Scott Wiener's AB 50 stalls again

Desert Sun:

California’s controversial housing bill, which would have required cities and counties to change local zoning laws to allow for new, denser housing near job centers and public transportation, died in the state Senate Thursday morning, four votes shy of the support needed to advance the legislation to the Assembly.

The measure has deeply divided stakeholders for more than a year, and lively debate on the Senate floor before an initial vote was taken on Wednesday stretched to two hours. The bill was narrowly defeated 18-15 on Wednesday afternoon, with six senators declining to vote, including Republican leader Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, who was in Washington, D.C. It was re-introduced Thursday morning in a final effort to get the bill through before the Jan. 31 deadline, but still failed.

I haven't looked into the local implementation details, but it sounds like the bill would allow at least four-story buildings near the downtown 101 transit hub. Perhaps higher than four stories, and perhaps further along transportation corridors.

HT: Bubbleinfo.

1/29/20 City Council meeting open thread

Special meeting tonight on the Pacific View debacle, held at the Senior Center.

Please use the comments to record your observations.

City feud with Surfing Madonna puts future events at risk

Facebook:

CITY OF ENCINITAS COULD BE ENDING SURFING MADONNA EVENTS & SURF CAMPS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN

We know many of you have been emailing us and wondering why the Surfing Madonna Beach Run registration isn’t open yet for 2020. We have kept quiet about it with respect to our City Council, however, we can no longer remain silent.

The problem stemmed from us catching the city on a “clerical error” last October that led to Surfing Madonna getting over billed on our lifeguard fees by thousands of dollars. We tried multiple times to get the fees resolved, but to no avail. We asked the City of Encinitas Parks & Recreation Dept to remove our events (Surfing Madonna Beach Run & Encinitas Half Marathon) from the city events calendar, if the lifeguard fees couldn’t be corrected. Through a public records request and a letter from a lawyer, the fees were then corrected and we received an apology letter, but now we are no longer approved for future events.

Our last event could be the upcoming Encinitas Half Marathon & 5K on March 29th. Jennifer Campbell (Parks Director) said they have new policies and procedures for special events that will be put in place, however, these new policies could end the Surfing Madonna Events and nonprofit. They will not share any details with us.

Arts group still in way over its head on Pacific View

Back in 2014, the City Council, led by Tony Kranz, borrowed $10 million in high-cost taxable bonds to buy the abandoned Pacific View elementary school. Councilwoman Lisa Shaffer offered a vision of a thriving arts center despite most arts uses being expressly prohibited by the zoning.

Nevertheless, a new vastly underfunded but panglossian arts group was hastily formed to receive the taxpayer largess and promised to turn the dilapidated buildings into something of use.

Six years and millions of taxpayer dollars later...

On this week's council agenda.

EACEA [Encinitas Arts, Culture and Ecology Alliance] did not ask to extend the ROEL [Right of Entry and License Agreement] and it expired on December 19, 2019.

[...]

In order to use the current buildings, they would need to be improved to make them safe and clean for public use. In September 2015, a Preliminary Design Report was completed by Westberg+White for the rehabilitation of the Pacific View site. The design report provided three options with estimated costs. The cost estimate at that time to restore the Pacific View school buildings and site ranged from $3.9 million to $4.4 million.

More history of the Pacific View fiasco can be found in the Encinitas Undercover archives.

1/22/20 City Council meeting open thread

Big homeless parking lot meeting tonight! Both sides will be out in force.

Please use the comments to record your observations.

UPDATE: Cardiff activist Julie Thunder announces run for mayor.

Blakespear fears violence from her Encinitas constituents

Voice of San Diego:

Neither Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear nor any of the four Council members who voted in favor of the Safe Parking Program in November attended the forum, nor did anyone from Jewish Family Service. Blakespear told VOSD in an email she was advised by the sheriff not to go to a different community meeting Tuesday about the safe parking lot for her own safety.

Even at the height of "Dump Stocks" anger, I don't remember Jerome Stocks ever hiding from the public.

HT: Jim the Realtor

We're #23!

... on WalletHub's best places to raise a family in California.

Not quite as good as Poway, but much better than Carlsbad.

We score high on "affordability" not because housing or the cost of living is cheap, but because we're all rich!

HT: Jim the Realtor.