Everett Delano on density bonus

Desert Rose attorney Everett Delano writing in Voice of San Diego:

State Law to Boost Affordable Housing Is Good in Theory, Not So Much in Execution

It should come as no surprise that many people in Encinitas have expressed concern about projects that appear to be more about lining developer’s pockets than improving people’s lives.

Reading Voice of San Diego’s recent article on housing in Encinitas, one is left with the distinct impression that local developers are doing their best to push through affordable housing, but Encinitas City Council members and residents are fighting every step of the way.

Quoting a representative of a local housing advocacy group about the importance of the density bonus law, the article claims that both City Council members and residents want to make the law impossible to use in Encinitas.

But the reality is not nearly so stark.

It is, of course, hard to quarrel with the premise of affordable housing. In a state and a county where housing costs consume a substantial portion of a household’s income, affordability is an important factor. But blaming the high cost of housing on residents who advocate for protections of their community and the environment is like blaming the customers who insist on a clean supermarket for the high cost of food – sure, there’s a relationship, but there are several other economic factors at play.

The state’s density bonus law allows private developers to build more homes on a property than city restrictions allow if they agree to build some low-income units. But the sad truth about the law is that it’s not really a vehicle that ensures what most of us would consider to be affordable housing. For one thing, the calculation of affordability is based on the median income in the immediate area, so when a project is proposed in a wealthy area, the affordable unit is suddenly not affordable the way most of us would think.

And to make matters worse, the law does not require leaving existing affordable units on the project site, so a project can be built that actually ends up reducing the amount of affordable housing.

The hard-fought battle over the high-density Desert Rose project in Encinitas proved that point. The project site is located in rural Olivenhain, accessed by a winding series of roads, and is bordered on two sides by open space with a creek running through it. The developer used the density-bonus law to double density by agreeing to build just one affordable unit, but since the site is located adjacent to Rancho Santa Fe, the so-called affordability of that one unit will not be something most lower-income earners can afford. Plus, the project will remove the existing affordable units on site that are associated with existing on-site horse stables.

It should therefore come as no surprise that so many people in Encinitas have expressed concern about this and other proposed projects that appear to be more about lining developers’ pockets than improving people’s lives.

Our society can and should do more to ensure adequate housing for all income levels. And while the density-bonus law may have a good premise, its execution leaves much to be desired – it’s like telling someone they can drive twice the speed limit as long as they transport one lower-income rider. Sure, we want to ensure all income levels have adequate opportunities, but there are better ways to achieve these goals.

3/30/16 Special City Council meeting open thread

The current city council has continued prior councils' practice of not providing written summary minutes of council discussion, but only "action minutes" which state the outcomes. Encinitas Undercover will provide a forum for observers to record what occurs at each council meeting.

On tonight's agenda: hiring consultants for the housing vote, and reconsidering the ill-considered Cardiff Rail Trail.

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Marine sues county, Encinitas deputy over beating, false arrest

NBC 7:

“I started walking toward them, waved saying, 'Hey' and trying to say it was a big misunderstanding. Before I could get arms-length reach of them, they grabbed me and then a bad beating happened,” he said. “While I was on the ground one of the [deputies] put his foot on my head and grinded it in the pavement and at this point I was bleeding pretty bad.”

Moore said he heard the deputies laughing saying, “Oh got another [expletive] Marine off the street.”

“That hurt my feelings. I just got back from abroad. I was gone for eight months and to be out there protecting the civil liberties that I hold true. That you hold true. That everyone holds true and to get back here and get those civil liberties robbed from you from the very same people sworn in to protect them is just so disappointing. It broke my heart,” he said.

Derek Sanders is a long-time Encinitas sheriff's deputy, and was one of the deputies who raided Francine Busby's 2009 Cardiff fundraiser.

Friends of Cardiff Rail Trail encourage community turnout on Wednesday

From the Inbox:

This is the Big One: The City Council Meets on March 30 to Reconsider the Cardiff Rail Trail and Montgomery Crossing

Below is a letter sent to Mayor Gaspar and the Encinitas City Council in advance of the March 30 meeting to reconsider the Cardiff Rail Trail and Montgomery crossing projects (which starts at 6pm). We are going wide with our Council input because the Mayor was unwilling to schedule the meeting so that the founder of the Friends of the Cardiff Rail Trail could attend and speak, leaving the group's leadership feeling disrespected and unheard. Even a week's delay would have worked. Our group has over 1,700 supporters at this point, so we don't understand the slight. Another member of the group will speak on our behalf at the meeting.

Please attend the March 30 meeting regardless of how you feel about the rail trail and crossing projects. Anyone who's been following our group knows we are conflicted about elements of the current plan - but the underlying community needs that were answered by the trail and the crossing are still very much there. We want to make sure that the Council hears about these needs and addresses them with any new plan or change to the existing plan. So... go to the meeting. Speak. Tell the Council what you think. If you have any feelings at all about the rail trail, the Montgomery crossing, and the current state of the Cardiff Rail Corridor, then this is the one meeting you should attend.

If you are intimidated by the idea of attending the meeting and speaking, don't let that stop you. The process is not that scary. The City building is across Vulcan from the Encinitas train station (to the east). Simply show up a little early (at 5:30p or 5:45p), ask for a speaker slip, fill it out, and hand it to the clerk before the meeting starts. You'll be called up and will have three minutes to address the Council. Watch some of the video on the City web site from previous meetings if you feel shy... speakers are not always super articulate or polished in their presentations. However, they do speak from their hearts because they care about their community. What matters is that you are there, that you are heard, and that you are on the record.

Below is our official input to the Council meeting, sent to the City Council, press, and a core group of our supporters in the form of personal emails.

Encinitas classic Roxy Restaurant to get hipster makeover

San Diego Reader:

Opened in 1978, the Mediterranean-style vegetarian restaurant downtown on Coast Highway 101 is going through a remodel. “I’ve taken on another partner,” said [owner Shoja] Naimi. “I'll still be actively involved as a consulting partner.”

Naimi said he thinks things started to change when Whole Foods went in a few years ago. Located only a block away, it wasn’t that Whole Foods was much competition but that the high-end grocery store started attracting a new type of crowd to Encinitas.

The downtown Encinitas vibe has changed, with several mom-and-pop businesses forced out by higher rents. Naimi’s rent is now above $10,000 a month.

Naimi said he sees younger people walking by, looking inside, and not coming in, perhaps judging the wood siding and ocean mural interior as too old. Yelp reviews may say the food is great but the restaurant needs an upgrade, or the new crowd doesn’t really trust that Roxy’s nine-page menu is all truly “fresh” meals, but, Naimi said, “We still make everything fresh, right here….

Next they'll be coming for Cap'n Keno's....

3/23/16 City Council meeting open thread

The current city council has continued prior councils' practice of not providing written summary minutes of council discussion, but only "action minutes" which state the outcomes. Encinitas Undercover will provide a forum for observers to record what occurs at each council meeting.

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Blakespear forgiven by Cardiffians after change of heart on Rail Trail