La Jolla, renowned for its beaches and vibrant culture, is now pushing for something bigger: official cityhood. Local organizations such as Independent La Jolla, the Association for the City of La Jolla, and the Kiwanis Club have advocated for independence since the 1950s. With over 168,000 pledges on the Association’s website in 2025, many residents are rallying for more control over services while preserving the community’s culture and economy.

If La Jolla gained cityhood, there are plans for it to manage its own city services. La Jolla itself would manage core services such as a city manager, finance and administrative offices, and environmental programs. Essential services, on the other hand, including police, firefighters, lifeguards, and ambulances, would be contracted from outside providers. One of the benefits of La Jolla filing and gaining cityhood is that it would bring more focus on upgrading aging La Jolla infrastructure, prioritizing local projects, and providing La Jolla representation alongside other California cities. Sophomore Kayla Hanoch mentioned how she believes La Jolla would benefit from gaining cityhood, “If we were our own city, we could use our budget to focus on improving our local area.”

However, there are mixed views on whether cityhood would be the best financial decision for La Jolla. A new government could mean higher costs, new taxes, and concerns about service reliability. Alexander Allport, a Sophomore, says, “I’ve been listening to this problem for a while and from what I understand, if we designate ourselves to be our own city that would increase taxes, because we’d have to pay for our own fire and police department. Right now the City of San Diego is doing all that. However, I do see a few benefits, but I think that we should stay as a part of San Diego.” There are also students worrying about the impact on education. Sammi Brodsky, another sophomore who attends La Jolla High School but lives outside the community, said, “I’m not actually from La Jolla, and I’d like to stay in La Jolla High School, so I feel like if they separated, there would be issues with that. I’d probably have to be in a separate school.” But in the end, cityhood or not, the movement highlights a community that wants a say in shaping its own future.