Wednesday, September 18, 2019

9/18/2019 City Council meeting open thread

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Will the Cardiff Bike Obstacle Course go the way of our innovative mayor's other inventions like jazz hands and mandatory mediation? The vote isn't until next week, but we're likely to get an earful from cyclists tonight.

26 comments:

  1. Donna Westbrook

    Self-appointed expert on everything.

    Tonight: electric grids, energy production, utilities, state housing law, municipal treasury and finance, water and sewer financing.

    She wasted everyone’s time ranting about RHNA and adding more density in the next cycle. She didn’t know we won’t have any new up-zoning required in the next cycle.

    Oops.

    People behind he in the audience rolling eyes and staring daggers.

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    1. Councilman Joe Mosca said the city may have to up zone more properties.

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    2. It is a hard fight to point out all of the "F" work and lazy and incompetent employees at the City. They are rewarded for doing bad work since the self-interest of job security and funded pensions benefits them at the expense of taxpayers.

      What is the incentive for citizens to spend their own time and money to research issues when they are targeted and mocked when they catch staff and developers in lies? Donna Westbrook is an expert--much more than most who are overseeing these projects.

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  2. Donna Westbrook is knowledgeable, passionate and committed to preserving Encinitas.

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  3. The Portofino hotel appeal - owners want to let the booze flow.

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  4. The new electric company Encinitas city council is forming with San Diego city, Chula Vista, and La Mesa may put the residents in Encinitas into their own debt of $55 million. Is this what Encinitas residents want?

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  5. 7:24pm. Could you be more clueless. Purposely, that is not a question, since it is all too obvious by the ignorance you posted.

    Donna is a treasure. You are not.

    All she calls for is following our city standards, and sadly, this almost always points to our city ignoring these same established codes.

    7:24pm You are either a member in the sold out planning dept. or I cannot venture a guess as to your motivation to criticize a resident who does her homework ever freaking time.

    What our city needs the most is residents like her that care enough to keep on trying to make the city do what it should, and has not for too long.

    What our council should do is represent the majority of citizens. Yea right. When has that happened?

    My memory must be at fault, but I would like to be reminded of just when our council supported the residents concerns about anything when it comes to any development.

    Blame has to be levied against the Planning Dept. who never sees a project that they cannot approve of. That being said, our councils enabling is just as damning.







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  6. The Portofino Hotel, or is it now, the 101 Hotel. Who the f cares.

    Guaranteed, every council member who let this go forward with all the unanswered and unaddressed issues should be sued for their negligence in many issues that continue to be ignored in order to let this go forward.

    Next year we stand a chance to actually have a council that stands for the voters who we put our trust in to represent the residents. This can happen in my own Pollyanna world of being a dreamer of a better world with representatives that stand for residents.

    Dream on.



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  7. Blakespear had zero comments, zero questions, wanted to "just proceed to a vote." She was a Yes.

    Hinze said she knows the developer, has met with him many times when on the L101 Main St., and knows he'll be a good guy who will do the right thing by residents. She was a Yes.

    Mosca was mostly silent, he was a Yes.

    Hubbard smiled and nodded in agreement as the applicant asked for leniency on valet parking intended to mitigate adjacent neighborhood impacts. She was a Yes.

    Kranz fed Planning staff line after line, helping them explain away the many exemptions and violations. Definite Ye$.

    By the Planning Department's own admission the project plans were not final, yet the locked and loaded council could not vote Yes fast enough.

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  8. The “no to everything” crowd loses again.

    Encinitas wins.

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    Replies
    1. No to code violations, sorry that's a problem for you. Encinitas taxpayers lose when this mess goes to court. So much for Blakespear's claim she'll "stop the bleeding."

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    2. There is a reason many local top developers live in Rancho .... where the most restrictive land use codes in the county protect their lifestyle.

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    3. Maybe Blakespear and her relatives will also move to Rancho once they have developed their own property at maximum density and finished ruining our city.

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    4. We've had the Housing Element law for 50 years now and the problem of affordability is worse than ever. NO ONE wants to talk about the massive takeover of the housing market by wallstreeters being a main cause of this.

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  9. What enacted policies or council decisions has Donna successfully influenced?

    What elections has she made a difference in?

    What are her specific achievements?

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  10. Well, hmm, let's see, does Prop A count? How about Barth bailing? Stocks getting whipped? Maggie's election? Dalager going down?

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    1. Wow. What did she do on each of those?

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    2. A number of people are no longer here after Donna exposed them. Gus Vina for one. Let's hope for some more departures.

      Donna has influenced policies through showing the truth. Others in this town influence policies the time-tested way through bribery.

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    3. Donna is fighting the good fight. What are you doing, 2:59?

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    4. What am I doing?

      Well, I’m not a self-appointed expert on everything, so I’m staying in my lane, only offering an opinion where I may have some expertise. I usually do so behind the scenes because I’m not starved for attention. I find it works pretty well and people listen when you have demonstrated a track record of only speaking when you have something important to say.

      Basically, I’m not wasting everyone’s time.

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    5. Donna isn't wasting our time. She is an expert as compared to most in the city who have an overwhelming expertise in hiding and destroying information that Donna is able to dig out through other means. It is many at the City who we are paying to waste our time.

      Your behind the scenes meetings do not seem fair to me since the public has a right to be in on the conversation. Donna is supporting a democracy, whereas it sounds like you are supporting insider information to benefit yourself. Donna fights for the City to follow the General Plan, the Municipal Code, and other laws.

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    6. Yet, 8:32, you haven't said what you've accomplished by working behind the scenes.

      Donna studies the issues, the Muni Code, the relevant points, and she knows the history. I call that expertise. Anybody can do the same. It takes time and dedication.

      So, 8:32, what have you done to stop the city from running roughshod over everything?

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    7. 8:32 AM
      The Encinitas City Council welcomes you and encourages your continued interest and involvement in the City's decision-making process.

      KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE OPEN GOVERNMENT LAWS: Government's duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City exist to conduct the people's business. For more information on your rights under the Brown Act and other State laws, visit the city's webpage at www.encinitasca.gov under the heading Resources.
      People voiced their thoughts on the 5G push in Encinitas. Are you complaining about them speaking?
      Many bicyclists spoke in oppose to the new changes in south highway 101. Are you complaining about their right to speak?
      There was an appeal about the Portofino hotel. Are you complaining about people voicing their opinion at a Council meeting?
      Everyone has a right to ask questions and voice opinions. Until you become the next Councilperson or Mayor of Encinitas, everyone still has that right.

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    8. I totally agree. Everyone has a right to be a fool and waste people’s time.

      The groups you mentioned have a passion and expertise in a particular subject. They rightly come and add their two cents while the issue is before council. They don’t come back every week and pretend to be experts on every subject.

      If you pretend to be an expert in everything, then everyone knows you are an expert at nothing.

      If you want to dilute your impact and make people tune you out, then take every opportunity available to give your opinions in front of a microphone.

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    9. Yes, 1:55 PM, Thank you for your permission. You should run for council.

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  11. From Encinitas Votes by Susan Turney. Seems as if this council will cave to any developer. " I transcribed planner Roy Sapau’s response to the appellant’s charge that the third story on the project violates Prop A. Tony Kranz asked whether the covered public bar structure on the roof deck creates a third story that violates Proposition A.

    He said to Roy: “Explain to me again how that is not true. How is it that that is not a third story and a violation of prop A?”

    Roy responded:

    “The same response we gave for the fire code is that they’ll still have to demonstrate compliance with Prop A at the time of the building permit.

    Our definition of story it defines a story as a floor with a ceiling above – that’s an area between a floor and another floor above it. There is no floor, then it’s a ceiling. That’s the definition of story.

    That’s what’s defined in the…I can pull that up and display it to the community and the council. [He did not.]

    That’s why we’ve determined that is it’s not in compliance, however the plans that were submitted by the applicant are limited so we’ll further evaluate at the time at the time of the building permit that it doesn’t meet the definition of a story at the time the building permit is released.”

    In case you wish to hear with your own ears: http://encinitas.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7....

    Roy’s response comes up at 3:02:34.

    So by the City’s own admission the project violates Prop A. Yet the planning department recommended plan approval and the Council agreed unanimously."
    ENCINITAS.GRANICUS.COM
    encinitas.granicus.com

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