San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Bird Rock monument signs considered
When branding La Jolla’s Bird Rock community, it makes sense that designs would include birds and rocks.
To give the neighborhood a sense of “further identity,” the Bird Rock Community Council is considering a proposal to create monument signs on either end of La Jolla Boulevard in the form of sculptures of birds perched on a rock placed in the roundabouts.
La Jolla architect Trace Wilson presented his proposal during the board’s meeting Tuesday to glowing reviews. However, the Community Council did not vote, pending additional research into how the signage could be created so it follows provisions in the San Diego municipal code and does not impact line of sight for drivers and pedestrians.
Wilson said planning for the signs started a year and a half ago by members of the Vision Bird Rock working group to “create further identity” for the area. “There has been a lot of discussion of overhead signage and monument signage, and it dawned on me that, having been down on the rocks and seeing the birds that live along our coast, there was an idea we could explore,” he said.
The concept right now is a sculpture of natural rock with bronze birds — likely pelicans or cormorants — and lettering or a plate that reads “Bird Rock” or “Bird Rock, La Jolla.”
Pelicans often are featured in Bird Rock branding, such as on lamppost banners, and are the mascot for Bird Rock Elementary School. However, because cormorants also are common in the area, they are being considered as well.
“The idea is to have something not too serious but very elegant to show we are a laidback community but we are Bird Rock. We are a community of La Jolla,” Wilson said.
Given that the project is in the conceptual phase, he is gathering feedback, and there is no pricing or schedule available yet, he said.
BRCC President John Newsam said he “loved” the idea and the message of having a bird on a rock.
However, there are potential limitations on the size, location and what can be on the signage.
Maintenance Assessment District representative Barbara Dunbar said the plan should make sure the line of sight is open for cars and pedestrians.
Further, she advised that the municipal code might not allow neighborhood signage in the public right of way. While there are community-identifying signs in places such as University Heights and Solana Beach, those are communities and cities, not neighborhoods. She noted that La Jolla is a community within the city of San Diego and Bird Rock is a neighborhood within La Jolla.
MAD manager Matt Mangano said “there are qualifications of neighborhood, community, city that are actually bullet points in the municipal code . ... It is written in black and white. I don’t want the conversation to be that the MAD is in opposition, but we have certain constraints that are not opinion, they are code.”
The code also has provisions for size requirements and what the MAD would be liable for and would have to maintain. “There are layers to this,” Mangano said.
Steve Hadley, representing the office of City Council member Joe Lacava, whose district includes La Jolla, suggested that some municipal code issues could be bypassed by not including the words “Bird Rock.”
“I typically try to refrain in my enthusiasm on these projects … but all these communities have to put their name on a sign, otherwise you don’t know the name of the community,” he said.