Though two of four recent proposals for cell towers in La Jolla have been rescinded and one has stalled, one proposal remains active as a group of parents continues to mobilize opposition to it.
Kerri DeNies, a parent at Torrey Pines Elementary School, recently formed what she describes as a task force to spread word about Dish Network’s plan to encase wireless communications antennas in two 30-foot foul poles on the lower baseball field at Cliffridge Park near the school.
DeNies’ effort is ed by the Save the La Jolla Bike Path Coalition, which successfully fought a proposal by AT&T to install a 30-foot cell tower and other antennas along the bike path. AT&T withdrew the plan last month without comment.
Last year, a proposal to place Dish Network antennas inside the bell tower of La Jolla Presbyterian Church was dropped following community opposition. Another proposal for a Dish Network rooftop facility near Stella Maris Academy drew protests from parents and students and is in limbo.
DeNies spoke about the Cliffridge Park plan during the La Jolla Town Council’s March 13 meeting and encouraged more people to the opposition.
The La Jolla Shores Association voted 11-0 in November to oppose the plan, which Maverick Becker, a consultant for the project, said earlier is part of a 5G wireless network that Dish is trying to establish for “more affordable wireless services and fast connectivity for businesses, students and households.”
Community concerns are largely grounded in the project’s close proximity to children and the oft-debated health impacts of electromagnetic radiation from cell facilities. The park, at 8311 Cliffridge Ave., neighbors Torrey Pines Elementary, the Dan McKinney Family YMCA and Torrey Pines Church. Opponents also point to worries about aesthetics and potential fire hazards.
DeNies, who also spoke at a Feb. 13 town hall meeting organized by the Town Council and the Save the La Jolla Bike Path Coalition, announced that she and volunteers — including her son, Gregory, and father, Greg — have distributed fliers to about 300 houses and gathered hundreds of signatures on virtual petitions.
The next step in spreading the word, she said, is a series of community meetings.
The first two will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 24, and 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at the YMCA, 8355 Cliffridge Ave.
A third meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, April 11, at the baseball field.
DeNies said she hopes the efforts will result in “a more appropriate location” for the cell towers.
The project is in the review process with the San Diego Development Services Department. A city representative said the application is not considered complete and the city is awaiting resubmittal.
The city places project proposals in one of five categories called processes. Processes 1-3 require less time and money than Processes 4 and 5.
The Cliffridge proposal is a Process 4 application, meaning it must go to a hearing by the San Diego Planning Commission. No hearing date has been set.
Budget analyst breaks down city’s financial woes
This week’s Town Council meeting also addressed the city of San Diego’s projected budget deficit of $258 million for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The Town Council invited Charles Modica, the city’s independent budget analyst, to shed light on the financial outlook. He was ed by fiscal and policy analyst Noah Fleishman and associate analyst Sergio Alcalde.
The independent budget analyst’s office is intended to provide “clear, objective, unbiased” analysis to city officials once the mayor proposes a budget, which this year is expected Tuesday, April 15.
The city’s final budget is due is mid-June. Some cuts and revenue-raising efforts have been enacted already, including increasing fees for recreation and rentals of San Diego-owned facilities and doubling parking meter rates for “a vast majority” of spaces.
This summer’s expected implementation of fees for trash pickups at single-family homes — allowed by the voter-approved Measure B in 2022 — “could relieve the city’s general fund of the roughly $78 million it is currently spending today on trash pickup,” Modica said.
Measure C, a San Diego hotel tax increase, could further tighten the budget gap. The measure has been caught up in litigation since it ed in 2020, but Modica said it looks like the issue will be resolved soon.
A combination of inflation, structurally unbalanced budgets and expirations of one-time funding sources caused the gap between city revenue and expenditures, city officials have said. Over the next five years, the general fund deficit is projected at more than $1 billion.
Even with revenue mitigation and incremental changes, the IBA believes budget cuts are necessary because of the impacts of inflation, voters’ rejection in November of a proposed city sales tax hike and increases to the city’s pension payments.
Cuts over the next five years will be “significant” and “painful,” Modica said. His office projects that cuts of roughly $100 million from current city services will be necessary in the next fiscal year.
To find out more about the IBA, visit sandiego.gov/iba.
Next meeting
The La Jolla Town Council next meets at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at the La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St. Learn more at lajollatowncouncil.org. ♦
