Sunday, June 2, 2019

Council to raid open space acquisition funds to build Leucadia Streetscape

Coast News:
But the budget also calls for the council to redirect $590,000 of the $1.18 million it has available to purchase open space to help pay for the circulation element, a plan that addresses how to move people through the city, including improvements to roadways, bikeways, pedestrian paths and other modes of transportation.

[...]

“I know that the acquisition of open space is a very important issue for not only for the community but especially for this council,” Kranz said. “So it’s a little bit painful to be using funds that were originally set aside for open space acquisition for the circulation element.”

Kranz, however, also said that he was comfortable with transferring the money because the city was not taking all of the funds.
We wonder if bank robbers ever successfully used that defense: "Well, I didn't take ALL of the money in the bank..."

Longtime Encinitas Undercover readers will recall that an official city survey showed that residents wanted more open space, not more Leucadia Streetscape.

85 comments:

  1. A misappropriation of taxpayers' bucks.

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  2. When will this duplicity and abuse end?

    Answer: only when the mentally challenged dipshits on this blog who voted for this sorry-sack-excuse of a city government pulls its head out and helps the few reasonable people left in Encinitas vote or recall them out.

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  3. The Circulation Element should be left alone. The Mayor/Council want to change the Circulation Element to justify the removal of vehicle travel lanes that are made into bicycle lanes. Also, the road designations in the Circulation Element can be changed to allow more and larger buildings under a conditional use permit. Tell the Mayor and Council to leave the Circulation Element alone.

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  4. Was Roundup sprayed to kill the vegetation along the coastal rail trail (the concrete sidewalk) in Cardiff. Where is the public notice.

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  5. Republics have fallen because of Praetorian Guard mentality where government officials get very arrogant. They identify the national interest with their own political preferences and feel that anyone who has a different opinion is somehow an enemy of the state. There is a tendency that they know better and that they are there to protect as guardians of the people.
    That can easily translate into essentially supervening the will of the majority and getting your own way as a government official at the high cost of future deterioration of infrastructure and bureaucracy.

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    Replies
    1. This is the Shaffer "we know what's best for you, stay out of our way and let us govern" attitude. Blakespear is taking her "intellectual powerhouse" mentor's philosophy to a whole new level.

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  6. Bait and switch. Thanks again city council. Traitors. It's REALLY painful for us to see how you've betrayed us. Again.10:49 PM is harsh, but I have to agree.

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  7. Sorry voters but these are not the Democrats you are looking for.

    They just put the D after their name so uninformed voters pick them. It’s an old trick that works particularly well in ENCINITAS for some reason,

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    Replies
    1. This type of nonsense is exactly what a leftist would do.
      Why would anyone think otherwise?

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  8. Just shows the developer hand in the push for streetscam. Otherwise why be so hell-bent to make it happen vs. fixing our streets???

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  9. Where are the bids?? Let us see the true cost of Streetscape??

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    Replies
    1. Final design necessary before putting out to bid.

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    2. I don't think anyone would be shocked to hear the vendors have already been chosen.

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    3. 3:32 PM, do you understand the bidding process? Of course you do.

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    4. 3:54, do you understand how things really work at city hall? Of course you do - at least, you sound like you do.

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    5. I understand that the cost of streetscape will be tens of millions more than the city Believes. Using numbers that are 10 years old to project the cost of something is folly. That's what I understand. Let's see the bids.....oh there are no bids. Simpletons at city hall. Not one of them could earn a living in the real world.

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    6. 5:55 AM, apparently you don't understand how bidding works. Folly!

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    7. Apparently I don't 9:21, fill me in.
      Meanwhile I have saved the money for a down payment on a house I want to buy, I saw it FOR SALE 10 years ago, I'm ready now...oh wait the price has gone up??

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    8. You have the internet at your disposal to research how the bidding process works and when it can begin. Use it.

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    9. 8:22, riddle me this: why does it seem that the same contractors win the bid every time? So very predictable - and questionable. So m'yeah, how the bidding "proce$$" works.

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    10. Which contractors have won which bids every time? Always a conspiracy.

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    11. One whose name rhymes with "fiasco," for starters. Yep, always a conspiracy. Oh wait, always on the up and up, nothing to see here, move on.

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  10. Total lack of financial and operational oversight of OUR tax money. Special interests directing our city's future pulling council's puppet strings.

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  11. $590K wouldn’t buy much open space anyway.

    There just isn’t any private open space left, and none is for sale.

    Put the money to good use funding Streetscape, instead leaving it sit in a bank account doing nothing.

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    Replies
    1. Put the money toward fixing the roads. Streetscape is not a "good use" unless you're developer or sadly-hopeful business owner.

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    2. Actually, Streetscape **IS** fixing one of the most major roads in town.

      And it's doing it in a way that will pay for itself and then some, just as the southern half of streetscape has already done by growing the local economy. Having increased revenues represents opportunity to improve street maintenance.

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    3. Ah, the revenues. The real story here. Streetscam is being pushed hard by the developer community and a handful of business owners, something our council will never tell the public. Too many promises likely made to those feeding at the trough for the council to renege now.

      Keep your vibrancy, go fix the potholes, go fix that intersection where Blakespear's "expert staff" designed a crossing so crappy that the fellow in the wheelchair has been put in the hospital multiple times.

      At least be honest about the drivers behind streetscam, because using the city spin will cause most people you ask to tell you to go jump off a cliff.

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    4. Economic growth is good. Profit is good.

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    5. We don't owe anyone a living. And by "we," I mean the good people of this community who are in the majority and against streetscam.

      If you can't make a profit without ruining Leucadia, then move on and find a cemented-over, "vibrant" place in OC where you'll fit right in.

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  12. It's the proverbial case of "robbing Peter to pay Paul"....

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  13. Government waste is a thing of the 1980s - 2008. This isn't a good idea. Global slowdown will mean no more money in future years.

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  14. 12:13 is spewing the standard bullshit about Streetscam.

    Downtown Encinitas is two lanes in each direction and plenty of parking on 101, at city hall and other lots along Vulcan, on 2nd and 3rd streets, under Pac Station and in the Lumberyard.

    Leucadia Streetscam is one lane in each direction, four poorly placed roundabouts and nowhere near enough parking to grow the businesses. It's physically impossible to duplicate downtown Encinitas' growth.

    The result will be perpetually jammed traffic, not enough parking and dying businesses. And that's after spending about $30 million and whatever the bond interest adds.

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  15. The top 25 sales tax producers in the city. Notice that very few are in Leucadia or old Encinitas. Where is the city's financial analysis on how long it will take for Leucadia sales tax to generate enough money to pay back the 40 million dollar bond.
    7 Eleven
    76
    Best Buy
    BevMo
    BMW of Encinitas
    Cab West/Volvo Leasing
    Chevron
    Dick’s Sporting Goods
    Encinitas Ford
    Financial Services Vehicle Trust
    Hansen Surfboards
    Herman Cook Volkswagen
    Home Depot
    Home Goods
    Pacific Coast Grill
    Quick Shine Car Wash
    REI
    Ross
    Shell Car Wash At Encinitas Ranch
    Target
    TJ Maxx
    USA Gasoline
    Valero
    Vons
    Walmart Supercenter

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    Replies
    1. ^^^^^Why do you hate educate derelicts so much? ^^^^

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    2. ^^^ My deepest apologies for the horrifying typo above -

      Accurately stated should be Edumacated Derelicts spending your money.

      Don't worry though it's government money and we all know there is an endless supply (especially for overpaid city employee folk)


      Thanks

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    3. 3:29 Are any of those on Leucadia 101? What do all of those that aren't gas stations or car washes have in common? Plenty of parking.

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    4. What they all have in common is huge square footage.

      What we should be looking at as a measure for Leucadia is sales per square foot. Increasing sales per square foot can come from more customers which would require more parking, or it could come from selling different (more expensive) products, which does not require more parking.

      A shop selling knick knacks may have the same footprint and parking needs as a jewelry store or an art gallery, but they probably won’t have the same revenues.

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    5. 6:22:

      There's not enough room in the commercial zone on the west side of 101 for any more square footage than is already in use.

      Bars and the like, and restaurants that serve alcohol reach a market saturation point. They also require a lot of parking.

      So in the very limited square footage available on Leucadia 101, what retailers do you suggest can sell expensive stuff and don't require plenty of parking?

      There are already many of those retailers in the Leucadia 101 corridor, correct?

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    6. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Leucadia's new hotel alone will leave your business list of Encinitas' highest revenue generators in the dust bringing in nearly two million dollars a year in TOT funds.

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    7. You are off point, 11:10, but at what room rates will that hotel generate $2 million a year in TOT.

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    8. OOOOOOOOoooooo - pick me! pick me!
      At 75% occupancy about $450 a night. At 85% occupancy about $400 a night, and at 95% occupancy about $350 a night.

      Calculations available upon request......

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    9. Does anybody think that hotel is gonna fill up with those rates?

      What's the big deal attraction?

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    10. Most of the hotels on the coast on the beach or with beach access have room rates between $350 and $500, so yes, it's possible. The big deal attraction is....wait for it.....the beach!

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    11. 3:43 Trip Advisor says you're wrong about the rates:

      https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g32171-Carlsbad_California-Hotels.html

      https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g32355-Encinitas_California-Hotels.html

      And the beach there isn't great.

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    12. For a stay in mid July, the Park Hyatt is at $399; Beach Terrace Inn at $459; Carlsbad SeaPoint at $306; Legoland at $442 (but that might include park passes); Carlsbad Hilton Garden Inn at $329 - but keep in mind these are Trip Advisor prices and represent excess and inferior rooms available. If you want a nice room close to amenities you'll pay $50 to $200 more per night. These hotels are also not typically considered boutique hotels like Montage, which for the same period is getting $800 a night. I'd love to see these guys projections for 2020 and 2021 to see how quickly they think this property will stabilize.

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    13. Anybody who thinks they're gonna fill a Leucadia hotel at those rates is dreaming and must not live around here or know much about the community.

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    14. 3:19 must be new in town. 4:25 must be blind. 3:43 must get kudos.

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    15. 6:16 must be the developer who thinks that atrocity will fly.

      It's a gross imposition, a scam that should never have been approved.

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    16. It’s sad when people can’t be objective. You can be against the hotel, and still admit that it will easily sell rooms at an average rate of $300-$350 per night. More during summer, horse racing season, and holidays—a little less off season.

      Just because YOU wouldn’t pay for it, doesn’t mean it won’t sell.

      There’s a lot of things YOU won’t buy that sell just fine.

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    17. It's sad when people are delusional.

      https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/encinitas/hotel-rooms/best-western-encinitas-inn-suites-at-moonlight-beach/propertyCode.05592.html?&_ga=2.201320238.1228267846.1559789134-122369147.1559789134

      That gross imposition will convert nicely to a homeless shelter.

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    18. The Worst-Beastern? That’s your argument?

      That’s like quoting the price of a meal at Denny’s as proof that Pacific Coast Grill cannot survive at a higher price.

      And Denny’s is gone.

      Never bet against high level services on the beach.

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    19. Your way-too-expensive, imposition hotel will not do well.

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    20. It's doomed.

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    21. You don’t like what someone else is legally doing with their land. You are a sore loser. And so you are predicting the business will fail.

      That sounds objective.

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    22. Jam-packing a three-story hotel on land not spacious enough to accommodate it, dumping tons of dirt and waste on the beach and using sleight of hand to get the project approved is irresponsible and predatory. Being a successful entrepreneur requires having a realistic approach. You and your hotel buddies don't qualify.

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    23. You sound sad.

      I hope that when the hotel is finished, you’ll get over it, and join us happy people for a glass of wine on the patio at sunset.

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    24. The place looks like stacked mobile homes. Pre-manufactured, trucked to the site and stacked to simulate a top-heavy cruise ship. There are plenty of hotels and motels in a wide price range from Torrey Pines to Oceanside. Why would anybody pay $400 a night to stay in a stack of crap packed into a lot too small to allow any garden space and next to a crowded state beach? The place is not appealing. It's doomed.

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    25. You do a lot of gardening at high end hotels, do you?

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    26. Being delusional does not lead to success.

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  16. What's this?? CalTrans is working on the pedestrian walkway under the I-5?? I don't believe it. Did Kathy call and complain?? Noooooo, she's to get along go along screw the citizens of Encinitas to be proactive.

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  17. Kathy does not do shit but encourage the over development of Encinitas.

    Fuck that. Vote out the DW next election.

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    Replies
    1. Since the mayor's name is Catherine, if she were to use a shorter version, I'm sure it would be Cathy.

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    2. Hey 10:28am, her name is Developer Whore. So her title is DW.

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  18. The remaining open space in Encinitas is one of the things that makes our city unique and beautiful. It should be illegal to raid this fund meant to preserve it.

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    Replies
    1. Preservation is not at the top of this council's list. It's not even on the list. Pave over open space has replaced preserving it. Highes$ bidder and all that.

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    2. Where is the “remaining open space” for sale?

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  19. Maybe they should move that money over to Pacific View and add a park in that location or demo some buildings and create some open space.

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    Replies
    1. Excellent idea. Yep tear down those run down buildings and plant grass and trees. Of course the bums would move in.

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    2. sell it and buy some serious land next to a lagoon.

      Better yet, if the neighbors want a open space park next to their home let them buy it.

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  20. This is disgraceful! The council needs more open space to build more houses!

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  21. After reading about two un-American clowns quitting some type of panel for the City of Encinitas that the leftist mayor put in place, nothing surprises me.
    The left.....they hate their own country

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  22. 10:28 is a certified moron.

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    Replies
    1. Right, 10:28 doesn't know what he's talking about but posts anyway.

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    2. As a moron I'm offended by your comments. Now I think I'll hit my head with a hammer....

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  23. They need to "raid" the consultants' fund! After spending over $6 million on consultants for the General Plan Update and various versions of the Housing Element, they have budgeted for another million for the General Plan again.

    Purchasing open space to benefit residents and protect our environment is a much better investment than hiring consultants who produce records that City staff hide and destroy.

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  24. DW is the worst. Out ASAP.

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  25. Catherine Blakespear is looking to bring more homeless to Encinitas. She says it's the right thing to do! This from somebody who lives in her mommy's house!

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  26. I honestly think that whoever runs if not completely a retard will win against Blakespear. We understand she is wiling and has sold out Encinitas for the current Democrat platform to increase density and provide homeless camps in every City.

    I hate this granny state attitude and believe in freedom and liberty.

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  27. So you believe in freedom, but not the freedom to build what you want on your land in accordance with the law.

    And you believe in liberty, but want to throw the homeless in jail or harass them into another jurisdiction.

    Got it.

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    Replies
    1. There have been lots of highly-questionable "in accordance with the law" projects.

      This is not a property rights issue, this is a planning department issue and a "we defer to our expert staff" council issue.

      Think the Olivenhain upper-floor "pop outs" that included living space items such as major kitchen appliances, but somehow did not fall under staff's definition of living space. Side yard setbacks were reduced to just 5' from the property line; had livable space setbacks applied per our general plan, the pop-outs would have been deemed in violation of code.

      Think the Hymettus retention basin listed under "environmental constraints" in our general plan, and that should have been excluded from the net buildable acreage calculation. The basin was somehow not a constraint after our planning department got done "interpreting" code. This unusable, sometimes swampland was counted by staff as though it were actually buildable. Coincidence that this magically pushed the project's net buildable acreage JUST over the threshold to qualify it for density bonus? I think not.

      Others can chime in with their examples, but you're on very shaky ground if you think you can rely on the law in this town. Unless, of course, you want to bend it.

      The city counts on having deeper pockets than residents, so suing to enforce the real law is not an option for most. This is something the city knows and plans for accordingly.

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  28. 11:15am. Spot on.

    The incestuous relationships with a few well known developers is tiresome, to say the least.

    We are living in a time when we are taxed without true representation by our electeds.

    Any claims that we have had a choice are bogus. JP and his constant support dog were a joke from the start.

    About the only worth of that feeble attempt was when his mutt turned his backside to audience on the desk that Catherine and he sat at and raised his rear end to the audience while licking his privates.

    Perfect.

    JP was incapable of going anywhere without carrying his mutt in his arms.

    He was irrelevant from the get go, even though many wanted to challenge the status quo. His dog had as much of a chance as he did.

    Until we have a new majority on council, the game remains the same and the selling out will continue unabated.

    Whoever jumps into this morass, know well what he/she will be up against.

    What I hope for most is that three new candidates will act as a singular force to take back our city for the residents.

    Only then will we have true representation.

    Only then will we have control over the compromised Planning Dept. who approves every project that comes before them without any reservations.

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  29. Great News!

    The California Coastal Commission is about to rule that one of the upzone parcels in Leucadia can’t be upzoned for housing, because it’s needed for additional hotel tourism. It’s the parcel next to the hotel under construction. It’s owned by the hotel developer and it’s already zoned for hotel.

    So I guess those of you who said the lot was too small for the hotel will be getting your wish. The hotel will now have a whole second lot to expand!

    Isn’t that great news?

    See the story in the Coast News.

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    Replies
    1. “But the Coastal Commission said that upzoning the property, which is currently zoned for hotel and motel use, to high-density residential conflicts with the state Coastal Act, which gives zoning for ‘visitor-serving facilities’ priority over residential and commercial zoning.

      ‘The up-zoning of this site … could preclude the development of overnight accommodations on a site that is located along the historic Coast Highway at the northern entrance of the City … which has been specifically identified as lacking critical visitor-serving accommodations,’ the staff report states.”

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    2. So, what, 7:42, you think Jackel's gonna build an annex behind Roberto's?

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