I am not sure if you heard about what happened last night, but they want to restart the Housing Element. Of course, they scheduled this topic at the same time as the Leucadia 101 Streetscape making it impossible to attend both important meetings at once.
They did the same thing when they had scheduled another important meeting on the General Plan Update at the same time that the main roll out of the I-5 widening was presented at the Senior Center.
The document that they released for Planning Commission consideration last night spoke about 5 communities and "5 hearts." Naturally, they want to inflict their definition of what the 5 community hearts are without asking the residents. The Planning Commission decided to cut it back to an outline without reviewing what will be sent on to the Council. According to [friends in the know], this is not legal, but they are doing it anyway.
Friday, June 6, 2014
The old double-scheduling trick
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Another one of Gus Vina's ploys for the housing element update to pass without opposition. The apartment buildings would be part of the heart of each community in Encinitas. Planning director Murphy had a power point at the last commission meeting. More "meat" there but the presentation wasn't published as part of the commission agenda.
ReplyDeleteApparently Murphy didn't tell the truth to the council about a lesser number of apartments needed to meet the RHNA numbers required by Sandag.
The city also needs more properties upzoned in density just in case the other high density re-zoned properties are built with market rate apartments.
5 communities. 5 hearts?
ReplyDeleteI remember when Shaffer said there should be 6 communities because the one she lived in didn't really fit with the 5 that have always existed.
Stick all of them up there in her hood. Time to share the pain 6th community.
They keep bringing back the same tired plan with a different wrapper. All they want to do is to have higher density which residents don't want. Other times the Planning Department admits that we are 95% built out. Good. Let's stop and keep everyone happy. Leave us alone, and go find another city to overbuild.
ReplyDeleteHarrumph!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was Commissioner Brandenburg who tried to throw a monkey wrench into the works. He called the language "flowery" and "poetic" and said he couldn't make sense out of it. He said the report, which will go to the council, was full of "platitudes." He ended up voting against it on a 3 to 1 vote. The other three, Groseclose, O'Grady, and Flores, ended up stripping most of the language out and only leaving the four bold headings, after Brandenburg's motion to send the report back to staff failed. The three ended up approving a document they had never seen. Staff said they would rewrite it and Chairman Groseclose would OK it.
ReplyDeleteThe dramatic moment came after the vote when Brandenburg asked the city attorney (not the normal Gregory Lusitana) if they had just done something illegal. The city attorney said in his opinion YES and that they should reconsider it. Brandenburg made the motion for reconsideration and didn't get a second. The illegal maneuver stood.
The council will receive a document which was never read, considered by the full commission, and voted on. Planning Director Jeff Murphy should be fired, but he won't. Vina got what he wanted.
Well yeah, but Brandenburg does confuse easily. The developers won't give up until there are no buildable lots left.
DeleteCheck out the little house on the corner of Jason and Vulcan. 7 condos are now slotted to go there.
1:02 PM
DeleteRally your neighbors to stop the project.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteyou need to talk with Fred Caldwell.
DeleteHe knows the history of Encinitas and is a smart man.
Don't forget to ask about "Strange Thing for Mayor, 2014"....
Delete10:19
DeleteThanks, Mom.
I'd like to stay ON TOPIC, and wonder just what is behind Vina's zeal towards THE HOUSING ELEMENT. I watched the first city council meetings he facilitated as the newly hired city manager, and the first words out of his mouth are "Housing Element". And were repeated again for good measure, just in case you didn't hear it the first time. Then we had workshops and dot exercises and it was all bullshit. Now we're at it AGAIN.
ReplyDeleteWhat's behind it? $ If the city wasn't broke we wouldn't be 50 million behind in road repairs. If we weren't mis managed we wouldn't be using this non existent $ for a sports park. Vina is digging a BIG hole in city finances and wants to build his way out. What we need to get behind is showing him HIS WAY OUT!
DeleteI agree. The sooner the better and its time to start reducing staff costs.
DeleteThey say that they "may have to" change zoning. There is nothing that they have to do. They are making false threats to try to frighten the council and citizens in to thinking that we will be under attack.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to density bonus projects and other development issues, the City and the Council like to say, "We could get sued." What they don't say is that developers will sue them--but Council has broad discretion to strike down unsafe and environmentally unsuitable projects like with Desert Rose. If they keep approving these bad projects, they will be sued by residents.
"Will be?" :)
DeleteTrick #1
ReplyDelete"Looketh over there"
What a sneaky, sneaky bunch.
ReplyDeleteSaw Julie at both meetings!
ReplyDeleteExplain.
DeleteAsk her.
DeleteWhy?
DeleteJulie is really representing our residences. She has my vote!
ReplyDeleteShe has my vote, too! It's not just city meetings Vina manipulates: citizen participation meetings are regularly scheduled to conflict with council to split the crowd. It happened twice with the Fulvia/Hymettus density bonus project and more recently on the. Balour project. The developer/planning department claimed Wednesday was the only available date for one of the Hymettus meetings, but the community center scheduler said the entire week was open....
ReplyDeleteAstounding that we're actually paying these people for such shoddy treatment.
There is an old saying that I think fits this situation. "Be the change you want to see". This blog has become a blog of continuous hate and very seldom does anyone suggest a solution to the problem, whatever it is. When someone gives facts, they are labeled as too long too this or too that. I appreciate Wc's efforts, but what I don't see is anyone taking their own initiative and actually doing something about what they don't like. I will be putting my efforts toward Julie Graboi getting elected because she is actually doing something. There are many people in this City who actually are doing something, and if you are not one of them, then as the other old saying goes "you get what you put in." So, perhaps instead of bitching, complaining and moaning and groaning how you don't like something, take a chance-do something. The other night at City Hall when Kristin supporters were out in full-you know why that happened? Because the SD Rostra asked people to go to that meeting and help her out. They made stickers, they suited up and showed up as another old saying goes. It was an overflow crowd, even into a third room I didn't even know existed. So, all I can say is until some of you have the courage to put your name on something, get out and walk for whatever candidate you believe in, and donate, you will get the same old thing again. Go to Tony Kranz's FB page and see what he is doing He is giving back Cox all of their stuff, because he can go to a bar and watch and game and have a cocktail there. So, do you actually think he is going to do anything about the bar situation in this town? Go to Shaffer's page and check it out. Not much better. Have fun folks.
ReplyDeleteNice you said "some" complainers on here are also doers. I am a doer - extremely active, you might say - and I know of at least 10-12 other posters on here who are equally extremely active.
DeleteThis blog is an outlet for us to keep up dialogue/vent in between meetings and activities. It's nice to come on here and be able to discuss, even if most of the comments look like "hate" to you. I don't know if you've written many letters to the council, planning, engineering, and other departments, but what you are hearing (IMO) is not hate, but a really deep sadness, disappointment and yes: anger, at how our employees work against us. The responses we get routinely from council and staff are pretty outrageous. Lisa's stock answers are "I don't know" (not that she doesn't know and will find out) and "I wasn't told" (she doesn't seem to find that to be a problem). Muir is nice, but non-committal, which does zilch to solve the issue; Gaspar is the same. Spare me the nice and just say you're not going to lift a finger unless it benefits your backers, you know? Barth is flat-out rude and Kranz is beholden to his new friends and responds with rambling "we can look into it at some point" non-responses. Correspond with council and staff and you won't believe what you hear.
Out of curiosity: are you a doer, too?
5:12
Deleteyou must not get to city hall often- the Carnation Room - the third room you refer to- is a room of infamy- yes, this was the overflow rom for the swearing in of Muir where the same tired tactics Gaspar employed were used to hoodwink the public
Muir bussed in supporters from east county
Gaspar bussed in supporters from Carlsbad
Muir had his boy there
gaspar had her boy there
Muir had out of towners and developers wearing stickers
Gaspar has out of towners and cronies wearing stickers
see how it works? exploit kids, bus in out of towners, stock the room with special interest cronies.
The Carnation room was also the site of the Cardiff Specific Plan meetings,- where Bob Bonde and others took on PEder Norby, city staff that lied like Laurie Tremor to try and protect the Cardiff Community character
Barth is not only rude - she is a liar, as is Kranz, Gaspar, Muir and Shaffer. Barth, Kranz and Shaffer support Blakespear and are actively working against Graboi because they knwo Graboi has integrity and principles- she can't be bought like Phony Tony and has ethics Shaffer could only wish to have.
You will se an army working to elect Graboi this fall
the sd rostra is a joke-
DeleteBrian Brady claims to be Tea Party person supporting Kristin Gapsar who
1. increased city debt by $10M and left 200 projects unfunded
2. Increased debt service by $500,000 and left roads broken
3. Increased unfunded taxpayer liabilities to more than $300M
4. Lied to voters on the PRop A ballot statement
5. Voted to keep the road report from public view
6. Voted to give Cotton an extra paycheck spiking his pension
7. Voted against protecting resident safety at Desert Rose
8. Voted to hire a spin doctor leaving projects unfunded
9. appointed the ERAC committee that recommended 5 stories
10. Showed cowardice by refusing to vote on Pacific View in 2011
SD rostra -what a joke - they really back family value / financially responsible candidates- RINO
This fall? From what little I know the army for Graboi is already marching! Ethics Shaffer could only wish to have is classic. And by the way, what kind of person goes around spouting off they are ethical? How can Encinitas manage to elect so many wing nut loopies?
DeleteShaffer's ethics aside, she knew how to run a campaign. Hopefully Julie will have that same organization, ie website, blog, email blasts.
DeleteRight now she's behind the 8 ball, no website or social media presence...
The Rostra people are no doubt looking for some quid pro quo with Gaspar and Muir. We support you at Encinitas City Hall, you support Brian Brady for Republican Central Committee.
DeleteBrady knows nothing about Encinitas city politics, he doesn't live here. His interests as a Tea Party Conservative and Catholic ultra conservative on social issues don't really have a lot of relevance here.
Rostra may give guys like Jerome Stocks a forum, but that doesn't prevent fiscal conservatives like Richard Rider from going on there and calling him out. Stocks has basically lost more support over there than he's gained.
The bottom line is, all those out of town supporters who show up to support Gaspar can't vote here. They can flood money in, but they can't vote.
If we can get out the vote, we can defeat Gaspar and get Graboi in. But since this is an off season election, getting people engaged will be the challenge....
Can you define Catholic ultra conservative on social,issues?
DeleteYour discounting that we now have a great candidate in Julie Graboi because of communication on this very blog. Why is this community activated? Because of this blog. We are actually doing something. Glad you are supporting a candidate of substance.
ReplyDeleteYou're. Betting head off the spelling police.
DeleteAgree totally, 6:10!
Deletewarts and all, this blog is the best (and only?) source of information for citizens to know what is really going on in Encinitas.
Delete6:06: Yes, I am a doer and you would know who I was if I had decided to put my name on the post. But from what I have seen some of you do to others, such as Lynn, Dr. Lori, etc. I decided not to say who I was. I have been active in the community for a very long time, and would love this blog to be a place to both share frustrations, anger, but also what we could do, instead of complain. That would be awesome.
ReplyDelete6:21- I cannot speak for others, but I have to admit there is some truth in what you say. I went to the 2 people's FB pages and it was kind of pathetic. For me, it was a bit of a way up call. I will be campaigning for Graboi as well, as she is the only activist I know that is running for Council.
DeleteGlad to hear you're a doer, too; you would no doubt know me as well. How do we make what we say into sharing and not complaining? What would that look like to you?
DeleteGraboi for sure.
7:38 sounds like psycho babble. We are airing our viewpoints that are each different and varied. One can take it as complaining, when it is not. It's all how one looks at the comments. Are you another "feel good" Barth supporter because that feeling on council didn't last too long?
DeleteLOL 8:36 - no psychobabble, just a challenge to someone who takes most of the comments as "complaining," which I most definitely do not. I want to hear solutions from someone who thinks we're all sitting around, doing nothing. To me, "complaining" shows a high level of engagement compared to apathy or ignorance, so I don't have a problem with it and actually don't take any comments as negative.
DeleteAnd finally: I supported Barth, much to my horror. You'll never find me speaking at council or anywhere about what a good job she's done.
9:37, there will always be a lot of complaining. Not sure this is the place for "action" in that sense, only because if we're not using our names, how do we coalesce for action.
DeleteThe thing this blog does best is to alert citizens to the behind the scenes goings on at city hall, and let them know what to keep an eye out for.
Where it comes up short is as a forum for solutions. We've had some good ideas proposed, but since there's a free exchange of ideas, it gets a little wild and wooly, and there are a lot of long winded writing in some quarters and a lot of bashing.
To whit, we know we want a change on council and also a chance in counsel and city management. The step to achieve that is a bit trickier.
What do you think the best way is to get down the path to a lower density, a more responsive city hall and council members willing to implement some true changes?
-MGJ
There is also far too much innuendo, speculation and conjecture being passed along as facts by some on this blog that tend to mislead those who aren't in the know about the issues going on at City Hall.
DeleteMore are in the know than you might think, 9:20. Unhappy employees = loose lips.
Delete9:20 as you offer no specifics it is you who are promoting speculation and conjecture. Facts please.
DeleteFact Thrower
Fact thrower all you do is point out the obvious. Give us some perspective from all those facts that you like to throw around without any context.
DeleteAll one has to do is check the voting record of Gaspar as stated by Fact Thrower. It is there, undisputed, and can not be erased. That is what is going on at City Hall.
DeleteYeah that's obvious. So is the fact that even if Barth doesn't run and Gaspar is voted out of office (Not going to happen) You are still left with Shaffer, Krans and Muir.
DeleteSo far you have two candidates that may run against Gaspar that split your base. So how are you going to vote if Krans runs for mayor from a safe seat dividing your base even more?
Will Graboi or Blakespear run for Mayor or just run for the two vacant council seats? Either way they empower Gaspar's base and divide their own.
The constant solution offered on this blog over and over is to get rid of Vina and Sabine. This seems to be a strong focus here and the answer to the majority of our city's problems. It would certainly be key to straightening out finances.
ReplyDeleteBut not in our control. That is 100% the council, which is where we have to focus our oust Vina/Sabine efforts. It would help if Teresa didn't hang on Vina's every word and all of them didn't freak every time Sabine says "well...we could get sued by developers...."
DeleteThe question then would be, would the new counsel and city manager be any better? Is Vina worse than Kerry Miller or Phil Cotton?
DeleteWat way worse!
DeletePhil Cotton stunk, but Vina may be a little more Wiley....
DeleteYou would have to replace all 5 of the current council members to get rid of Vina and Sabine. We need a change.
ReplyDeleteKranz was bedazzled by Sabine's Rolex and sat up when he was told he might get one if he does what he is told! Dalager reborn - Rolexgate.
ReplyDeleteA person who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client! We would be the first to complain if the council didn't follow their lawyers advise and lose.
ReplyDelete2:03
DeleteSabine recommended the council ignore residents at the Hall Park seeking an EIR to determine the extent of carcinogenic and toxic materials on site so our kids would be safe playing there. Residents had to sue teh city to protect their safety and won. The court orderd Sabine and the city to do an EIR that showed there were carcinogenics and birth defect causing toxins on site that needed to be treated. Cost to taxpayers wa a threat to safety and health and close to $400,000 in wasted legal fees - some to Sabine's firm.
Sabine recommended the council not release a road report just ahead of the 2010 election that showed Stocks and Dalager had played fast and loose with our money and our road repairs were unfunded. Residents sued to see the report and Gaspar and the reckless council followed Sabine's advice. The city lost costing taxpayers close to $200,000 in wasted legal fees- much to Sabine's law firm. The report was released and it showed the city was $43M behind.
Sabine recommended the council ignore residents and a signed contract and give ex manager Cotton an extra paycheck. Cotton had signed a contract agreeing to be paid a set fixed annual amount. Sabine recommended that somehow there was 54 weeks in a year an Cotton should get an extra paycheck. Sabine argued the contract terms not be followed and Cotton should be granted more money. Gaspar and Stocks voted to approve the extra pay for ther crony enabling Cotton to spike his pension.
Sabine recommended the council ignore residents at Desert Rose seeking to protect their safety, property values and quality of life. Shaffer Barth Kranz Gaspar and Muir followed his advice to place residents in harms way. Residents sued the city and won. costing taxpayers close to $100,000 in wasted money
Sabine recommended the council ignore residents requesting teh city file an injunction to prevent the auction of PV and compell EUSD to follow the Naylor act by legal action - Gaspar, Kranz, Shaffer, Muir Barth ignored residents and followed Sabine resulting in a $10M price-
Sabine recommended the the council sign their names to the Prop A Ballot Statement lies.
Fact Thrower
Fact Thrower nails Sabine to the wall - good show!
DeleteFact Thrower crucifies Sabine!
DeleteListening to Sabine makes them even bigger fools.
ReplyDeleteAnd when Dr. Lori went before the Council, twice now, and shared all of the above and more, 9 people show up. Lynn and Jerry gave time donations. She spent hours on that 9 minutes, and asked you all to come. The first time she went up before Council, the LB was the "in" blog. There were more people there than the second time. The first time Charlie Marvin, representing the applicant, was his council. Dr. Lori went up against him and got Maggie and Christie's vote. Second time, she got no votes. Both times she got hit pretty hard by Sabine. That is what I took the poster to mean as doing something. I have asked 100 people if they know about this blog. Most of them my neighbors. All said NO. So the same peopler are posting over and over and maybe a few people read it, but no one on the Council does, nor for that matter, do many activists in the CIty.
ReplyDelete9:45 not everyone posts but all my neighbors read. Activists definitely read.
DeleteI would like to comment since my name keeps coming up regarding Sabine. All of what everyone has said is true, including him threatening me with a lawsuit. Here is what I know for sure. Julie is having a fundraiser soon. I don't who has been invited. All I know is I have, and perhaps it is because I have already given her money for her campaign. She is working as fast as she can, and she has excellent advice from someone we all know. It is not my place to reveal that on this blog. I can tell you that I spent 5 years on the Parks and Rec. Commission and it is definitely true that Vina and some staff are running the show. Lisa and Marilee basically took over our Commission and we had absolutely no say in the new Park. We wanted to, but we were continually sabotaged and lied to. When I asked about the Rossini runoff staff told me there was no problem. I could go on about that, but I intend to use my 3 minutes of oral communications in the near future to give my own exit interview. Let's see, I personally believe that you can catch more flies with honey than with hatred. So, yes I posted on the La Rostra blog as well. For those who criticized my decision, all I will say is I had my reasons. I am writing a sort of expose on what is going on, as I spent 5 years on Parks and Rec. and got to know staff and Council well. If Jim Kydd will publish it, you can read it. However, it is not finished yet. I want to make sure absolutely everything is 100% correct. I don't want to get sued by the CIty. I, too, have asked many people if they read this blog and most say they don't know about it. When they read it, their response has been somewhat negative, and their main comment is all these people do is complain. Whether that's true, it is a perception by some. So, someone asked how can we make a difference? First, I think an all out support of Graboi is necessary, as she is on the side of everyday person. I know I will give her as much as I can up to the legal limit. I will be hosting a meet and greet in the near future and I will invite everyone who wants to come on this blog to show up. I will also invite everyone to walk precincts, and if she wants me to, I can help set that up. I've walked them my whole life, so there is a way to do it. I'm sure others on this blog have also walked them, so I don't set myself up as anyone special, just someone that would really not like our community to be another P.B. Many of you don't care for me. That is your right. As one of my mentors once told me "if everyone likes you, you stand for nothing." So, let me tell you what I do stand for. I want each and every one of our citizens to have an equal opportunity to have a say in how our City is governed. Some of our community doesn't care. I know you all do. I want us to go to Sacramento and stand up to the people up there regarding density bonus, as our City Council will not do it. Water is the key, as even on the I-5 it says we are in a drought situation. We cannot keep building and expect the water to not run out at some point. We need people that want plant gardens and create a farmers market, to be able to do that. Read the Patch on Coral Gardens. We need people who will just say NO, we have had enough. I could go on, but I'm already beginning to bore myself. So, let's take our community back. We can start with getting Julie elected. She will not have the money that others may have, but she has us if we all work together. And, I know I will be able to say I did my best. As far as this double booking, we could divide up and some go to one meeting and others go to another meeting. We could report back on this blog with what we learned. That would be helpful to all of us, in my opinion. Wc has given us a forum for change. Now let's use it.
ReplyDeleteIf A crazy ex-mayor is giving advice as a campaign manager your candidate is doomed.
DeletePS- it's called a paragraph. Please use it.
Julie's advice person is not an ex mayor. And I am aware of paragraph's. Using them, however, isn't necessary on this blog. So get over it and let's move on. If you don't like the way I post, don't read it.
DeleteIt's the ex-Mayor plus Andreen plus Meyer giving campaign advice and calling the shots.
Delete6:07 Great. We don't have to read them any more.
DeleteSorry, Dr L. lov ya, but a few quick breaks in the text would be great.
DeleteAgree, Julie will need a lot of help. I encourage her to get her web and social media presence up asap, as that is a good, cheap way to spread the word. That and email.
Precinct walking is tough, I've done it a lot of times, with really mixed results. You're interrupting people's weekends most time, or they aren't home.
Meet and greets are great, and I think getting out in front of Trader Joe's and other high traffic areas is more effective.
But the web, email and social side is key. Julie might not have $ for the dirty mailers we all know are coming, but she can outhustle Gaspar and lean on her Prop A cred. Again, it's an off year election, and it will be tough....
-MGJ
MGJ- If I could go back and edit, I would provide paragraphs. Sorry, I was in a hurry, and just kept writing. Since you asked in a kind, and not sarcastic, manner, I will from now on, use paragraph's if I have more than one thing to say. That's it for now.
Delete8:51 He didn't ask you. He made a comment that quick breaks in a text would be great.
Delete9:41-I realize that it is easier to read things that have more than one item, when they are in paragraph form. And, from now on, I certainly can do that. No problem. It's all good.
DeleteAll is not good Dr.L..... Have you looked around our city lately??
DeleteHey kids. Here's a neat trick. Just write your comments first in Word, WordPad, or your wordprocessing software of choice and then when you're done, just cut & paste it in to the comment space (where you normally type). While I'm not doing that now, I've done it lots of times and it works like a champ. That way it's easier to edit. Just a suggestion.
DeleteAgree getting Julie elected is the next step in reclaiming "our" city. Well said.
ReplyDeleteGreen Jeans come on. Julie doesn't have to out hustle the princess. They are two different positions. Julie council, princess mayor currently. Got it? Thanks for supporting Julie for council.
ReplyDeleteForgive my ignorance. So, if Kranz runs for mayor, as he indicated he might, and he loses to Gaspar, is he off the COuncil. It seems a little confusing to me.
ReplyDeleteOnly Gaspar and Barth's seats are available since this year ends their four year term. Kranz's term ends in 2016 and would still be a councilman if he lost the mayoral race. Or so they say.
ReplyDelete