After the city of San Diego issued recommendations on viewing sea lions at La Jolla Cove — reminiscent of earlier advisories that led to restrictions on human access to the Children’s Pool and Point La Jolla — some of La Jolla planning groups are aiming to ensure public access to the popular Cove and possibly remove the pinnipeds that go on land to rest there.
The hope, discussed at the July 9 meeting of the La Jolla Community Planning Association, is for the city to create a sea lion management plan.
Emily Lynch, representing the office of City Councilman Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, said city meetings are being held to discuss the use of La Jolla Cove by people and pinnipeds and that she would report back with additional information next month.
Citing recent incidents of people getting too close to sea lions — sometimes resulting in scary experiences caught on widely circulated videos — the city earlier this month urged Cove-goers to keep their distance from the pinnipeds.
The Cove’s beach and water remain open to the public with no restrictions — and the city says there are no immediate plans to change that. But with summer tourism season picking up, city park rangers are asking visitors to watch the sea lions from the landings above the beach rather than on the beach itself.
“Now that we’re moving into the summer months, it’s very common for swimmers and beach-goers to encounter sea lions,” Michael Ruiz, chief park ranger for the city Parks & Recreation Department, said July 3. “With that, it is very important that you realize the ocean is their home. We want to encourage and educate people in the importance of staying away from sea lions in the water or if they encounter a mother and her pup on the beach. Give them space.”
To watch the animals at a safe distance, Ruiz added, the city recommends that “if you are not swimming … stay up at the boardwalk. You could have hundreds of people up there … watching the sea lions all day long. That is what we want. That still allows divers, swimmers and all those going into the water to enjoy themselves as well.”
In light of those statements and the continuing use of the beach by sea lions, La Jolla Parks & Beaches board President Bob Evans said: “We have reached a critical stage at La Jolla Cove, and that is the current unmanaged sea lion takeover at the beach there. Parts of the beach are routinely … blocked and the west stairs and gate are often … imable. Essentially, much of the beach has become unusable for all-around recreational use.”
The Cove is “a worldwide destination for its environmental and ecological significance and for its enjoyment for recreational use,” Evans said. “But now that recreational use is threatened.
“This community can’t afford another beach closure.”
Ruiz said he believes “it is important to maintain La Jolla Cove as open” because it offers “a perfect balance between access … for divers, swimmers and surfers.”
LaCava has said repeatedly that though he ed the public closure of Point La Jolla, he would fight any attempt to shutter The Cove.
Robyn Davidoff and Carol Toye, leaders of the Sierra Club Seal Society, which was instrumental in attaining the earlier restrictions, said this month that they “management of the [Cove] area, but not closure.”
Evans asked that Parks & Beaches and the Community Planning Association work together to “demand the city take immediate action to manage The Cove beach and return the beach to people for recreational use.”
“The city needs to adopt any one of the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric istration]-approved strategies to manage and deter pinnipeds from the beach and move them to other surrounding areas,” he said.
The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 generally prohibits harassment, hunting, capturing or killing of marine mammals or any attempt to do so. However, the law does authorize “certain people under certain circumstances to deter marine mammals … so long as the methods used do not result in the death or serious injury of an animal.”
MMPA allows private citizens to deter pinnipeds from damaging private property or endangering personal safety, and it authorizes city, county, state and federal governments to deter marine mammals on a beach or other public property to prevent damage or protect the public from potential threats from the animals.
NOAA’s list of potential deterrence methods includes barriers, water sprinklers or sprayers, flashing lights and noisemakers.
Seonaid McArthur, chairwoman of the La Jolla Historical Society’s Landmark Committee, agreed with Evans, saying: “This is a beach that, when La Jolla was formed, was the central location for community life. … It was the scene for early La Jolla. … I think we want to have our coastline treasured. It’s been important for 100 years, so I hope we are able to continue to use that beach.”
LJA President Harry Bubbins said he would add the topic to a future agenda for full discussion and a vote.
“A lot of people are [talking about this] in the community,” Bubbins said. “It is a consistent issue, and people have also shared the concern that closures will spread.”
In 2014, the city — following years of complaints from animal advocates about harassment of harbor seals and their pups at the Children’s Pool — closed the beach there to the public from Dec. 15 to May 15 annually to keep humans and seals separated during pupping season. The permit for that closure runs until 2029.
Last fall, the city closed public access to Point La Jolla year-round after two partial closures in 2021-22 of the rocky area between La Jolla Cove and Boomer Beach. The year-round closure is scheduled to be in effect for seven years, after which the city will need to reapply for a coastal development permit to continue it.
The actions at Point La Jolla came after months of reports of people going onto the rocks and bothering — and in some cases harming — sea lions and their pups.
Attempts to manage or remove the sea lions at The Cove have been explored going back nearly 10 years.
In 2015, the city reserved more than $24,000 to contract with pinniped expert Doyle Hanan to “study and identify potential opportunities for changing the behavior or haul-out conditions of the sea lion colony now expanding along the La Jolla coastline.” At the same time, the La Jolla Town Council created a committee to meet with local leaders in hopes of finding a way to have the sea lions removed.
In January 2016, the Town Council’s Coastal Committee announced its proposal for dealing with the sea lions: Install stainless-steel cables across key access points on the lower portion of the bluffs next to La Jolla Cove (which the sea lions used to climb to upper levels) and string rotating plastic cylinders across the cables so the animals couldn’t climb to the larger, flatter area. The intent was to prevent the sea lions from gaining traction and thus make the area unappealing to them.
In June 2016, Hanan released what became known as the “Hanan Report.” It noted 10 locations where sea lions haul out, including the bluffs under Coast Boulevard and the La Jolla Cove beach, and cited problems that could come from people getting too close to the animals.
The study concluded in part that “continual harassment of California sea lions off haul-out areas may temporarily reduce California sea lion presence and may temporarily reduce their interactions in the La Jolla Cove area, but they are not likely to abandon the area.”
Following the report’s release, the Town Council held its second “Crisis at the Cove” forum to generate ideas for dispersing the sea lions. Suggestions ranged from using sprinklers and squirt guns to creating a task force.
However, in spring 2017, the San Diego city attorney’s office issued a memo indicating the city could not transfer its authority to remove or deter sea lions to a nonprofit organization such as the Town Council or La Jolla Parks & Beaches. Thus, none of the Town Council ideas proceeded.
Other LJA news
Candidates forum: Former LJA trustee Greg Jackson and current Town Council President Mary Soriano announced their interest in filling an available seat on the LJA board and spoke briefly at the July 9 meeting.
The seat was vacated midterm by Suzanne Baracchini after she disclosed her involvement in the newly formed La Jolla Community Planning Group, which this year unsuccessfully challenged LJA to be La Jolla’s officially recognized advisory group to the city on local land-use matters.
Jackson noted that he served on the LJA board and its Development Permit Review Committee and said La Jolla could be improved in various areas, including access and transparency, budgeting, voting procedures and technology.
“There are little things that can make a huge difference,” he said.
Soriano said she “has roots here” and has served or attended meetings to educate herself on issues pertaining to La Jolla and the greater San Diego area.
“A lot of the things I’ve done firsthand within this community has helped me [understand] … extensive projects,” Soriano said. “I really ire this group because you have to go through a lot of detail and … it’s not that easy. But I think this group does their best to understand the person who is applying and apply what is necessary [during project reviews].”
Ballots will be posted soon on the LJA website and can be ed and mailed or hand-delivered at the next meeting. The results will be announced that night.
Project reviews: After the applicants provided more information and updates on two projects up for full review at this week’s meeting — one for the Lower Hermosa area and one for La Jolla Shores — both got unanimous LJA .
The one in Lower Hermosa, at 5970-5990 Camino de la Costa, calls for coastal development and site development permits to remodel a house at 5970 and demolish a single-family residence at 5990 and build a new 2,046-square-foot guesthouse with a subterranean garage.
The one in La Jolla Shores would demolish a 2,877-square-foot single-family residence and build a new 7,804-square-foot house and 488-square-foot accessory dwelling unit at 2352 Calle del Oro.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Community Planning Association next meets at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, at a location to be determined. The agenda will be posted 72 hours in advance at lajollaa.org. ♦
