The district needs the approval of both the state and National Park Service because of a 1993 federal grant agreement that requires the park remain in perpetuity unless the agencies endorse a boundary change.
That agreement requires the district to replace the lost park land with a corresponding amount of land.
School District officials have proposed redrawing the boundary to include the school’s parking lot, which would double in size in the new plan, as well as opening the school’s garden for community use.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Cardiff schools want to call a parking lot a "park" so they can take other park land
Seems legit.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is all Catherine's doing, isn't it? After all, her property is just a stones throw away and she stands to benefit greatly from the increased parking in the area. She'll probably use that extra parking to build 15 more market rate units. Well, I guess this is just one more reason to vote her out! If I heard correctly, isn't the parking lot also supposed to be used for a peloton staging area on the weekends to coordinate their assault on Hwy 101 breakfast joints?
ReplyDeleteTrisa Smith, Catherine's Mom or landlord is behind this one. She's crazy!
ReplyDeleteCrazy and mean.
DeleteTricia Smith's father, Milton Smith, built the school in 1950. The school board made it clear from the very beginning that they wanted to tear down and build new, rather than renovating the older buildings. Tricia and a small group of other residents argued for renovation. However, Cardiff residents approved the General Obligation Bonds by a big margin, thus putting a tax increase on their property tax bill and giving the green light to the board for a tear down.
ReplyDeleteIt's a small group opposing the current building plan: Nearby residents who will get their pristine ocean view partially blocked and city-wide soccer groups who get free use of the grassy fields. Cardiff residents pay all the costs of maintaining the fields and their annual renovation. No city-wide funds are used.
If the suit is successful, the board may be forced to go to two-story buildings. Right now the maximum proposed height is 16 ft. There is nothing to stop the height from going to thirty feet.
Excellent summary, 8:14.
DeleteThe voters spoke, so clearly, a modern school will be built as an investment in the education of our children.
Obviously we’d all like to preserve as much park land, but at what cost? Taller buildings may be much worse than the current plan.
We seem to have a group in town with magical thinking that trade offs don’t need to be made.
I say go for it. The school needs an upgrade. I'm not concerned about people's views. I'm guessing if you want to command a view, you should be west of the 101. Everything else is peek-a-boo, really.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about views - it's about the loss of open space. Of the more than 60 comments submitted in response to the School District's draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) 46 expressed strong opposition to the project, and only 3 of those opposers would have had their views impacted. The school needs an upgrade, but it also needs to honor its legal commitment to keep the park available for public recreational use in perpetuity. Why does a school that was able to successfully teach 500 students at a time now need to be expanded to educate 340 students?
DeleteThank you Sienna Randall (10:57) and Greta Ott (10:18). This Cardiff school board is a perfect storm of crooked cronyism, comprised of appointed officials who should have filled their positions through election, and the result of this corrupted school board is the current situation.
ReplyDeleteThe above posters completely ignored the convenient classification of parking lot into park, not to mention a fiduciary duty of the school district to work with the authorized government agencies to remedy the existing intrusion into dedicated land, as well as new intrusions that are part of the new school. This is the same way the board wished away any requirement of a CEQA process by its self application of all exemptions, absent any substantiation. Why? Because this school board is comprised of incompetent cronies in over their heads, who resort to distortion and deflection rather than professional capacity. Much like the city council, come to think of it.
The parking lots at moonlight, swamis, and Encinitas community park are all zoned as part of the park.
DeleteGot a little anger management problem, do you? Where were you during the administrative process? Did you organize any opposition to the bond measure, as others have done in the past? Even the Smith family sat on their hands up to the election. A NO vote majority would have forced the school board to come back with a revised plan that looked more seriously at renovation of the existing buildings. The vote was a missed opportunity to exert some control on any perceived deficiencies of the school board.
Delete