THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 15, Number 6
Medical pot task force all the buzz
Shores to make moves to control development BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS
The blueprint that governs development in La Jolla Shores, called the Planned District Ordinance (PDO), is too subjective and needs to be updated to clearly define development constraints, agreed 30 La Jolla Shores residents, architects, real estate agents, developers and community leaders at an Oct. 7 meeting. How far should a house sit from the property line? How can residents ensure that the house built next door is not a monstrosity that covers most of the lot and leaves little room for landscaping and open space? “I’ve seen massive development recently where a three-story home is built straight up and down, with two floors looking down on a ranch-style house,” said Phil Merten, architect and La Jolla Community Planning Association trustee. Residents worry that larger buildings are setting a precedent for even larger development. The PDO does not numerically specify the bulk and scale of development, but it states that homes cannot be built with more units per acre than the average of the homes
BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS
SEE SHORES, Page 3
A SPLASHY PERFORMANCE
Community calls for cash to deck halls
A boy falls off the surf-riding machine (above) during the Oct. 11 Splash Bash at the Coggan Family Aquatic Complex at La Jolla High School. For a $5 admission price, swimming and delicious food were available. Funds raised will go to VILLAGE NEWS | PAUL HANSEN the pool’s maintenance.
$7,000 needed for holiday banners, stars and garlands BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS
La Jolla will decorate its streets with bright stars, tinsel garlands and banners to express good cheer for the holiday season as usual, but Promote La Jolla — the village’s business improvement district (BID) — is not spearheading the effort this time. Instead, local merchants, residents and activists have stepped up to raise $7,000 to decorate the village since the city began questioning Promote La Jolla’s finances last July. At that time, City
Council declined to approve its BID contract with Promote La Jolla, and business owners have not been paying into the BID ever since. The city auditor’s report indicated the group had overbilled the city, as well as defaulted on a loan on a separate foundation the group had set up. All of this has led to a penniless Promote La Jolla with no funds to spruce its streets with holiday cheer. Promote La Jolla Board President Rick Wildman, who arrived last January and
Surf Report SATURDAY
Hi: 9:05 a.m. 9:50 p.m. Low: 2:51 a.m. 3:41 p.m. Size: 3-4 ft. Wind: 6-12 knots
SUNDAY
Hi: 9:35 a.m. 10:34 p.m. Low: 3:23 a.m. —:— Size: 4-5 ft. Wind: 9-16 knots
SEE CASH, Page 5
Medical marijuana has come under fire in San Diego as law enforcement and patients clash over how to regulate the drug. Clearing the smoke to get a look at the issue is the new 11-member Medical Marijuana Task Force appointed by San Diego City Council. In 2003, the state attorney general issued an 11-page document to provide guidelines for medical marijuana collectives, which noted federal laws, addressed the location of collectives, defined physician requirements and provided vague guidelines for the running of collectives. In 2006, Los Angeles County amended its municipal code to help regulate the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries. Last May, Oceanside placed an emergency moratorium on medical marijuana storefronts. The Medical Marijuana Task Force’s first order of business is to provide land use and zoning recommendations for the collectives by January 2010. At its first meeting on Oct. 9, the task force reviewed ordinances enacted by other cities. Task force member Steven Whitburn believes there is a lack of clarity in the attorney general’s guidelines. Whitburn, 45, is vice-chair of the North Park Planning Committee, and a North Park resident. “I think that it falls upon the cities to try to develop guidelines that work for medical marijuana users, for law enforcement and that work for neighborhoods,” Whitburn said. SEE POT, Page 3
Son pleads not guilty in father’s slaying BY NEAL PUTNAM | VILLAGE NEWS
A prosecutor said a 24-year-old man killed his father in his bed with a 12-pound dumbbell at his parents’ home in University City at the La Jolla Crossroads apartment complex on Oct. 7.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Miss Ellen’s day
City Council will consider increase in parking meter rates and extended hours. 5
Guest commentary praises achievements of La Jolla’s Ellen Browning Scripps. 6
Wearing jail blue clothing, Nikola Chivatchev pleaded not guilty to the murder of his father, Alexander Chivatchev, 64, at his Oct. 9 arraignment in San Diego Superior Court. Judge David Szumowski set bail at $1 million. Deputy District Attorney Mike
McCann said the father was killed in his bed after being struck several times in the head with a weight device around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 7. His mother was also in the apartment but apparently not injured. McCann told SEE SLAYING, Page 4
Fall flowers The graceful Japanese anemone makes a colorful appearance as the weather changes to autumn. 13