Coast News:
The Encinitas Planning Commission punted approval of the proposed revitalization of the shuttered Pacific View Elementary School site to April, citing a lack of details in the plan.
A group called the Encinitas Arts, Culture and Ecology Alliance wants to transform the school site, which has been closed since 2003, into an arts, culture and ecology center called the Pacific View Academy of the Arts.
The commission voted 4-0 last week to postpone its decision until April to give the group a chance to address concerns raised by commissioners and neighbors about the parking, lighting, number of events and noise.
sell PV to help pay for the pending $20 million on pending settlement costs.
ReplyDeleteThis overpaid project has been a waste of taxpayers money from the beginning. Why can't we use it for affordable housing?
ReplyDeleteResidents getting run down, City losing millions do to unsafe roads and section 8 housing at the Beach.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Encinitas way of City Governance. :(
Vote in all new leadership next election. this City Council sucks!!!
TEN MILLION DOLLARS......for what??? Finger painting classes??
ReplyDeleteHas the city lost its mind??.......That's our money you fools.
It generates NO REVENUE. For Gawds sakes get your heads out of your anal cavity. Sell the land. Wake up,,,,,,,,,,
Slap a little paint on it, then install a few bank style windows where the city distributes welfare checks to anybody in need. Add a few bicycle stations for the hordes of commuter bicyclists to service their steeds, a rest area to rejuvenate, and a few food carts serving vegan food and granola bars. For free. Then have a dog park area where card-carrying friends (donors) of city council are exempt from picking up their dog's crap. Cap it off with a small adjacent parking lot where Prius owners are allowed to speed through it and fail to stop at a stop sign. Instant approval.
ReplyDeleteOne of the BEST written pieces that I have seen on this blog. I'd give this man a Pulitzwr Prize if I could. Thank you for this thoughtful and humorous excerpt!
DeleteSo........you is paying the property taxes??? Oh' I know, the city. Oh' wait, does the city pay property taxes on property they own?
ReplyDeleteBy the way......Ten million dollars could generate $216,000.00 a year tax free. Oh' wait, did the city pay the Ten million in cash, or, are they making payments and paying interest on millions. Finger painting classes......Sell the property
The smart thing would be to create a combined arts center and new city hall at pacific view with plenty of underground parking. A large performance space could double as council chambers for regular meetings, only it would be bigger so they don’t need to send people into spillover rooms. City hall conference rooms could double as gallery space for evening events. So most of the space could do double duty, and the importance of aesthetic beauty and the arts would be a constant reminder for city staff.
ReplyDeleteHow to pay for it?
The city could hold a competition for redevelopment of the current city hall property. Since the city owns the land and controls the competition, they can dictate requirements, such as, must not interfere with the view from the library, must include underground parking for the train station and downtown shopping. It could be commercial, hotel, residential, or some combination. If residential is included, the city can set the requirements for how much must be deed restricted affordable. Along with the plans, submissions for the competition would also bid a price for the purchase of the property.
Based on the competition, the city would pick a winner and sell the city hall property contingent on the development as proposed in the competitive submission (can’t change the plans).
The city would apply all proceeds from the sale to the construction of the new arts center/city hall at Pacific View.
If Prop A isn’t wiped out in court, any required rezoning would be bundled into the next HEU. However, if the winning proposal includes any affordable housing, then it looks like the courts will allow the city to sidestep Prop A.
Most of our city hall is a cubicle farm for the hard-working city staff members. The Council Chamber and a few meeting rooms is all we see but the staff occupies most of the facility. If this is moved to the Pacific View site it is likely that a multi-story structure will be needed. 90% of any iceberg is hidden underwater.
DeleteAssume you're joking, 5:59. Our staff works hard, but not for us. Ask around about the mountain bike that showed up one day - ostensibly as a "thank you" for the hard work.
DeleteYep, there's your iceberg and now you can understand why we're in such a mess.
2:14 great idea. I have always wondered why city hall has to be on prime property. Instead of pacific view they could move to the land behind the sheriff's station now rented to Red Richies Ford dealership.
DeleteThe joke's on all of us. In 6 years the Encinitas Union School Board has the first right of refusal to buy the place back. Right after the purchase, Lisa Shaffer told a stunned crowd that the school wasn't zoned for art or music or much of anything else. The icing on the cake is the head of this alliance group is none other than a developer. What a JOKE.
ReplyDeleteSo what if the school district has a ROFR? If the city is willing to sell it to a buyer and negotiate a good price for it, does it matter if the district steps in and buys it for the same price? Cash is cash......
Delete1:50 understands RoFR.
Delete2:20 doesn’t.
The joke was played on the council by city manager Vina, whom Barth bizarrely idolized. Gus sorta kinda forgot to tell the council that the school site carried onerous restrictions that made the thing virtually unusable.
DeleteWhoops!
2:19PM 2:20 gets it because I was there. All the meetings and all the other web stuff. I also get the ROFR. I get it baby. We were played. so STFU.
DeleteThe district needed the money for operating expenses. They're unlikely to be in a better financial position in 6 years, with the pension problem getting worse. And they don't have a need for the property, with district enrollment stagnant.
DeleteBut the city council could decide to sell to a developer in 6 years.
I get it...sell the property to the same sort of pay-daddys building the over-sized hotel on south pinto. They will not do anything for taxpayers but will enrich the chitty planners.
ReplyDeleteA hotel would be perfect for that site and would be a huge gain for the tax payers. I would vote yes and would vote to can our City Mayor and Manager for being terrible.
ReplyDeleteKan Kranz while you're at it. His smug mug was all over every PV photo op. how did he defend paying double the appraised value? Wasn't that 1 estimate.
DeleteKranz is an expert at paying inflated prices with the public's money.
DeleteThe council wants affordable housing for all of Encinitas, let's start here at Pacific View. What a community rip off for some hippies that want some place to paint. Do want I do, use your garage.
ReplyDeleteThe Council DOESN'T want affordable housing. If they did, they would have included more than an appallingly low 10-15 percent in Measures T and U.
DeleteThe Council wants the 85% - 90% market-rate housing in Measure U that the developers want too.
Encinitas = FAILURE
ReplyDeleteWhat are they waiting for? My finger paints and crayons are drying out! I am an artist, and I must express my artistic impulses with stick figures and animals. I also draw an amazing daisy. Society awaits my genius! Admit it, you're suffering.
ReplyDeleteJust raze it and turn it into a park that everyone can enjoy. Plant more trees. We need more green spaces.
ReplyDeleteSell it. The last thing Encinitas needs is another park or facility. Moonlight park and beach are one block away.
ReplyDeleteThe revenue is needed to fund street improvements. People are being run down on our streets.
People are throwing themselves into the paths of vehicles. And you're slipping, 6:05. It's "mow," not "run" down.
Delete