Friends of the Children's Pool | "A public resource for facts surrounding the La Jolla Children's Pool."

"A public resource for facts surrounding the La Jolla Children's Pool."

Support the Lifeguard Plan!

The Lifeguard Plan is the only plan which solves the mess at the Children's Pool.  The Lifeguard Plan protects the seals and preserves access for humans.  How come it continues to be ignored?  In 2012 the Lifeguard Union prepared and presented a plan for the Children's Pool which involved a full-time enforceable closure of portions of the Children's Pool as well as providing safe human access to the ocean.  This plan received significant media attention and was based on many years of experience and observation of the City's Lifeguards.  At the time, this plan was presented to several community organizations in La Jolla.  This includes the La Jolla Parks and Beaches Committee and the La Jolla Community Planning Association.  All of the communities which represent the La Jolla community embraced this plan and expressed overwhelming support!  The Lifeguard Plan was seen as an extremely rational way of both protecting the seal colony as well as human access at the Children's Pool.  The plan intrigued both the Coastal Commission and the City's Planning Commission.  In-fact, the lifeguard plan was mentioned as an alternative that seemed preferable to the rope barrier which was studied and twice rejected by the City's Planning Commission.  Beach access proponents have also embraced this plan as a preferable alternative to the controversial rope and outright closure of the public beach.  However, despite the support of the La Jolla community, Lifeguards, Coastal Commission and Planning Commission, the Lifeguard Plan has never been studied or embraced by the bureaucrats in City government.

The Natural Resources and Culture Committee took action in 2010 regarding a plan for the Children's Pool.  At the time, the Committee recommended that the Mayor seek permits for a year-round rope and an outright closure of the public beach in the winter.  This action has generated no less than six lawsuits to-date and has cost the City several hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees and staff time.  A few of the lawsuits are still ongoing and will continue to cost the City money.  The Planning Commission has twice rejected the permits for a year-round rope arguing that such a rope does not comply with the law.  The current beach closure could only be implemented with an emergency declaration and permit which expires on May 15, 2013.  Since 2010, the seals have spilled onto surrounding beaches, the smell from seal feces and birds on the cliffs have become an issue of national attention and the adjacent beach (south Casa) had a health advisory in 2012 for the first time ever.  Quite simply, the problem of a seal colony in an urban area has spread and continues to be extremely controversial and costly for the City.

The Natural Resources and Culture Committee now has an opportunity to solve the problem.  The Lifeguards have proposed a plan which has gained widespread support from the Community, Planning Commission, Coastal Commission, beach users and pro-access advocates.  This same plan provides a level of protection for the seals year-round which they do not have today and would not have even if the partial-year beach closure and year-round rope were fully implemented.  This plan also has the potential to significantly reduce the pollution caused by an urban seal colony.  The Lifeguard Plan has the potential to solve the conflict.  The plan also complies with the City's responsibility to protect wildlife and to provide human access to public beaches.

Therefore, I would like to request that the Natural Resources and Culture Committee consider and recommend the Lifeguard Plan for evaluation as an alternative to the currently proposed year-round rope and beach closure.  This plan is the best chance to stop the conflict and save the City many hundreds of thousands in lawsuits, police calls, and burden to the Lifeguards and Ranger stationed at the Children's Pool.  With your leadership, we can finally solve the problems at the Children's Pool!

Please visit http://www.lifeguardplan.com for information.

Thank you,

"A public resource for facts surrounding the La Jolla Children's Pool."

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