October 2024 Princess Street Update
An update on our efforts to open a coastal access trail at Princess St.
Currently we are going through the Discretionary Permit process. We have done our initial presentation to the La Jolla Community Planning Group Development Plan Review Committee. As a result of that presentation, we wanted to share with you some of the questions and our answers that were offered at the meeting.
We present here a timeline of how we arrived at accepting the Offer To Dedicate to complete the trail.
Princess Street History of Access – Timeline (1)
The Princess Street team is currently working on the discretionary permit with the City of San Diego The design process started by looking at how locals have used this piece of coast in the past.
Going back to the 70’s in photo 1 and 2 and then how high tide will impact the area as seen in photo 3. The photos 6, 7, and 8 are examples of stairs and what the Princess Street Trail could look like leading to the beach. Due to the rugged Terrain in photos 4 and 5, coming up with appropriate stairs will take creativity and a little patience.
This is where the Princess Street team started, by looking into past photos of the area to see how people might have used the area before. A few surfers looking at the waves at the base of the bluff, the dashed line is a faint vertical path.
A 1978 photo of surfers on the blufftop (where the Baker addition was built).
This photo shows the high tide of Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve, notice how the water is touching the cliffs, this is why it is necessary to allow for the water to pass through the stairs, or ladder as we do not want to block the natural flow of the water.
Both photos 4 and 5 show the bottom of the trail head, and how difficult it is to have a solution that is both environmentally friendly and accessible to the greatest number of people.
Another angle of the bottom portion of the trail
An example of a stair and ladder configuration.
Stair configuration at Garbage at Sunset Cliffs.
Once the City has issued the Discretionary Permit we will then go to the CA Coastal Commission for a Coastal Development Permit (CDP).
ECOSD will gladly consider feedback while in the design process as we want to be able to create a space for the public to access the beach while not having an impact on the environment. The goal of this space in its final design stage is to guarantee the design does not act as shoreline protection. This is why an open ladder or open stairway is in mind for the planning since water can pass through freely.
We welcome your input and will let you know when we get to the CDP phase.