Updating the Planned District Ordinance and Managing Change in La Jolla

by Councilman Scott Peters
November 2005

Planning and development in La Jolla's business districts are regulated by our Planned District Ordinance ("PDO"). The PDO is a set of specially tailored zoning rules and regulations specific to La Jolla that supplement the Citywide Land Development Code.

The larger La Jolla Community has been working for several years to make updates and revisions to the PDO. The process began when I was a community volunteer in the late 1990s because portions of the PDO were outdated, and people felt that the PDO could go further in protecting the character of the Village. These proposed amendments are finally ready for review by the City staff and ultimately review and adoption by the City Council.

In the meantime, the joint efforts of the community and the City to regenerate Bird Rock have increased participation and awareness in that neighborhood, and Bird Rock has become more civically engaged. Bird Rock has devised a comprehensive traffic-calming plan, and formed a Maintenance Assessment District to improve the thoroughfare and safety of pedestrians along La Jolla Blvd. Bird Rock has also become aware of its PDO and had asked for more time to consider the effect of the PDO on the business district on La Jolla Boulevard. The Bird Rock Community Council has begun to hold workshops with the community to discuss and debate changes, if any, to their area of the PDO.

There are two significant issues. The first has to do with the current requirement that applies both a 30-foot height limit and a two-story limit to buildings on the Boulevard. There is no desire to change the 30-foot limit, but some owners would like to have the flexibility to build three stories within the existing 30-foot restriction.

Although many residents fear this might allow large dense developments in Bird Rock, this is unlikely because of the unavailability of large lots of land. Nevertheless, the community will rightly ask what benefit it gains by approving the change from two to three stories. One approach could be to keep the two-story limit in place, except where the economics of a third story could support a particular community benefit. These might include a particularly desired land use, such as a specialty food market, or other benefits, such as provision of extra parking or financial support for public plazas or open spaces. In addition, the PDO should contain design provisions or a limit on the floor area ratio of the third story to prevent box-like structures that are not aesthetically pleasing.

The second controversial suggestion is to relax the minimum requirements for retail on the Boulevard. The PDO currently requires that at least 50% of the first floor of any building be for retail uses. I believe that the community should be reluctant to relax this requirement, which makes for a more active street after offices close. Again, the question for the community is under what circumstances the change would be good for the community. Potentially, the community could determine that a medical office building would be a useful non-retail amenity for the community and could advise that the retail requirement be waived in specific instances.

Also identified as possible areas of change are the regulations regarding sidewalk cafes, landscaping and setback requirements. I look forward to these discussions.

Ideally, we would set forth the changes that have already been processed through the community and come back next year for the changes to the PDO in Bird Rock. Unfortunately, however, the City of San Diego is not updating any other PDOs due to a lack of resources. Therefore, we cannot amend the PDO in two separate phases. We expect Bird Rock to have any changes to the PDO ready for review and the entire update completed in the first quarter of next year. Please contact me if you have suggestions for the PDO.