How about starting a string that asks people to name the worst road in Encinitas? "Worst" meaning the condition of the pavement.
According to city staff, if the council requested to remove some of the parking from the Streetscape plan to create more room to accommodate bike lanes in both directions, it could lead to issues with approval from the California Coastal Commission.
“I really want to be clear that we’re not directing or asking this project get derailed over this,” Mayor Catherine Blakespear said. “I know that’s the kind of thing that can make it not actually acceptable to the coastal commission and then we get into a multi-year process of negotiations.”
City staff said they would go back to look at designs in the hopes of finding a way to accommodate the bike lanes, which are of great interest to the public. Staff said they would return to the council with their findings in one week’s time.
From the Inbox:
New York Times:
In her three years in the national spotlight, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become the undisputed face of unabashed progressivism. But there is another hidden-in-plain-sight legacy of her 2018 primary victory: Her campaign logo and poster have reshaped the visual branding of the left.
Candidates across the country, and even internationally, have appropriated elements of its condensed and bold typeface and its upward-sloping, dialog-box design.
Imitations and inspirations have appeared in the governor’s race in Virginia, a Senate contest in Kentucky, an elementary school race in Queens and even a campaign by a communist candidate in France.
Affordable housing is an ongoing issue in Encinitas. Required affordable housing percentages have recently been the focus of the Planning Commission, who voted to increase the percentage. If the percentage of affordable units per development increases, we reduce the total number of units needed for the 2021 housing cycle (see chart).
Currently, developers sprinkle a measly 15% affordable units into each density project. For every 100 housing units built, only 15 are affordable. At 15% we will need an additional 4,000 units to be built to achieve the state’s goal.
How is building 85% luxury homes and condos compassionate to our teachers, firefighters, and service workers who need housing now?
Mayor Blakespear claims 15% is the absolute max despite the fact that her own commissioned study concluded 20% was reasonable, when in fact the Goodson project (near Encinitas Boulevard and Rancho Santa Fe Road) is 20%. Developers do not pay for the increase in land value when sites are rezoned to R30 (30 units per acre), often from R1 or R3. This is a land value windfall, and in exchange they should be required to pay for more lower income housing. Other cities requiring increased affordability include Corte Madera, Los Gatos and Capitola. In Encinitas, for all the housing plan upzoning, we realize very few affordable units.
Staff had originally recommended the item be continued off the calendar without a set date for re-noticing. Before Thursday’s meeting, staff issued a memo revising that recommendation that the item be continued to the planning commission meeting on May 20.
The commission instead agreed to continue the item to its next meeting on May 6.
At the Thursday meeting, Roy Sapa’u, assistant director for development services for the city of Encinitas, explained the reasoning for the requested continuance was due to issues with a lack of staff bandwidth and upcoming full commission agendas.
“Unfortunately the item is being continued, solely due to staff workload,” Sapa’u said. “On April 7 the city council considered the housing element and that was a priority for staff and we focused all of our resources on ensuring we completed that effort.”
[...]
Chair Bruce Ehlers responded with strong words for staff.
“We gotta get this straight, we’re the discretionary body,” Ehlers said. “We need to have that decision within our purview and if you need extra time you need to come back and ask us.”
Ehlers also pointed out some analysis and reviews he would have liked to have seen done by the consulting firm, Keyser Marston Associates, that the commission was previously told was not possible due to funding.
“It’s interesting that when we discussed having additional work done back during deliberation we ran into a brick wall but now the brick wall has softened apparently,” Ehlers said. “And that troubles me, that troubles me a lot.”
