 50 percent of ground-floor space in new developments be reserved for retail in Zone 4, which includes La Jolla Boulevard.
The lack of ground-floor commercial offerings turned into an issue of contention since the project was first proposed last fall. In subsequent community hearings, opponents questioned whether waivers and incentives being used to by the retail requirement were being applied correctly.
In September this year, the applicant team announced it had revised the project to include the 1,100 square feet of ground-floor retail on the corner of La Jolla Boulevard and Forward, as well as to redesign the residential unit at that corner to be one story over the retail space. The company also designed an entrance to the retail space at sidewalk level that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Although there seemed to be general for what is being offered in of retail space … it would be counterproductive for the board to take a position on this issue,” Terry said.
Representatives of Murfey Co. were not immediately available for comment.
BRCC was introduced to the Adelante Townhomes plan in November 2022 but did not vote. In the months afterward, the proposal was heard and approved by other local planning groups.
The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee held two hearings on the project in December, with some speakers saying the Planned District Ordinance requirement for retail on the ground floor should be honored. Others argued that the number of vacant storefronts along La Jolla Boulevard indicates more retail is not needed.
The DPR voted to the development Dec. 20.
The La Jolla Planned District Ordinance Committee voted in January to the plan, though it determined it did not conform to the PDO because of the lack of ground-floor retail.
The La Jolla Community Planning Association board voted 9-2 in February to the development, but it took back the approval in March after hearing new objections from community that asked its subcommittees to review the project again.
Upon re-review March 13, the PDO Committee decided the project did not conform to the PDO, but it did not take a position of or opposition.
The issue then went back to the DPR Committee, but it was unable to reach a decision on March 21 and asked the applicant team to return. The DPR ultimately gave its April 11.
The Community Planning Association voted in favor of the proposal in May and submitted its findings to the city of San Diego.
After Murfey Co. revised the project to add the retail space, BRCC facilitated two lengthy meetings on it in September and October but did not vote.
Other BRCC news
Overlooks volunteers: Don Schmidt, a Bird Rock resident and member of the Coastal Overlooks Committee, said the group is seeking more volunteers.
“It’s been the same people doing the same work,” he said. “We really need volunteers. We meet every month or as needed … and we want to keep it going. There are people coming in from all over the world and visiting those overlooks. It’s a huge community asset.”
The committee formed five years ago and has made minor aesthetic changes to some of the overlooks, such as removing overgrown vegetation and improving the seating area at the Moss Lane overlook. It has been evaluating other spaces like Calumet Park for additional improvements.
For more information about volunteering, visit birdrockcc.org.
New lights: Terry noted that progress is being made on a three-part project to install new lights on street trees and bushes, on the medians along La Jolla Boulevard and on buildings. The intent, he said, is to make the Bird Rock commercial district “safer and more inviting.”
To carry it forward, the board is applying for San Diego County grants to help pay for the new lights.
“Oughta Be a Law”: The office of state Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas) announced that residents are invited to submit proposals for potential laws.
Under the “Oughta Be a Law” initiative, constituents of Boerner’s 77th District, which includes La Jolla, can submit their concerns as well as proposed laws that might address them at a77.asmdc.org/oughta-be-law.
“Some of the most impactful laws we’ve ed through the Legislature began as ideas from people like yourself who care about their community and want to take action to improve it,” Boerner said in a statement.
Next meeting: In place of its December meeting, the Bird Rock Community Council will have its annual holiday party at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at a venue to be determined. Learn more at birdrockcc.org. ◆
