VILLAGE NEWS LA JOLLA
LA JOLLA’S PREFERRED SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2011
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne A Family Tradition of Real Estate Success
858-775-2014
DRE#01197544 DRE#01071814
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 16, Number 1
Winging it La Valencia
finds a
This image taken in 1910 shows Windemere Cottage in its original location on Prospect Street before it was relocated to Virginia Way.
unique La Jollans say rare solution cottage represents
Photo courtesy of the La Jolla Historical Society
to a
pesky problem Pearl, a six-year-old Harris's hawk, flies about the La Valencia Hotel grounds to deter seagulls from roosting on the property. She doesn't attack the gulls, but her natural predatory nature is intimidating to the gulls. Below, Larry Cosgrove of Airstrike Bird Control hangs out on the roof of the hotel with Peepers, a four-month-old Eurasian eagle owl that chases off seagulls simply by his presence. Photos by DON BALCH | Village News
BY MARIKO LAMB | VILLAGE NEWS a Valencia Hotel is certainly blessed with its oceanfront location overlooking La Jolla Cove. The hotel takes advantage of its sweeping coastal vistas with dining establishments, like the award-winning Sky Room and Whaling Bar & Grill restaurants, the Mediterranean Room’s casual dining patio and its outdoor conference, catering and wedding facilities. One downfall to its location, however, is the presence of some unwanted seaside visitors that are out to swoop up free meals
L
from patrons at the hotel’s outdoor restaurants: seagulls. Justin Wilson, the hotel’s director of food and beverage services, said the birds have pestered guests at the hotel’s restaurants on several occasions. In one instance, a guest was dining alone and was served one of the restaurants’ large pork chop entrees. “The gentleman was thrilled when he was presented with the dish and took the time to tuck his napkin into the neck of his shirt and prepare to enjoy his entrée. Just as his fork and knife were in his hand, a seag-
ull plopped down onto his table and snatched away his pork chop,” he said. “It was a sizeable chop too. We were surprised the seagull was able to carry it.” The gentleman opted to dine in his room where another pork chop was rushed up, free of lurking poachers. “We had another instance where a guest was given her breakfast and screamed quite loudly when a seagull’s wing hit her face as the seagull dive-bombed into her chef ’s omelet,” he said. “She was quite startled.” Wilson said the hotel has attempted to get rid of the birds using various methods, including installing a bird wire atop the roof, but the birds “figured it out.” After some brainstorming, management figured out a unique solution to rid the persistent thieves without the use of chemicals, noisemakers or violent methods. The management enlisted the help of falconer Larry Cosgrove from Airstrike Bird Control, who comes to the hotel three days each week and uses predatory birds to scare off seagulls. The birds — Peepers the owl and Pearl the hawk — are highly trained not to attack guests, steal food or harm any nearby SEE BIRDS, Page 5
community legacy BY MARIKO LAMB | VILLAGE NEWS Despite three attempted motions by Historical Resources Board (HRB) members to designate a property at 1328 Virginia Way as historic, none of the motions passed. Two of the motions resulted in a 4-3 vote and another resulted in a 5-2 vote. Although all of the motions resulted in majority votes in favor of designation, HRB rules require an affirmative vote by at least six board members for a historical designation to be granted. The property, dubbed the Windemere Cottage by generations of La Jollans, is a two-story single-family beach cottage-style bungalow built in 1895 by the firm of Falkenham and Gill. In 1927, the cottage was relocated from its original location on 844 Prospect St. to its current location on Virginia Way. The HRB staff and the applicants’ representative Scott Moomjian recommended that the HRB not designate the property as a historical site due to a lack of historical value. “Over the years, the property was substantially modified and altered to the extent that the property does not posses any of its original integrity,” he said, emphasizing that the cottage’s relocation further tainted much of its integrity. “In our calculations, approximately 92 percent of the building’s exterior has been modified.” John Bolthouse, executive director of La Jolla Historical Society, spoke on behalf of all 21 board members from the society who voted unanimously to support the designation of the La Jolla cottage. “There’s something to be said about saving structures like this that have character,” he said. “This one certainly is quirky and has been changed over time, but we believe very strongly that it has not been changed significantly that would argue against its designation.” SEE COTTAGE, Page 4
The La Jolla Art and Wine Festival brings the best of two worlds to the Jewel, Page 17