LAJOLLATODAY LA JOLLA’S LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2013
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER GROUP
ARO DIANA CAVAGN
The doggone holidays have arrived Christmas trees, yule logs, menorahs and holiday music are around every corner and in every store. Everywhere you turn — from the La Valencia’s Christmas tree, left, to Belmont Park’s menorah lighting, below — the season is in full force.
CHECK OUT OUR LA JOLLA CHRISTMAS PARADE PROGRAM PULLOUT to get the rundown on the yearly celebration (and turn to Page 10 for more doggy — and human — holiday fashions).
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne A Family Tradition of Real Estate Success
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LJTODAY.COM | VOLUME 18, NUMBER 37
BEAUTIFYING MADE POSSIBLE From left, Dan Allen, Tom Morgan, Phyllis Minick and Melinda Merryweather are shown at the Children’s Pool Walkway after Morgan donated $200,000 to the walk’s beautification project. DAVE SCHWAB
Christmas comes early for coastal beautification project By DAVE SCHWAB The hard part of beautifying Children’s Pool Walkway — finding the money for improvements — is done, as a good Samaritan has donated the lion’s share of funding to complete the project. Walkway project promoter Phyllis Minick had much to be thankful for the day before Thanksgiving when she called a Nov. 27 news conference to announce that La Jollan Tom Morgan has pledged $200,000 to make the project a reality. “I live in La Jolla, I walk the property a lot and I saw it wasn’t getting done and I wanted it to be completed so we can all enjoy it,” said Morgan, a retired commercial Realtor and banker. “He saw that something needed to be done, and he was appalled at the condition of the sidewalks in this Village, so he stepped forward and said he would like to help us do this,” said Melinda Merryweather, one of Morgan’s friends and neighbors and a walkway improvement supporter. “Two hundred thousand dollars is literally the rest of the money we need to complete the project.” Minick said a plaque inscribed with the names of Morgan and SEE WALKWAY >> PG. 3
DAVE SCHWAB
Beach access proponents get decision in their favor, but battle likely far from over A 30-plus-year battle over historic beach access at Princess Street in La Jolla Shores may finally be over. Or is it? “We’re studying all of our legal options and an appeal is one of those options,” said Ure Kretowicz, owner of a blufftop property at 7957 Princess St., following a Nov. 18 Superior Court judgment by Judge Judith F. Hayes in Kretowicz vs. California Coastal Commission. Hayes ruled against Kretowicz, who contended in his lawsuit against the state regulatory agency that historic beach access never existed — and therefore there was no requirement to restore it — on his Princess Street property. Excerpts from Judge Hayes’ decision: “… There was a historical use by the public of access to the ocean
through the subject property … the California Coastal Commission acted appropriately and the 1979 revised permit and its public-access condition are enforceable. … The public access condition runs with the land and the failure to record the dedication does not extinguish the public’s right to access. … In 1979, a revised permit was issued including the public easement requirements. Even though Jane Baker (the previous owner) did not sign the revised permit she was required to comply with its requirements.” Kretowicz said he is weighing his options following the judge’s decision. “The good news is we aren’t forced to make a decision immediately. We have a little bit of time to make that decision on which [legal] direction is the best for us to
It’s always been known that [beach access] goes with the land. MELINDA MERRYWEATHER PROPONENT OF PRINCESS STREET BEACH ACCESS
take,” he said. “An appeal would be one of those viable alternatives.” Kretowicz is steadfast in contending there “never was an easement recorded” on the Princess Street property as it changed hands over the years, adding “it (access) hadn’t been used in more than 30 years. If this was a high-use easement, wouldn’t there have been a public outcry 10, 15, 20 years ago?” Kretowicz said the issue of a
[The easement] hadn’t been used in more than 30 years. If this was a highuse easement, wouldn’t there have been a public outcry 10, 15, 20 years ago? URE KRETOWICZ HOMEOWNER AT PRINCESS STREET ACCESS POINT
beach-access easement never surfaced until 1979 when he “applied for a permit for a patio in my backyard.” “There never was an easement, it certainly hadn’t been used in over 30 years and the locked gate
By DAVE SCHWAB
there is for emergency lifeguard access only, which we’re more than happy to give,” he said. Princess Street beach-access proponents Melinda Merryweather and Anthony Ciani had a different story to tell. Ciani, an architect whose main residence is no longer in La Jolla, but who still owns property there, said the Superior Court decision speaks for itself. “To all your causes of action, the answer is no. That’s what the judge said,” said Ciani. Kretowicz’s strategy throughout the long and arduous legal battle, Ciani contended, has been to “postpone hearings, drag this out even longer. They (Kretowicz) tried every statute of limitations, every
SEE ACCESS >> PG. 20