Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Council asked to endorse and codify destruction of community character, confiscation of private property

There's another community e-mail going around about tonight's major vote on road standardization that would destroy community character in Encinitas' older neighborhoods and confiscate private property to widen roads.

From the Inbox:
Tom Frank is a long time citizen of the Republic of Leucadia, a Traffic Engineer by trade (currently working for the City of San Clemente) and used to sit on our Traffic Commission. He is an expert on traffic and development. Please read his message below and, if compelled, please respond.

From: Tom Frank
Subject: 4-23-14 City Council Meeting 2014-04-23 Item #10D Street Improvement Standards
Date: April 22, 2014

[...]

If you care about your quality of life or home’s property value, you might want to let City Council know how you feel about an item they are voting on Wednesday night's agenda. Either show up and speak on the item #10 D at the City Hall City Council Chambers - Agenda and agenda report can be downloaded by clicking the link on the agenda- http://encinitas.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=7&event_id=281

Agenda report on the item is here- http://encinitas.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=7&event_id=281&meta_id=38199

If you can not make the meeting please at minimum send an email to the City Council with the email address being- council@ci.encinitas.ca.us

[...]

Street Design has a significant impact on a neighborhood character, the resident’s quality of life, and property values. As we all know, wider roads results in faster speeds and faster speeds results in lower quality of life and lower property values. The current practice of Option 3 in the staff report is effectively widening roads by 20 feet which promotes higher speeds and also removes the potential for vertical landscaping such as trees which have positive impacts on traffic calming, quality of life and property values.

The current practice of implementing Option 3 in the staff report is having the unintended consequence of destroying community character, promoting higher speeds on streets, damaging neighborhood quality of life, lowering property values, lowering City revenues through lower property tax revenues and wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have resulted in a much more positive road edge design.

Implementing Option 5 is the reasonable, feasible, and preferred alternative . Over 90% of Encinitas is currently developed, so most new developments include rebuilding existing homes and new fill in development.
Other residents have noted that any building permit, even for remodeling, will force residents on non-conforming streets to give up some of their property to widen the street right-of-way, even though this expanded right-of-way is completely out of line with adjacent properties. This can create additional problems with existing structures violating setback rules for being to close to the newly expanded right-of-way!

Funny how Mayor Barth and Council Member Shaffer didn't highlight this major policy issue in their weekly newsletters. Barth included this in a list of agenda items only as "Street Improvement Standards." Amazing what the city can get away with if residents aren't watching like a hawk.

60 comments:

  1. We don't want to give up our property rights to the Planning and Engineering Departments. If revenues are the driver for these policies, let's look at the other side of the balance sheet and terminate most of the Planning and Engineering positions at the city.

    Policies should be based on what residents want and need--not city employees' need to look like they are keeping busy doing things that citizens never wanted.

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  2. All streets must be 24 feet wide, a fire lane, county code.

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  3. An chance that we could get Frank to replace Masih? At least he gives rational reasons for his positions and represents the views of Encinitas citizens.

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  4. Hey Teresa and Gus!

    Still can't define community character after running two campaigns on community character? This is community character!

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  5. Funny how you only blame Teresa and Lisa EVERY TIME

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    Replies
    1. Not funny. They are the ones that talked up community character to get elected. They both tried to let this one sneak through.

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  6. Everyone bring your pots and bang them tonight at the council meeting to protest the Disneyish remaking of our streets.. Tell them no!! Bang your pots!!!

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    1. This "banging of pots" is pretty lame. Sabine bangs the staff tho....

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    2. 10:36
      Disneyland called. They want Goofy back.

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  7. 10:36 You need to change to something else. It's not working for you any more.

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    1. Bang bang bang bang bang.... Bang your pots.

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    2. Brilliant 9:48. If you have children I hope they bang your pots to drive you off the edge because you are real close.

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  8. I don't see any mention of Olivenhain, which is somewhat similar to Leucadia - any ideas why? Wouldn't the same concerns present themselves in the main section off of RSF Rd south of Lone Jack? Lone Jack is fully curbed so that's not an issue.....

    - The Sculpin

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    1. I think RSF Road is already wider than a lot of the Leucadia and Cardiff residential roads they are talking about, so wouldn't require land confiscation.

      But yes, I'm sure the city would love to put in sidewalks there if they could force residents to pay for it.

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    2. Yes, sleepy RSF where you hardly see a car. Makes you want to stroll down the lane and feel like you're in the country. Why would anyone want to put in sidewalks. The city in the country. Oh wait, that's Poway.

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    3. Yes, sidewalks would probably make sense on RSF Road.

      Too bad the city is completely broke from years of mismanagement, and the only way they can afford sidewalks is to charge adjacent property owners.

      Where the hell do our property taxes go?

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    4. RSF does have a fair length of DG paths along it, although they are contiguous. Sidewalks don't have to be concrete. A path/trail will do just as well.

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    5. I'm referring to the side streets like the numbered streets, whisper wind, cole ranch, teten, etc. I don't believe those are already standard, but maybe I'm mistaken. As for RSF itself, what a great place for roundabouts! (oh man, I'm going to regret that comment.....)

      - The Sculpin

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    6. 1:22 PM correction: "aren't contiguous"

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    7. Olivenhain is a privileged foo foo community of Enc. they say jump, city council says how high.

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    8. 1:21 PM

      I can't think of anytime the city just installed sidewalks and then charged the property owners. Do you have any examples? I'm talking about installing a sidewalk along a longtime developed residential street not new development where they require street improvements as part of the development approval.

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    9. 1:21,

      As I understand it, the staff recommendation and what they tried to do on Crest is to force homeowners to build a sidewalk as a condition of any building permit. Even if the sidewalk is just one lot-width long and doesn't connect to anything.

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    10. Yes, that's standard practice for new development, not just in Encinitas but a lot of cities. You can thank prop 13 for that. But your statement implied the city will retroactively install sidewalks and then charge the abutting properties which I haven't seen in residential areas.

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    11. Sure 1:25 - that worked so well on Desert Rose.......
      Believe me - the city is just as hard on Olivenhain as it is with the rest of the community. It's just that our projects tend to be quite a bit larger so the effective impact of fees and such is less as a proportion of overall project costs. But take for example a neighbor who had to double fence his 3 acre property for habitat migration. Or another who's putting in a vineyard and the city is getting involved with what kind of barrier trees to plant, or yet another who had to completely remove an old foundation in order to build a new granny flat....it goes on and on...

      - The Sculpin

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    12. No, what it implied was the city's only strategy for sidewalks is to wait for homeowners to remodel and then force them to build a patchwork sidewalk as a condition of the permit.

      That seems reasonable for large-scale developments, not so for individual homeowners remodeling.

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    13. I fully agree about the patchwork nature of sidewalks in older areas, especially when the chances of a full length sidewalk on a block are remote.

      Also, it doesn't have to be a standard curb and concrete sidewalk. That's why I prefer creating a refined classification of residential streets where street improvements blend in the the neighborhood's character. However, with drainage issues and substandard street pavement in many areas, it may not look exactly like the other properties.

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    14. Right now, isn't the limit 499 square feet for a remodel before you have to give up right of way? I think you can do that amount per year without giving up ROW...

      -Mr Green Jeans

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    15. Every five years.
      What's your point?

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    16. In case GJ's point is that you don't have to do the ROW dedication... well then... why the F are they making others do it when the roads will never be widened?

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  9. 1:22 I would love to see some round abouts on RSF Rd. The traffic gets so backed up with all those stop signs every block. It has gotten to the point of ridiculous. It would also help the fire trucks gets through the traffic more easily. Every vehicle that has to stop and start again recreates more air pollution.

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    Replies
    1. I meant to say "creates" not recreates. Sorry.

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    2. Why are you trying to go off topic with hot button topic?

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    3. interesting observation - hmm, are the political trolls monitoring WCV?

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  10. Stop sign and/or round abouts are all about community character, are they not?

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  11. Sounds like a bait question.

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  12. Hey Fred- Want to go fishing? :)

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. Naw. I keep catching the same five.

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    Replies
    1. Take penicillin.

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    2. Bring back Dr. Lorri. 3:45 is practicing without a license.

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  15. BTW, everyone did very well at the microphone last night on 10D! THANKS

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  16. Thanks to the speakers on 10D! They actually followed the recommendation of citizens over staff and Gus' favorite of fees for his war chest.

    The Engineering Department does not deserve amnesty. The 2 speaking to the issue last night should be fired!

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  17. Tom Frank was good, when he finally got onto the topic of 10D. His photo presentation was excellent.

    But Frank's kissing up to Council, at the beginning, off topic, appeared to be obvious pandering, more obsequious compliments, and raving about how roundabouts, in general, are good, and now supported by CalTrans. Of course no one was able to debate that topic, pointing out that they won't work on a Major Arterial, with thousands of residences and three beach accesses to the west, and RR tracks to the east of the highway. Because government agencies tout roundabouts as traffic calming, doesn't mean that a four lane highway should be bottlenecked down to one lane north bound and one lane southbound, particularly when no accurate base traffic surveys have been conducted during peak seasonal traffic periods.

    Those listening in the audience, including the kind person who gave him a time donation, seemed to cringe, when Frank started lobbying for roundabouts.

    Someone later suggested to me that Frank's "buttering up Council" may have helped Council to chose option 5, which we all favored. But to me, it didn't seem as though Frank finished his presentation, that he wasted too much time buttering Council up in order to push a roundabout propaganda agenda.

    Again, that wasn't the topic! Moreover, he had a good presentation, and spent so much time talking about how CALTANS supports roundabouts, etc., that he ran out of time to speak about City standards for improvements by homeowners or developers, when constructing new build, or doing remodels, or infill redevelopment. Pretty much all the development in our city, now, could be considered "infill" development.

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    Replies
    1. OK L, you nailed it in your dreams. To everyone else. Same old same old.

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  18. Donna Westbrook does things, in my opinion, the way it should be done. She says her name and Encinitas. Then she goers right into topic. She doesn't butter up the Council or waste valuable time saying anything that is not directly related to the topic. Watch her. She's good. When I speak in front of Council she is my role model.

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  19. Good on you, 1:47. Donna is sick of the bullshit and won't stoop to pander. More people should be straightforward like her. I cringe every time somebody thanks the council for letting him/her speak. WTF? It's your right under the law. The council isn't doing you any favors, and you sure as hell shouldn't be thanking them.

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    1. So I take it you speak at Council meetings right? or are you just another bitcher.

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    2. 7:50-I have spoken at many Council meetings in case you are asking 1:47. How about you?

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  20. The founding fathers are to blame for letting us speak.

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  21. Doesn't Tom Frank work as a transportation engineer with the city of San Clemente? I would think his experience with road matters, especially roundabouts and their alternatives would carry some weight.

    I for one, was glad he weighed in on that topic. As far as development goes, it's going to be an ongoing battle. Developers develop, and they don't leave town when land is available.

    -Mr Green Round

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    1. Frank needs to work on his tolerance of idiots. Some people are less tolerant than others.

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    2. He should work on controlling himself. He's arrogant, aggressive and explosive. His being a traffic engineer in San Clemente doesn't necessarily make his opinion more valid than anybody else's who studies a situation. He had strong biases and is highly opinionated. He often goes beyond reason.

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    3. Really? I haven't seen that. I've only heard compliments about his suggestions. Oh well, you can never please everyone, right?

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    4. 3:34 If you knew him better and had seen him in various situations, you'd change your mind.

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    5. 6:29pm- I think I do know him rather well. I have worked with him on city projects in the past when he was a Traffic Commissioner. I've never seen the qualities you describe. He's always presented a strong analysis with a recommended preferred alternative. I have seen people that don't agree with his recommendations go sour. But hey, does everyone agree with your recommendation on things? Maybe people think you have certain qualities like your ignorant, stubborn, close minded, not smart, aggressive and explosive. I'm not sure because I don't know you?

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    6. 8:25 Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.

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  22. I thought all speakers did a fine job. Better than I did…

    I ask those that have difficulty understanding the virtues and operations of modern day roundabouts to watch this video. I hope you have the ability to learn how to yield and go through a roundabout safely. If not, its probably time to give up your license before you kill some innocent kid walking to the beach.

    http://www.ci.lacey.wa.us/city-government/city-departments/public-works/engineering-division/driving-modern-roundabouts

    http://lacey.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?clip_id=53

    Please learn how to Yield for everyones sake and use your turn signals just like any other intersection.

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  23. First come to a stop you mean like at a traffic signal on always stop. On my gosh that would be terrible for like one second until it clears I like add a traffic signal way be waiting there for three minutes....

    Nice mistruth.

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