San Diego, CA
Enhance La Jolla looks to businesses to help increase Village cleanup efforts
As part of a broader mission to keep The Village clean, the board of Enhance La Jolla is calling on local businesses to pay more attention to the conditions of their storefronts.
Enhance La Jolla President Ed Witt expressed frustration during the board’s July 18 meeting with the ongoing presence of litter in the area.
The nonprofit manages the Maintenance Assessment District in The Village with authority to enhance services provided by the city of San Diego, including landscape maintenance, street and sidewalk cleaning, litter and graffiti abatement and additional trash collection. It also can privately fund and complete projects in public spaces, such as park and trash can upgrades, bench installation, sign augmentation, public art and tree canopies on main thoroughfares.
“Walking through the district, I sometimes get so frustrated because we work seven days a week and it’s not enough,” Witt said. “It’s so hard to keep up with trash and sidewalks and the way people treat public property. … [But] I think we have made a huge difference.”
Board member Andy Nelson said that when he and others walk the streets, “we are prepared to go into the merchants and ask them to make sure they keep the front of their retail spaces as clean as possible, and that [tends to] help a lot.”
He directed this message to merchants: “If you see some trash in front of your store, pick it up.”
Some board members acknowledged that not all businesses will comply.
“We talk to the merchants on a regular basis,” Witt said. “It’s interesting to see what they do or don’t do. Every day is an adventure.”
Two members of the La Jolla Village Merchants Association — board President Japhet Perez and treasurer Bill Podway — attended the Enhance La Jolla meeting and thanked the board for alerting them to the issue.
MAD Manager Brian Earley said he wants public trash cans to be emptied more often. Some cans, he said, have sensors that indicate how full they are, and they often are emptied when they are 80 percent full.
“We’re finding that 80 percent is a full trash can,” Earley said. He requested that the city empty cans when they are 60 percent full. He said he hadn’t received a response yet.
Witt said he also has been in contact with city representatives about street sweeping.
“I feel strongly that our streets are not being swept … like the city says they are,” Witt said, citing his own observations of sweeping trucks not doing a thorough job.
He said those who power-wash the streets for Enhance La Jolla are going to “start documenting when and where the street sweepers [work]. … Because we want our streets cleaned.”
Witt said unswept streets can be reported by emailing manager@enhancelajolla.org.
Other Enhance La Jolla news
Term limits: Given Enhance La Jolla’s involvement in long-term projects — such as the upcoming Village streetscape project with the La Jolla Community Foundation — the board voted to change its bylaws to allow members to serve up to three three-year terms instead of the current two three-year terms.
“In six years, you are just kind of getting your stride,” said board member Ann Dynes. “In this case, given the expertise of the people that formed this organization … there are people whose role is sufficiently integral to the mission, and this seems like a better way to proceed.”
Any board member who wants a third term would still need to run for reelection.
Phase 1 of the streetscape project is planned to include the addition of stormwater drainage channels, sidewalk and crosswalk paving, landscaping, improved lighting and expanded pedestrian spaces on Girard Avenue between Prospect and Silverado streets.
Donations are still being accepted, and construction on Girard between Prospect and Wall streets is set to begin in January and conclude in May.
Enhance La Jolla Day: The board presents an annual Enhance La Jolla Day in the spring to provide chances for the community to learn about the group’s efforts, engage in community service projects and more. But this year, the board is considering something new.
Enhance La Jolla member Barbara Bry said she is considering a La Jolla trivia contest in mid-October for the next Enhance La Jolla Day.
“We would invite anyone in the community to come and be randomly assigned to a team when they get there,” said Bry, a former San Diego City Council member who lives in La Jolla. “Part of the trivia could be questions about what different organizations do or the history of La Jolla. I want to make it fun for people.”
A committee is to be formed within 30 days to write questions and design the format of the event. Volunteers for the committee do not need to be on the Enhance La Jolla board.
Next meeting: Enhance La Jolla meets quarterly or as needed. The next scheduled meeting is at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. Learn more at enhancelajolla.org. ♦
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