As presented by the City, the LCP amendment fails to address the potential scope of road modifications on major coastal access routes and the coastal resource impacts that need to be addressed in the context of the LCP. In addition to lane reduction projects, potential road modifications could include installation of roundabouts or stop signs, removal of public parking, non-automobile improvements, such as pedestrian and cycling amenities, removal of major vegetation, or the addition of travel lanes or turn lanes. The City’s proposal to allow for roadway variations citywide and to allow for travel lane reductions on Highway 101 in Leucadia raise significant concerns related to coastal access and recreation. Roadway modification projects, especially on a major coastal access roadway like the iconic Highway 101, have the potential to result in adverse impacts to the public’s ability to reach the coast and to enjoy a scenic coastal drive on Highway 101. Major roadway modifications also have the potential to adversely impact water quality, biological resources, visual resources, and community character.That sounds pretty firm. Can the city modify plans enough to appease the Commission?
Monday, July 30, 2018
Coastal Commission staff recommends major changes to Leucadia Streetscape
Coastal Commission report:
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Not true!
ReplyDeleteThe Coastal Commission hasn't voted on the issue yet. That happens on Aug 8.
What EU has posted here is the staff report, not the commission's decision.
Oops! Thanks
Delete" Enjoy a scenic coastal drive". What folly, there's nothing "scenic" about weeds and dirt. Make's you wonder which idiot staffer from the coastal commission didn't travel the highway. But this is the perfect out for the city, KathyBaby can say we wanted to do a streetscape but weren't allowed. Whatever monies have been set aside can now be spent on a new fire station or more importantly, planning a new city hall. Gotta keep the princesses and excellent staff happy. ( sarcasm )
ReplyDeleteEnough of weeds and dirt. We demand steel, concrete, and faux Tuscany mini-malls !
DeletePeople have been touring the coastline on Pacific Coast Highway for many decades, including from La Jolla to Oceanside, and beyond, both northbound and southbound. There are many scenic areas to enjoy, including "first street" views, along the highway. The Coastal Commission and the general public do not want to be forced to use I-5 every time we travel from Point A to Point B, along the Coast. People who live west of 101 have no choice but to use the highway. When the freeway is clogged, motorists also have no choice.
ReplyDeleteThe alleged "weeds" can be remedied without installing multiple road obstructions, chokepoint one-lane roundabouts, without also taking away two traffic lanes from motorists, who are the primary users of our public highway.
The city will do nothing about the "weeds" except spray some roundup which goes into the ocean and kills the fish. Great solution (sarcasm).
DeleteThe city is a failure from top to bottom.
ENCINITAS = FAILURE.
Has the reduction from five lanes to two lanes in Bird Rock with even more traffic load negatively affected coastal access there?
ReplyDeleteHas the section of 101 between Swami’s and the campgrounds reduced coastal access?
Has the northbound 101 through Leucadia resulted in any additional backups or reduced coastal access?
How far away are the freeway and railroad from Bird Rock? Is there a long light backing up traffic there? Are there stores, residences and parking on both sides of the road in the Bird Rock area?
DeleteWhat's on both sides of the road between Swami's and the campground?
Where is the northbound lane reduction on Leucadia 101? Does the northbound traffic back up north or south of the Leucadia Blvd. light? Does the southbound traffic back up south or north of the Leucadia Blvd. light?
How long is the two-lane section of LJ Blvd in the Bird Rock area, 7:12?
DeleteHow long is the Leucadia section of Highway 101?
Everyone knows that the effectiveness of roundabouts is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from I-5. That’s why roundabouts work so well in Europe.
DeleteIs I-5 in Europe?
DeleteIt looks like the council F'd up again!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Council and city management f’d up again !!
ReplyDeleteWhat is wrong with this city's planners? Do ANY of them live here, or anywhere near the beach? I'm all for improvements to Leucadia, but one lane on 101 in each direction is asinine.
ReplyDeleteLanager lives in Leucadia.
DeleteWouldn't know it by her work.
DeleteNo, the Coastal Commission staff doesn't oppose the Streetscape 101 development. What they opposed was the way the amendment was written. Instead, the Commission staff wrote up a new policy that is to go into the Circulation Element that will allow the Streetscape $30 million debt debacle to continue. Residents only learned about this bait and switch by the Commission staff on July 27 when the Commission staff report was released. Don't give up the fight against the horrendous Streetscape project.
ReplyDeleteGame score so far: 60,000-AGAINST STREETSCAPE. 3-FOR STREETSCAPE. You biz owners know who you are, and you're being played.
ReplyDelete9:31 must be reading some other document, not the CCC San Diego staff report issued July 27. Anybody can read the whole report by clicking on the link EU provided above.
ReplyDeleteThe report recommends denial of the amendments as submitted or approval if the amendments meet conditions the staff specifies. The conditions would be very hard if not impossible to meet.
There's no way to know how the commission will vote, but it's not likely to go well for the city.
12:01 PM sounds as if you are trying to stop people from saying no to the Coastal Commission staff.
ReplyDeleteAnother shill remark for the city to stop people from saying no to the Coastal Commission staff's new recommended policy for the Circulation Element. Don't give up the fight against the horrendous Streetscape project.
Page 2 of the report: "Staff is first recommending denial of the LUP amendment as submitted, and then recommends approval of the LUP amendment with one suggested modification. Second, staff is recommending denial of the IP amendment as submitted, and then recommends approval of the IP amendment with one suggested modification."
DeleteExactly what 12:01 posted.
Read the suggested modifications starting on page 8 in the report to see if you think they're achievable.
Saying no to the staff makes no sense because it's not their decision. Urging the commissioners to deny outright or to approve with conditions that aren't achievable does make sense because the commissioners make the decision.
3:05 PM
DeleteThe Commission staff made the decision without Encinitas residents input to add new policy to the Encinitas Circulation Element. No one asked the Commission staff to do it. Write the Commissioners and ask them to deny the city's version of the amendments and to deny the Commission staff's version of their own made up policy. Get it. Deny both.
3:15 The commission staff had plenty of input from Encinitas residents. The modifications it suggested would bring the amendments into compliance with the Coastal Act, which is what the whole thing is about. The modifications are close to impossible to meet. Even if the commission approved the amendments according to the modifications, the project would be effectively dead.
Delete4:33 PM
DeleteThat is not true that the commission staff had plenty of input from Encinitas residents on the "modifications" proposed by the commission staff. No one knew that the commission staff was going to enlarge the scope of the 101 amendment. The commission staff then made city policy without a hearing in front of the city council and residents.
What "the whole thing is about" is coastal commission staff ignoring procedures on how new policy begins which is at the council level. The council has hearings, makes public notices, does CEQA, has a 6 week review period. The commission staff ignored those procedures.
Remember, the commission staff's new policy that you are touting is for the city benefit to use in other projects in Encinitas.
3:05 is 12:01 trying to make it sound like the problem went away. Troll.
DeleteNo backing off now, the city is too intent on making this happen.
Encinitas can't even water the plants in the medians it's foolish to think they can get anything passes by the unelected CC.
ReplyDeleteBeacon's stairway= FAILURE.
Streetscape = FAILURE.
Chatty Kathy as mayor= FAILURE.
Can someone explain what this means in english? It sounds like the staff is recommending the plan for conditional approval if the City provides certain modifications. Specifically, it sounds like they're asking for a quantitative traffic analysis (which I thought they already did).
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain? Thanks.
The quantitative traffic analysis must include summer weekend traffic on Leucadia 101 and neighboring cities that are also considering lane reductions and other traffic restrictions on 101. The 2016 traffic study didn't do that.
DeleteAn LCP amendment must also consider major coastal access routes other than 101. The staff report specifies what those routes are.
5:00 PM
DeleteIt is approval, not conditional approval. What "the whole thing is about" is coastal commission staff ignoring procedures on how new Circulation Element policy begins which is at the council level. The council has hearings, makes public notices, does CEQA, has a 6 week review period. The commission staff ignored those procedures.
This is from the commission staff report. Notice that this amendment is no longer about Leucadia Hwy 101.
Staff recommends the following suggested revisions to the proposed LCP be adopted. The underlined sections represent language that the Commission suggests be added, and the struck-out sections represent language which the Commission suggests be deleted from the language as originally submitted.
1. Add new Policy 6.8 to the Circulation Element of the certified LUP as follows:
"In order to maintain the ability to access shoreline recreation areas and maintain adequate circulation on major coastal access roadways, modifications to specified road segments, including a reduction in the number travel lanes, may only occur if quantitative analysis shows that regional travel time along the corridor will not be significantly impacted and public benefit enhancements are also proposed. Public access benefit enhancements may include, but are not limited to, increased public transportation services, improved pedestrian and cyclist access, and increased public parking. Major coastal access roadways include North Coast Highway 101 and the portions of the following roadways that are located west of Interstate 5: Manchester Avenue, Birmingham Drive, Santa Fe Drive, Encinitas Boulevard, Leucadia Boulevard, and La Costa Avenue."
So, according to CC staff, we should tear out the roundabouts on Leucadia Blvd. and widen it to 6 lanes to provide enhanced shoreline access!
DeleteThe CCC staff advisors to the CCC recommend denying what the city's plan has presented through Streetscape's sell out bs disaster in the making plan.
ReplyDeletePlain, and not so simple.
This should be DOA.
1:51pm. Our mayor is Catherine, you troll.
Some changes can make a difference, but the streetscam pushers cannot see the forest for the trees and never will.
Some of our residents continue to offer alternatives that will be acceptable, but as usual, the city only listens to the profiteers, instead of the only real stakeholders that should matter, the residents.
History repeating itself is nothing new around here.
Vote them all out.
Huh? 1:51 is right. Catherine, Kathy, what's the diff? 1:51 is not a troll just because he/she spells Blakespear's name wrong. The points are valid. How do you defend her abysmal record of choosing developers over residents? And be specific, dude.
DeleteThis staff report is APPROVING the Streetscape project. Notice that 3 of the 4 motions are being recommended for a YES vote. The only one being recommended for a NO is being recommended for a YES if the City updates a SUGGESTED change to the language in the element.
ReplyDeleteStreetscape just got the greenlight from Coastal Commission. Everyone here is misreading what this document actually says.
The Leucadia streetscape project has not been approved by the Coastal Commissioners. What we have here is a report by Coastal Commission staff in the San Diego office saying the project can't go forward without amendments (LCPA) to the Local Coastal Plan (LCP). The LCP allows the city to go forward with projects in the coastal zone (basically the area of the city west of El Camino Real) if they comply with the LCP. In this case CC staff said NO without amendments to the plan. Staff gave recommendations because the original language was unacceptable. These will have to be approved by Commissioners.
ReplyDeleteYet to be decided is the project itself. Staff is saying the original studies guaranteeing access to the coast did not sufficiently analyze traffic movement in the area. It's still a long shot for the city and shows gross incompetence on the part of the city for a 12-year project. And Mayor Blakespear made things worse by proposing Lease Revenue Bonds to ram the project through ASAP and bypassing public input. The mayor isn't known for her patience.
All along members of our community suggested that the CEQA work was inadequate. Council pushed through anyway. Someone should look to see if there has been any irreversible commitments to push this through. That action could be attacked, legally, along with ill-conceived environmental work.
DeleteFor example, if a CIP was programmed and funds have been committed, does that represent a commitment on the City's end? Someone should look into it.
https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-65401.html
DeleteThat is extremely problematic. Good find 8:51
DeleteDoes that mean that city staff didn't follow the law?
DeleteThey followed SOP at our city hall. Bend the rules till they break.
DeleteIf the Commissioners approve the Commission staff amendments and new policy for the Circulation Element, the Streetscape project will also be approved. Some troll on here wants the Commission staff's modifications approved.
ReplyDeleteEmail the Commissioners and ask that they deny the staff's modifications and deny the city's amendment also.
The Commission staff isn't our friend. They are working to help the city. The troll is working to help the city.
8:37 = ignorant, absurd comment unworthy of any response past saying it's ludicrous.
ReplyDelete11:00 = city troll working hard throughout this thread to minimize the danger of this monster going through.
DeleteEven more ludicrous, 5:13.
DeleteSomeone is over-using the word troll
DeleteAgree with 9:01.
DeleteTroll doesn’t mean someone who disagrees with me.
Give us another word for troll and we'll use it. 11:00 is a troll for sure, for sure.
DeleteNews flash: 12:30pm. We have our monthly T-bone at Orpheus and Leucadia Blvd. Thanks, Starbucks and city hall for approving such an ill thought out location. We told you so!
ReplyDeleteSummary: the CCC is kicking back the LCPA because of inadequate environmental work.
ReplyDeleteSummary cont'd: Some heads be rolling in city hall.
Personally, I don't care if streetscape goes through or not. I can see the good - and I can see the bad. But I want to know how much does this setback cost the city or us taxpayers? Who really is paying for these mistakes - or who SHOULD be paying for it? We always speak of how much money we have in reserves - I want to know how much WOULD we have if people did their jobs and didn't always have setbacks - Streetscape, housing element, Community Park, Moonlight improvements, Beacons, and on and on and on.
What heads "be rolling?" Do tell.
DeleteTop Management heads should role.
ReplyDeleteTraffic study counts should include summer. Someone else said it earlier. And certainly updated counts would support Coastal Commission outlook.
DeleteDon't look now, but summer is almost over.
Wow...good conversation starting at August 1, 2018 at 5:04 PM. Wait and see how the city trolls respond.
ReplyDeleteThe CCC staff's concern and the CCC members' authority is to ensure the city complies with the Coastal Act.
ReplyDeleteHowever the city proposes to do that, the CCC has to approve it.
The CCC San Diego staff has recommended the CCC members put the ball in the city's court.
If the members vote to approve the amendments with the modifications the staff suggested, it's unlikely the city will be able to meet them.
Those amendments are loosey goosey. But you know that, 11:47 troll for the city.
Delete3:15 You are very obviously wrong. You can't even get the posting time right.
DeleteThe modifications the San Diego CCC staff suggested to bring the amendments into compliance with the Coastal Act are very likely impossible to meet.
Anybody who knows the project and process sees that. You're not included in that group.
I wouldn't be so sure....
Delete5:38 You have a perfect record of being dead wrong. Now come back with some extremely stupid remark to excuse the fact that the city withdrew from the hearing.
DeleteHahaha 7:42, you are too easy. Too fun.
Delete11:57 AM
ReplyDeleteWrong, wrong, wrong. The Coastal Commission doesn't have to approve. The troll is out again.
If the CCC doesn't have to approve the amendments, why is it hearing the proposal next Wednesday?
DeleteOh really, 1:02? Who decided on the location of the Cardiff Rail Trail?
DeleteThree steps:
ReplyDelete1.) Make minor edits.
2.) Get approval
3.) Roll equipment.
Let’s get it done.
Thanks but no thanks, Charlie. Back in yer "get it done" hole.
Delete"Let's get it done" so that my property value increases at the expense of the tax payers and the small businesses on 101 that will be devastated by the construction process..............FIXED
DeleteCharlie, news flash: despite whatever deal you made at city hall, this isn't about you and your property values. Back in yer hole.
DeleteGood News! The city has requested that the LCP amendment be postponed.
ReplyDelete"The City has requested that the item be postponed. The Commission will no longer hear this item at its August 8, 2018 meeting. A date has not been set for the item to be re-scheduled for a Commission hearing."
DeleteOur council once again covered in egg head to toe. Can't get anything right especially when "staff" is running the show and the council is hiding under the covers.
DeleteOnce again, staff blows it beyond belief....
ReplyDeleteIs anyone accountable at city hall?
Will City Council ever take action?
ReplyDeleteI think its time to vote some out for enabling this train wreck!
Do they like whats happening at City Hall?
I sure don't!!!
Do you?
Has any group of residents ever taken over the running of a city from their council and planning depts.?
ReplyDeleteWe have the talent and resolve and the motivation among us, the truest of stakeholders, to run this town better than it has been.
Rather than choosing to not vote for whoever represents our own districts, vote them out of office. Put that choice on the ballot. Have at it.
Please do! You'll be popular until you have to make an unpopular decision. Where's my popcorn?
DeletePopularity with residents compared to popularity with profiteers are two different ball games.
ReplyDeleteNothing new there. It is as it has always been. $$$$$$
That does not mean that those who seek to preserve and not profit other than to save what we love about our specialness and why we choose to live here
should just surrender any hope to stem the tide of becoming another PB or Huntington Beach.
You can choke on your popcorn for all that you matter to me. Those that choose to fight for what we love about our community get and deserve my respect and support. Those that don't, aren't worth wasting a moment of my time on.
This is Amurica... MONEY ALWAYS WINS.....SAD
Delete