San Diego to Pay $116K for Legal Fees in La Jolla Cityhood Battle

The payment is related to the city's unsuccessful lawsuit challenging the Local Agency Formation Commission's actions during the cityhood process.

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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The San Diego City Council has unanimously agreed to pay $116,000 in legal fees associated with its unsuccessful lawsuit challenging the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission's actions during the process of La Jolla potentially detaching from the city and becoming its own municipality. The lawsuit sought to stop the cityhood process, but a judge dismissed the city's case, allowing LAFCO to move forward with the next steps.

Why it matters

The dispute over La Jolla's potential cityhood has been an ongoing battle between the city of San Diego and the Association for the City of La Jolla (ACLJ), which is leading the effort. This payment of legal fees represents a setback for San Diego in its attempts to block the cityhood process, which could have significant financial and political implications for the city if La Jolla were to successfully detach.

The details

The city council voted to authorize the payment from its Public Liability Fund to cover attorney fees and other costs related to its unsuccessful lawsuit. The lawsuit challenged LAFCO's actions during the verification of petition signatures, which ultimately reversed the San Diego County registrar of voters' initial determination that ACLJ's petition drive had failed to gather enough valid signatures. The city argued the cityhood process would impose 'substantial irreparable harm' due to the costs and staff time required, but the court dismissed the city's case, allowing LAFCO to move forward.

  • In June, the city filed the lawsuit against LAFCO and its executive officer.
  • In October, a Superior Court judge dismissed the city's lawsuit.
  • The city had the option to appeal the ruling but decided not to.
  • In January 2026, ACLJ and LAFCO released a request for proposals to find a consultant to complete a comprehensive fiscal analysis.
  • The deadline for candidates to respond to the RFP is Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

The players

San Diego City Council

The governing body of the city of San Diego that unanimously voted to pay the $116,000 in legal fees related to the unsuccessful lawsuit against the cityhood process.

Association for the City of La Jolla (ACLJ)

The organization leading the effort to have La Jolla detach from San Diego and become its own city.

San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO)

The commission that oversees the process of incorporating new cities and special districts in San Diego County, and whose actions during the La Jolla cityhood process were challenged by the city of San Diego.

Keene Simonds

The executive officer of the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission.

Judy Bae

The Superior Court judge who dismissed the city of San Diego's lawsuit against LAFCO and its executive officer.

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What they’re saying

“We have a selection team composed of representatives from LAFCO, the city of San Diego, the [San Diego Regional] Chamber of Commerce, [applicable] San Diego city unions and us that will review the proposals and select a contractor that we hope to engage by April 1.”

— Diane Kane, President, Association for the City of La Jolla (San Diego Union-Tribune)

What’s next

The next steps in the process include selecting a consultant to complete a comprehensive fiscal analysis of the potential La Jolla cityhood, with a deadline of March 10, 2026 for candidates to respond to the request for proposals. The selection team, composed of representatives from LAFCO, the city of San Diego, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and applicable San Diego city unions, as well as the ACLJ, aims to engage the consultant by April 1, 2026.

The takeaway

The payment of $116,000 in legal fees represents a setback for the city of San Diego in its efforts to block the La Jolla cityhood process, which has been an ongoing battle between the city and the Association for the City of La Jolla. The dismissal of the city's lawsuit allows LAFCO to move forward with the next steps, including a comprehensive fiscal analysis, bringing La Jolla one step closer to potentially becoming its own municipality and separating from San Diego.