The La Jolla Parks & Beaches board voted Monday, Aug. 24, to recommend restricting La Jolla Cove to swimmers, snorkelers and divers during sea lion pupping season, a move its sponsors called a compromise to prevent a full closure.

The resolution, now headed to the San Diego Parks & Recreation Department, would bar animal viewing and general beach recreation at the Cove each year from June 1 through Sept. 15. The western stairs would close entirely. The stairs near the lifeguard station would stay open with signage limiting entry to water users only.

Board members Chas. Dye and Kurt Hoffman presented the resolution, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Dye told attendees the board faced a stark choice.

"The threat is imminent of completely closing (The Cove), and some action needs to be taken," Dye said. "Given the choice of closing The Cove or this, I would take this."

The meeting at the La Jolla/Riford Library drew more than 100 people, forcing organizers to relocate from the scheduled seminar room to the larger community room. Additional attendees stood in the lobby. Thirty-seven people signed up to speak; 15 were selected to address the board.

Discussion grew contentious, with cross-talk and shouting between groups favoring a full closure and those wanting continued open access.

The vote comes amid mounting pressure from the California Coastal Commission. At an Aug. 14 meeting, Commissioner Matt O'Malley said a partial closure was necessary while the city finalizes its management plan. Since June, 56 sea lion pups have been born at the Cove, with six verified deaths there and two more at Point La Jolla, NBC San Diego reported. The Times of San Diego reported pup mortality at the Cove reached an estimated 43% this year, compared to 6% at permanently closed Point La Jolla, citing the Seal Society of San Diego.

San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava has opposed closing the Cove. "We will not be closing off access to La Jolla Cove. This is too valuable an asset for people ever since people have been in La Jolla," LaCava told Fox 5 San Diego in an Aug. 17 interview. He noted that NOAA, not the city, holds enforcement authority under the Marine Mammal Protection Act but lacks staff to patrol the area.

The resolution's backers said water-access-only signage would give park rangers clearer grounds to act against people who enter the Cove and harass sea lions. Rangers can currently issue only warnings, according to Fox 5's reporting. The city council is considering authorizing them to write citations.

The debate intensified after Tyler Muehl, an 18-year-old La Jolla resident, pleaded guilty in August to a misdemeanor violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Muehl admitted to kicking at a sea lion four times at the Cove on July 22, landing at least two kicks, according to ABC 7. He faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine when sentenced Oct. 20.

No timeline has been announced for the Parks & Recreation Department to act on the board's resolution.