Lisa Shaffer, during her original campaign for city council, stated:Well, the three council members who voted for the Pacific View purchase are all from coastal Encinitas: Leucadia, Old Encinitas, and Cardiff. The two who voted no are both from New Encinitas. Coincidence? You make the call.
"The City has rights to a parcel in the Encinitas Ranch Town Center for a theater and other community uses, as defined in the Encinitas Ranch Specific Plan. Council expressed interest in looking for ways to put that space (now vacant and weed-filled) to use as soon as possible, and to explore concepts such as an open-air theater shell and a farmer’s market. I agree with the observation by Mayor Barth that New Encinitas deserves more public spaces and that this vacant lot should be used for the community."Apparently, during her two years in office since then, Lisa has forgotten that "New Encinitas deserves more public spaces" and decided instead to mortgage the city's future on an asbestos laden elementary school in an effort to beholden herself to the nearby wealthy homeowners who do not want the parcel developed. On top of that, those residents get more city [debt financed] investment into an arts center that they can walk to, all at the expense of the other 61,000 Encinitas residents. GLAD TO CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE!
Incoming council member Catherine Blakespear is also from Cardiff and will preserve the coastal majority, so don't expect that El Camino arts center any time soon.
But we kid. Of course everyone in the (coastal, ocean view) City Hall loves New Encinitas. You know what kind of revenues Home Depot and Wal-Mart bring in?
I wanted to send a postcard from New Encinitas. I couldn't find a single one of Home Depot, Tatget, or traffic on ECR. All they had were postcards depicting SRF, the Boathouses, Cardiff Reef, the bluffs, the Encinitas arch sign over the 101, and Moonlight Beach.
ReplyDeletePhotographers are also biased.
I'm joking, of course. NE has a legitimate beef. The ECR corridor is utilitarian, but pretty crappy 80s strip mall architecture. It would take more than an arts center to make it interesting and beautiful. Inthink councils realize the enormity of what's required, and they give up.
8:46, You're not looking hard enough. New Encinitas has a postcard with a world class golf course on the front. I did have to laugh one time at city hall though, when a disgrunteled New Encinitan bitterly complained that NE was a "shopping ghetto" and wanted it to be more like the coast. She asked Mark Patterson if he would make a mosaic for the median on El Camino Real with a "Shopping Madonna".
DeleteLike it or not, New Encinitas is the financial backbone of Encinitas. The coast does OK, but ECR retails necessities whereas the coast offers more luxuries. Nothing to be ashamed of. Well, except for Walmart. But Walmart would make a good selling postcard saying "Welcome to New Encintas". As would the plastic chairs at Leucadia's 101 bus stops.
Hard to feel sorry for anyone living in New Encinitas. A pool at every 5th house. An Olympic size public pool. Basketball courts, Baseball diamonds. Huge lawns and landscaped medians throughout Village Park. Nice yards and trees around nearly every house. Very little stack and pack. The Lux Art Institute. Miles of trails for hiking / biking / dogging. A few miles from the Pacific Ocean. And I already said golf course. A great public transit system. Healthy food stores and juice bars. Schools. Tennis courts. A Community and Senior Center. Great gyms. Too bad half of the children and adults are on iphones and video games most of the time. You can do that anywhere.
But build ANOTHER performing arts center in Encinitas? No. Sell it to help pay for Pacific View. But someone's always coming up with a new idea for a money pit that creates no revenue for the city and lately its that guy who would rob coastal projects for our inland empire.
Not ANOTHER. Just one. I mean, if the council is already deadset on building an arts center which they are. Trust me, I'm the last one wanting the city to spend EVEN MORE money on an arts center. But if they're going to build one, why not on the land they already have stated publicly should be utilized as an arts center instead of on the $10 mil (before debt financing costs) plot they bought.
Delete8:46 PM: The Olympic Size Swimming Pool is a an HOA pool.
DeleteI don't think there are miles of trails in new Encinitas. If they exist I have yet to find them. The San Elijo trails are in Cardiff.
I don't think an empty bus coming along every 1/2 hr qualifies as "great public transportation".
Encinitas has no class and ZERO artistic sense. Remember that logo fiasco and look at how UGLY city hall is. Let's face it if you look at how the council members dress (Gaspar exception) you can see why Encinitas parades like an ugly christmas sweater!
Delete10:20,
DeleteA "world-class" golf course? Define "world-class." And, do you golf?
I haven't exactly seen Encinitas Ranch on this list:
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2014-02/worlds-100-greatest-golf-courses
Locally, we have Torrey Pines South, The Grand, Maderas, Aviara, La Costa, The Bridges, Rancho Santa Fe.
Encinitas Ranch isn't even "San Diego-class."
Goat class?
Delete8:59- but the golf course is Encinitas Class, which isn't much....unless you count t-shirts and flip flops.
Delete8:59 AM
DeleteTorrey Pines is a municipal golf course as is the Encinitas Ranch. The other courses are public/semi-public with the fees beyond the reach of most golfers.
Torrey Pines south costs $183 on weekdays and $229 on weekends. Torrey Pines north is $100 weekdays and $125 on weekends.
10:10,
DeleteThe claim was "world class," not "working class."
World class means the best--irrespective of price.
9:59, What? Now you're going to brag about traditional golfing attire? Sweet.
Delete11:27 AM
DeleteWorld class is subjective. The best can't be disconnected from price in a snobby world. World class golf courses can be overwater and slush like a swamp. That's one reason why golf carts are kept on the sides of the fairways.
More like a world-class waste of water.
Delete8:46 PM
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with the El Camino Real corridor. Leave it alone.
New Encinitas has no identity. I thought I had lived under a rock when I found out 3 years ago I was from New Encinitas after living here for 20 years. I always thought I was from Encinitas.
ReplyDeleteThe more the council can forget that New Encinitas exists, the better off we are here! If paying attention to new Encinitas, is giving us the MIG plan, then we are better off without this type of attention.
If I hear one more person telling me that new growth needs to be along traffic corridor next to good and services, I think I am going to blow!
A new member of the KNECC!
Our wonderful planning department has, as an option for New Encinitas, to upzone (in the tune of 318 units) the very first dump in Encinitas (behind the Sheriff Station). The city does have expertise in building on top of toxic ground.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see how they will spin that EIR!
I'm not sure anyone's saying it needs an identity. ECR itself is a vital commercial corridor. That's not to say that the many, many New Encinitas residents don't deserve services and amenities placed nearby them though. I'm fine with the council continuing to ignore the residents of New Encinitas if we can cut off the lucrative spigot of commercial and property taxes raised from our area and diverted to vanity projects along the 101.
ReplyDeleteYeah, those vanity projects on 101 are killing us. Let's keep the 101 crappy. Long live the CRAP.
Delete9:53, I agree. Help cut off that spigot of taxes raised in New Encinitas to pay for vainty projects along the 101 and let the city sell that useless eye-sore vacant lot with weeds ignored since incorporation.
ReplyDelete10:36,
DeleteThe city does not own the parcel. Carltas retains ownership of the land. The city owns non-transferable rights to build on and use the parcel.
Definitely needs to sell excess property to pay for the current council's recent mistakes. Many.
ReplyDeleteFire Vina.
There are some very nice homes outside of Encinitas Ranch. Places like Village Park and other neighborhoods are good starter homes and family homes, and there most homeowners take great pride in the way that they care for their yards. Everyone who LIVES in Encinitas moved here for a reason, and we should be focusing on how to keep it a great place to live.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who lives west of 5, I can say we have benefited from the tax dollars generated by NE and the ECR commercial district.
ReplyDeleteWe have the new park about to open, pedestrian rail crossing at Santa Fe, South 101 Streetscape, Cottonwood Creek Park, the roundabouts on Santa Fe, Summit, and Leucadia, Utility undergrounding along San Elijo Ave, a new lifeguard tower at Swami's, Moonlight Beach concessions, and now PV and a new lifeguard tower. Maybe someday North 101 Streetscape, and some rail quiet zones would be nice too.
Some here complain about the price--they have a point, but we have had zero tax hikes, and retained our triple A bond rating. Whiners notwithstanding, most people appreciate these projects, and the positive effect they have had on our quality of life and property values.
New Encinitas deserves some love, and appreciation from the coast.
Thanks!
How could I forget? Add two libraries and a nature center to the list.
DeleteEncinitas is like a mullet:all business up front, party out back.
Let's not forget the property taxes from Olivenhain.
DeleteOlivenhain is putting in property taxes but my guess is it pales in comparison to the New Encinitas commercial/residential property contributions. The ECR corridor is the tax revenue engine of the city.
DeleteUnited we stand and divided we fall.This divisive rhetoric you persist in your Post does little good. The hope for a new coalition is fading fast as you drive us apart.
ReplyDeleteHow big is the parcel between Ortho and Chase?
ReplyDeleteThe council has repeatedly said the city owns the parcel. A commenter above says it doesn't. Who's right?
People who live west of the ridge between ECR and the golf course care about New Encinitas only as a place to go to a lot of stores.
The city does own the parcel where the old Cardiff fire station used to be. They are thinking of selling it. Why couldn't it be made into some nice artists facilities? Probably too small for a community theater, but I can think of a lot of uses for it. Maybe it would have been better to not buy PV and use the property the City already owns?
ReplyDelete10:44, The Catebria Gardena Trail. The Buttercup Trail that alone extends 2 miles south, crossing Encinitas Blvd and a Village Class golf course. The countless other trails Try Google Earth if you need to find new places to explore in NE. OPPS. Looks like my long comment AND 10:44's response was deleted. I'm somebody now! But really? What could I have said that was so misleading? OK, I was wrong about the Olympic pool being public. My bad.
Delete1:11 PM
DeleteThe Buttercup Trail? You mean the path under the SD&E high magnetic electrical towers? Or the dog poop trail?
1:29,
Delete"high magnetic electrical towers"
Where did you get your EE?
Careful walking there with change in your pockets. You might get sucked up and stick in the lines.
From the National Cancer Institute information sheet -
DeleteBoth electric and magnetic fields are present around appliances and power lines. However, electric fields are easily shielded or weakened by walls and other objects, whereas magnetic fields can pass through buildings, humans, and most other materials. Since magnetic fields are most likely to penetrate the body, they are the component of EMFs that are usually studied in relation to cancer.
Bullwinkle's alma mater has a good EE program.
I have a tinfoil yarmulke that protects me.
DeleteIf we were one city, Encinitas, and not have the divisions of five separate communities, perhaps there would be more common ground and not so much bickering about who has what and who doesn't.
ReplyDeleteSomething to think about.
11:33 AM
ReplyDeleteThe commercial area of El Camino Real brings in a majority of sales tax into the city's general fund. The other source of money into the general fund is property tax. The city is losing commercial property and is now proposing a very poor plan of mixed- use of apartments over the commercial stores.
Mixed-use is the worst of residential and business. The more commercial area lost, the more taxes or fees will be levied on residential property owners.
Say no to mixed-use unless you want higher taxes and fees.
The theater pad at the Encinitas Town Center -
ReplyDeleteInteresting story on this property involving several councilpersons, a church outreach theater group, and a 1997 projected cost at that time of $11 million to build the small theater. Eventually, the taxpayer would be footing the bill for the hobbies of others.
12:02 Everybody knows that. Well, except for the apparent necessity of more, more, more. If the city stopped paying outrageous salaries, benefits, pensions, consultant fees and twice as much as it should for capital improvement projects, more, more, more development and the revenues it generates wouldn't be necessary.
ReplyDeleteSure, ECR generates huge revenues, but that doesn't mean anybody has to like it. Everything that's available on ECR used to be available in family-owned businesses along 101 and Encinitas Blvd.
How big is the parcel between Ortho and Chase? It's nowhere near as big as the 2.82-acre PV parcel. What could be built on it? A tiny theater? What?
12:13 PM
ReplyDeleteA tiny theater. At least three different theater groups in the past wanted that property. None of the groups had the money to build the theater. Guess who would have footed the bill? Right, the taxpayers. Would you vote for a property tax increase to build and maintain that tiny theater?
One of the theater groups presented avant-garde plays which probably wouldn't play in Peoria. Why should taxpayers support someone else's ideal of reality?
12:41 Of course not.
ReplyDeleteDoes the city own the property or not? How big is it?
Why should taxpayers spend $80 million for the Hall park, $24.3 million for PV and the lifeguard tower when all three should have cost half those amounts, and why should taxpayers pay salaries, benefits and pensions to city employees whose compensation is far, far above that for comparable work in the private sector?
2:32 PM
DeleteYes, the city will own the property when it accepts the IOD.
Wrong.
DeleteI live in New Encinitas, but let me tell you, being the big revenue generator thanks for Home Depot and Wal-Mart is nothing to be proud of, as this blog seems to think. It's made New Encinitas akin to Escondido's East Valley Parkway.
ReplyDeleteI was told by some very important people that Sheila Cameron and Julie Gaboi would win I believed them now this has all come to pass they were humiliated.I feel like I've been lied to NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAll what has come to pass? Mediocre leadership for two years? Money bought the election plain and simple.
DeleteAs if Sheila's leadership 14 years ago was anything to brag about.... Leucadia blvd extension, 1 year behind schedule-$1 M dollars over budget. That's not leadership that idiocy.
DeleteMediocre leadership is correct. The council continues to remain "weak" and will bow down and kiss the city manager's back end as usual. So, nothing is changed.
DeleteWe need leadership in the council which has been lacking for so long. The citizens and taxpayers of this city are being ignored and ripped off. The developers are on the winning side and thanks to GASpar for another two years, we don't have much to look forward to in order to keep our city the way we want it.
Gaspar will continue to curtsy, bow and smile while thanking you for your valuable input at the council meetings. The show continues with no real depth or desire to make real change.
I am looking forward to 2016.
Walmart is an odd place. It seems disorganized and shoddy; like those pictures taken of stores in distress (K Mart, Sears). Shelves are in disarray, packages are open, merchandise is missing - and the assistance is negligible. I seldom go there, as it offers nothing that I want. Just peruse the "People of Walmart" photo blogs and you'd think it is a magnet for freaks.
ReplyDeleteA scurrilous attack without value nor authority.
Delete7:19 PM A Walmart cretin!
DeleteWhile I completely disassociate from the "People of Walmart" slur, I've been in the Encinitas Walmart twice, both times in the afternoon. I must say I was unimpressed. Many out-of-stock items and few shoppers. While by no means am I a regular Walmart shopper, the few I've been in always seemed busy. Not this one.
DeleteGoogle Walmartians for some photos of some their patrons across the nation that will astound you or make you want to go blind. Better yet, watch the documentary, 'The High Cost of Low Prices' and the effect 'Sprawl Mart' has had on communities and the damage they have left in their wake.
ReplyDeletepretty accurate. Thanks. I have never and will never set foot in the Encinitas Walmart and have never supported that race to the bottom organization.
ReplyDeleteLet's stop pitting one part of the city against another ! It's just not productive.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, let's totally ignore reality and just roll over and continue generating the lions share of the taxes and getting the smallest return in the form of amenities and services. Drove by the Hall Park looks beautiful! But who needs that, we've got a totally awesome park at Leo Mullen that has diesel generators belching out delicious smelling fumes for our kids' teams to smell. Go productivity!
Delete1:07 PM
ReplyDeleteBlame the diesel generators on the soccer league. Mullen's is a day use park. The soccer league wants to freeze the kids at night for sport.