High-density opposition launches Facebook group

Save Our City:

“At Home in Encinitas” - Good for developers, bad for residents.

Here's what the City of Encinitas is NOT telling you about what the Housing Element Update - aka "At Home Encinitas" - will bring:

• Up to 4,000 high-density housing units
• Gridlock from 25,000 more cars per day
• Building height increases from 30’ to 48’
• Crammed construction – up to 41 units/acre
• No guarantee of affordable housing
• Lack of onsite parking requirements forces cars onto adjacent streets
• 90% of all development approved by one city staff member

Man drives off bluff at F Street, dies

Fox 5:

A man was killed Saturday after the vehicle he was driving went off a bluff in Encinitas, landing on the shore below, a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department official said.

The incident was reported at 6:50 a.m. The vehicle, a Hyundai sedan, went off the bluff near Fourth and H streets, Lt. Jim Walker said.

No further details were available

It actually happened at F Street, in the vacant lot next to the big condo building construction site.


UPDATE: Suicide à la Thelma & Louise. Nice place to do it, if you gotta go.

Seaside Courier rips Blakespear

Seaside Courier editorial:

Then there’s the Coastal Rail Trail controversy. Blakespear initially supported building the Cardiff segment of the trail on the east side of the railroad tracks, but recently flip-flopped after massive opposition from residents and environmentalists who correctly charged that building the trail along narrow San Elijo Drive would not only take away parking and coastal access with a 6-foot chain link fence, but also destroy sensitive natural habitat.

Now, the switch appears nothing more than a political ploy. A consultant recommended 15 names for a nonpartisan citizens committee to oversee the project as it progresses. Blakespear came up with her own list, heavily loaded with her campaign contributors and supporters of the original east-side-of-the-tracks proposal, which her political allies on the city council approved in a 3-2 vote. How do you spell partisan politics and cronyism?

It's Beacon. Not Beacon's.

San Diego Reader:

For years, Leucadian Doug Fiske has been pointing out that the City of Encinitas has the wrong spelling on one of its popular beaches — Beacon’s. Until now, his plea for historical accuracy has fallen on deaf ears.

Years ago, Fiske started doing research on Beacon’s when he found a 1963 "Surfing Guide of Southern California Beaches." It did not use the possessive "Beacon’s"; it was "Beacon Beach." He searched local museum records and even the state’s library in Sacramento.

His research showed the beach got its name from an aeronautic beacon mounted on the bluff, overlooking the ocean. Fiske found a 1939 aeronautical map showing seven such beacons in use from Dana Point to Point Loma. They flashed every ten seconds, as a navigational guide to airplanes.


1948 USGS topographical map

“It's not supposed to be Beacon’s,” says Fiske emphatically. “It's Beacon.”

Encinitas band driven out by gentrification

San Diego Reader:

Lo-Fi Nipple was created by Reynolds and Finkbiner for a one-off Fourth of July party in their native Encinitas in 1997. That kicked off a ten-year run playing bars “along Highway 101 from O.B. to Hollywood.”

The project has been dormant partly because the funky Leucadia scene that nurtured them has changed.

“We played the Leucadian on Halloween right before they lost their music permit,” says Reynolds of the Coast Highway venue that pulled the plug on live bands four years ago. “That was our go-to location. We could roll our amps there from our homes. We once broke their one-night alcohol-selling record. We lost our home-court advantage....”

As Greater Encinitas has become overrun with more upscale hangouts, Reynolds says its hard to find the funk.

“Peabody’s [in Encinitas] wanted us to sign an agreement that we wouldn’t do the shenanigans that trashed the Leucadian: no throwing tortillas at ceiling fans...and they are still trying to kill music at the Kraken [in Cardiff] and that place has been there 40 years.”

NCTD to rain down great fury upon track-crossers

Patch: 

The North County Transit District announced last week that it is "significantly increasing" its enforcement against trespassing along its Coaster rail corridor, which runs from Oceanside to San Diego through Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar and La Jolla, and along its Sprinter rail corridor, which runs from Oceanside to Escondido through Vista and San Marcos.

Those crossing the track illegally or trespassing on the railroad right-of-way will face criminal penalties for their violation of the law by NCTD’s Transit Enforcement Division Officers, or the San Diego County Sheriff’s Transit Enforcement Services Unit, NCTD officials stated in a news release. The penalties for trespassing on the railroad right-of-way can result in fines up to $500 and/or six months in jail, according to NCTD.

Planning Commission to explore "community character areas"

Is that like "free speech areas?"

From the Inbox:

The Planning Commission meeting for Aug. 4 has "study" items. One of them is the beginning of the design guidelines (2014) that was finalized into the At Home in Encinitas ordinance.

This is from page 2:

Other guideline revisions resulted from comments provided by the Planning Commission, project applicants, and consultants. These comments pertained to confusion over the definition of study areas to be evaluated and the high cost of the studies. In order to clarify the definition of broader community study areas for evaluation, staff is now proposing to use the community character exhibits (Attachment PC-1) previously prepared for the City’s Housing Element Update. These exhibits portray “community character areas” throughout Encinitas and allow for a more loosely defined study area that can be used to define the broader community study areas for analysis. In addition, staff removed the need to conduct land use analyses as provided in the guidelines. This deletion allowed the analyses to provide a greater focus on community character and scenic resources while lowering the cost of the studies.

At this time, staff will receive input from the Planning Commission, incorporate any necessary revisions, and return to the Planning Commission with a finalized version of the guidelines for additional review and comment.

Here is the link:

http://encinitas.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=7&event_id=728&meta_id=64006