City asks judge to impose Measure U in its entirety

... despite the fact that it both fails to meet HCD requirements and has unnecessary giveaways to developers.

Coast News:

Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear said, “I can’t think of anything more the city could have done to craft a plan that both housing regulators and voters would accept. We really did try our best, both in terms of effort expended and compromises to gain consensus. So we find ourselves here,” meaning in court and at a judge’s discretion.

Frazier’s ruling will wait until the county and city have officially certified the ballot results of Measure U. The controversial housing initiative failed, with 53 percent of voters opposed, which makes the judge’s decision to wait a mere formality. Measure U sought to allow increased housing density up to three stories high at 15 potential sites in Encinitas. A similar ballot initiative, Measure T, was soundly defeated in 2016.

Encinitas’ legal counsel argued that the city should be made to adopt Measure U. Attorney Dolores Bastian Dalton of Goldfarb & Lipman described that plan as “a workable and practical solution that gets all three parties out of the impasse that we’re in.” She said other potential options that require more community feedback and political consensus would “only embolden the anti-housing group.”

City manager gets raise

Del Mar Times:

Encinitas’ chief administrator will be one of the better paid city managers among similar municipalities in the region after City Council action Wednesday, Nov. 28.

Council members voted 5-0 to give City Manager Karen Brust a $7,283 boost to her annual base salary as well as a $20,000 increase to her deferred compensation plan and an additional nine hours of paid vacation annually.

“The city manager has done a great job in the last year,” Mayor Catherine Blakespear said. “One of the key things is that we had a staff reorganization, and a number of vacancies ... that we needed to fill and she’s done an excellent job of filling out her team so that we’re able to accomplish the City Council’s priorities.”

With the salary increase, Brust will receive $250,043 in annual base pay, which does not include health and retirement benefits. The wage figure does not include the addition to the deferred compensation plan, a savings account untaxed unless the money is withdrawn.

The base pay alone is 36% more than Gus Vina was making just six years ago.

It seems city workers have discovered the ol' ratcheting trick.

City reportedly considering one-way streets in Cardiff

Del Mar Times:

Members of the public are invited to join the City's Traffic Engineering Division to discuss potential street modifications, including changes to existing street striping and parking along Liverpool Drive and Chesterfield Drive.

The meeting will take place Dec. 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Encinitas City Hall, 505 South Vulcan Avenue. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2Rl5HIt.

Streetscapes in Paradise

LA Times:

After a fast-moving fire swept into town a decade ago, burning more than 200 homes and trapping thousands of fleeing residents on gridlocked mountain roads, a grand jury called on officials to improve evacuation routes.

But six years later, the city decided to narrow a portion of the main road through town from four lanes to two as part of an effort in the downtown area aimed at boosting commerce as well as traffic and pedestrian safety.

Two other roads in the city were also narrowed, records show.

The so-called “road diet” for Skyway slowed traffic, and a local civic group donated benches and landscaping to beautify the zone.

Nearly two weeks ago, Skyway was the scene of unspeakable horror when the worst wildfire in California history besieged Paradise. Up to 27,000 residents trying to escape the flames instead were stuck in traffic, the buildings around them burning. Some died in their cars when the fire roared over them.

La Paloma featured in industry publication

Good history and profile of the current proprietor at filmjournal.com.

11/14/18 City Council meeting open thread

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Mountain rises behind Sunset High School

In 1943, a volcano suddenly arose in a cornfield in Parícutin, Mexico.

Similarly suddenly, a mountain has arisen here in Encinitas, behind Sunset High School on Requeza Drive.