can use the beach and to what extent. Currently the City is pursuing a shared-use policy with educational signs, interpretive docents, and law enforcement by park rangers, lifeguards, and policemen to ensure respect for the wildlife while permitting full use of the beaches. History of controversy Earliest references to the sea lions hauling out in the Cove, or temporarily leaving the water to rest in significant numbers, are from 2013. At that time La Jolla business owners organized into the nonprofit Citizens for Odor Nuisance Abatement in order to file a civil lawsuit against the City over the “foul odor” caused by shorebird and sea lion poop at the Cove, which they claimed was as a public nuisance. The City contracted the cleaning product company Blue Eagle to develop and apply a nontoxic bacterial solution to dissolve the poop without polluting the ocean or harming wildlife. The City additionally installed a public-access gate into a fence along the bluffs east of the Cove in hopes that increased foot traffic would disperse the sea lions and reduce the smell. In 2015, the City contracted the marine and environmental consulting services of Hanan & Associates to study both the seals and sea lions in La Jolla and provide management options. Over the course of the year, they performed a research study on the populations and behaviors of Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions in and around La Jolla and offered several options and management strategies for deterring the pinnipeds from hauling out, as well as increasing public education. In the final report, published the following year, Hanan & Associates additionally noted the overall increase in pinniped populations along the entire coastline and suggested that more research would be necessary to better inform policy decisions. In 2016 the La Jolla Town Council created the Community Task Force on California Sea Lions, which included representatives from the La Jolla Cove Swim Club, the San Diego Council of Divers, and other members of the La Jolla community, to “gather community input and develop a consensus opinion” through public hearings to provide recommendations for the City. In 2017 the City increased educational signage around the Cove and formally adopted the Marine Coastal Management Plan. The Management Plan, put together by Hanan & Associates, described the nature of the pinniped situation in La Jolla and provided management options. These included options to pursue shared-use, such as