Updates: La Jolla cityhood effort still in research phase
Meanwhile, backers of a ‘Welcome to La Jolla’ sign say they’ve met their fundraising goal.
Work is still being done behind the scenes to research whether making La Jolla its own city is viable.
The effort, led by the Association for the City of La Jolla, is gathering information from the broader community in the city of San Diego to get an idea of public sentiment on the subject, according to the association.
The exploration of cityhood has been underway since fall 2021. As a first step, the group raised $60,000 through donations for a preliminary fiscal analysis by Richard Berkson of urban economics company Berkson Associates to determine whether it is financially feasible for La Jolla to detach from San Diego.
A draft of the study was produced last fall, when the association said the results looked promising. The group plans a public release sometime this year.
The fiscal analysis is intended to help the association determine whether to pursue the next steps to incorporation, which are:
- A formal proposal submitted to the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, which helps communities considering incorporation
- A petition supporting incorporation signed by at least 25 percent of La Jolla registered voters
- LAFCO approval of the initiative
- Public voting showing that both a majority of La Jollans and the rest of San Diego approve of La Jolla’s secession
La Jolla sign meets fundraising goal
The team behind a planned “Welcome to La Jolla” sign says it has raised all the money needed to bring the project to fruition — nearly $95,000.
Now the proposal is being circulated through appropriate San Diego city departments. Final renderings were not immediately made available to the La Jolla Light.
The plan, shepherded by the Rotary Club of La Jolla, is to make and install a vegetated sign that reads “Welcome to La Jolla” on the median at the intersection of Torrey Pines Road and La Jolla Shores Drive.
Rotarian Cindy Goodman said “we have enough [money] to cover what we need. ... We’re not going to do anything more until the permits are in and done, but right now the permits and the sign itself are covered.”
There has been talk of creating an endowment fund to cover future maintenance and repairs, but such a plan has not been finalized. ◆
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