La Jolla permit review committee approves ‘extremely bizarre’ easement vacation request
The La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee has approved a “bizarre” service easement vacation request, despite the fact that it isn’t clear where the easement is located.
At its Dec. 20 meeting, PRC trustees voted to relinquish the public service right of way to a six-foot-wide easement in La Jolla. However, the committee was unsure of where exactly the easement was located, the La Jolla Light reported Thursday.
The only thing that was clear was that the service easement — which is an area of land set aside to maintain municipal services — was located somewhere across three lots in the area of 7687 Hillside Drive, according to vacation applicant representative Michael Pallamary.
Pallamary explained that easements in the area were only described in narratives about properties written in the early 1900s, and were never formally shown on a map.
“We have been working with city staff (to vacate the easements) … but because of the way the narrative is written, they don’t know where the easements are either, just that they’re there,” he said.
The one specific easement Pallamary focused on has reportedly been unused by public utilities or the city, and is currently part of an ongoing project to build a house.
“This project was approved a couple of years ago, and in that time, we had prepared a report but … the engineers that process this project overlooked the easement problem, which is incredibly bizarre,” he said.
PRC trustee Matt Edwards called the problem a “complicated legal issue,” and questioned why the city wasn’t taking initiative on the easement vacation.
A motion to support the service easement vacation passed 4-1-2, with Edwards objecting in lieu of written support from the city and San Diego Gas & Electric. Acting Chairwoman Emerson and trustee John Shannon abstained.
About the author: Mike Peterson is a freelance journalist and writer based in North San Diego County. He’s written and worked for a number of local media outlets, including the San Diego Union-Tribune, the North Coast Current, and the Oceanside Blade.
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