Modern Times tasting room survives 3-2 vote

Del Mar Times:

[Planning Commissioner Kevin Doyle] worried aloud about the lack of parking downtown, about the crowds that would flock to the proposed Modern Times tasting room, and tipped his hand that he’d vote against the proposal, all but sealing its fate.

"I'm not happy for anybody," Doyle said. "This situation is unfortunate. This is not an easy issue to wrap our heads around. This whole issue has really torn me up."

And then, his thinking turned. Fellow commissioners Greg Drakos and Al Apuzzo doubled down on their stance that Modern Times was everything the city could want in a property owner. Doyle changed course, sending up a round of applause from one half of the packed room.

Armed robbery at Shell station

10 News:

The San Diego Sheriff's Department released video Tuesday of two men wanted for armed robbery at a Shell gas station.

The men went into the gas station Tuesday morning at 5:30 when the clerk was in the stock room, deputies said. One robber ran behind the counter and grabbed the cash register. The other man had a shotgun and pointed it at the clerk as he was walking out of the stock room, according to deputies. Both men ran away.

Shaffer advocates immediate adoption of Measure T

Former Councilwoman Lisa Shaffer on Facebook:

I will repeat what I advocated before. The City should enact Measure T as originally adopted by the Council (and yes, rejected by the voters) in order to stop the financial impact of the increasing number of lawsuits. Let the Prop A folks sue in order to get the court to proceed with its determination of whether Prop A or state law has precedence. Keep working on finding a strategy that the voters will approve and put in on a future ballot regardless, since we want a measure that is publicly supported, but in the meantime, let the measure go into effect and come into compliance with state law.

Not sure why Shaffer would rather side with developers and make the residents sue than side with residents and have the developers sue. If the city did a mass upzoning a la Measure T, there would be a flurry of permit filings for large luxury condo projects with inadequate parking. And permit approvals could be irreversible regardless of the eventual outcome of resident lawsuits.

Why not let the task force work to come up with a plan that is less destructive to Encinitas' community character and that, unlike Measure T, actually provides some affordable housing?

Cancelled task force meetings bring back developer lawsuit

Coast News:

A development consultant has asked a Superior Court judge to enforce a provision of a lawsuit settlement with the city of Encinitas that would require them to adopt an affordable housing plan without a public vote.

DCM Properties, the namesake company of development consultant David C. Meyer, recently filed the motion to enforce the settlement between the firm and Encinitas, which stemmed from a 2016 lawsuit over, among other things, the city’s lack of an approved housing element.

A hearing on the motion is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 8 in Judge Earl Maas’s courtroom.

[...]

[The city's housing task force] recommended a consultant to work with the city on the revised proposal, but recently has canceled meetings.

This was the final straw for his client, Abasto said.

“When was the last time they had a meeting?” Abasto asked. “They aren’t moving at an expedited pace. We believe this process is a sham.

The city's most recent July 6 meeting was cancelled and rescheduled to August 10.

Alice in Wonderland Kook

Feed your head!

Seawall owners lose at Supreme Court

Fox 5:

Property owners who object to government-mandated restrictions on construction permits must litigate the issues before building their projects, or risk forfeiting their rights to take legal action, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a case involving plaintiffs in Encinitas.

In a unanimous opinion, the justices ruled that plaintiffs Barbara Lynch and Thomas Frick, who own adjacent blufftop properties in the northern San Diego County municipality, gave up their right to challenge the California Coastal Commission’s conditions on a seawall project because they went ahead and had the structure built.

Burglar caught on camera

CBS 8:

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department asked for the public's help Thursday in identifying a man wanted in connection with a burglary in Encinitas.

The incident took place on May 11 in the 400 block of North El Camino Real. A man wearing gloves broke into a dermatology clinic and stole $90.