Golden Oldie - Developer vs Theatre

Tonight's city council meeting includes the agenda item for  General Plan Update (GPU) of the Kristin Gaspar construct, ERAC (pronounced erase here):

Council Discussion and Direction regarding the  regarding the Element Review Advisory Committee (ERAC) vacancy, attendance and quorum; and the Housing Policy Report presentation schedule.

This prompted thoughts of how deeply embedded key commercial development companies are in Encinitas city government.  (What Gaspar defines as the city stakeholders). The relationships are all intertwined with the past council majority.

And the dance that was the pretense of doing the public's business while actually serving these key players simply spells ERAC to this writer.

So Encinitas thought they were promised a theatre?  That was not going to happen with this crew.  Not ever . . .

Betrayal is part and parcel of so many city decisions over the years.  Remember this summer's cartoon from Mary Fleener, 2nd oldest profession?

Not for nothin', betrayal looms large in Washington, DC right now with lies that are the fiscal bluff.  

Fact Checking: Gaspar the Empty Boast

From the crack fact-checking team at EYNU and Our Mayor . . . We watch hours of videos and comb minutes so you don't have to do it.  We should embed a donation button.

A review of email responses to Deputy Mayor Gaspar's claim that she didn't have anyone approach her with sustainability concerns.  Our research follows each of Gaspar's boasts claims - in bright green.

Note how often she falsely promotes Mayor Stocks as the person who initiates environmental agenda items.
Dear [public];

I thank you for your recent email regarding positive environmental policies.  I share your views as does the Council, who have voted unanimously on numerous environmental issues to protect or improve the conditions in Encinitas. During the past year and a half this includes, but is not limited to:

• Environmental Action Plan- I led the discussion and developed consensus on a plan which included objective measures, so that staff could deliver maximum results for the taxpayer dollars. This plan passed unanimously, including aye votes from Maggie Houlihan and Teresa Barth.  July 20, 2011 

At the Feb. 16, 2011, Councilwoman Barth made the motion, and Maggie Houlihan supported it, to approve the Action Plan as presented by the Commission. Jerome Stocks was particularly insulting to Elizabeth Taylor, the commission chair who made the presentation. 

Barth withdrew the motion and requested the item be brought back at a later date for additional discussion. At the July 20, 2011, Gaspar proposed eliminating many of the stronger proposals preferring minimal compliance.  Houlihan and Barth were able to include some items previously eliminated creating a compromise (admittedly weak but better than the complete gutting) that we could all support. (see minutes  listed in the Aug. 17 meeting)

• Solar Panels- The Council voted unanimously, including Councilmember Muir, to oppose SDGE's unfair rate hikes on users of solar panels, who actually provide all citizens a benefit by producing more energy than they expend. Jan. 11, 2012  

At the Nov. 16, 2011 meeting, Barth asked to have the issue SDG&E’s proposed solar users rate changes be placed on a future agenda. On Jan. 11, 2012  the issue was discussed with local solar companies and numerous public speakers  asking the council to send a letter of opposition. Encinitas was one of many cities and thousands of rate payers that opposed the hike. 

• Electric Car charging station- I proposed that the city reduce or waive the fees for installing these stations before I was elected to Council. Recently, Mayor Jerome Stocks put this item on the agenda and it passed unanimously.  

Electric car charging stations: the one located in Encinitas is part of a state-wide effort and is a joint project with the city. No fees would have been charged to install this station. The recommendation to reduce or waive permit fees to install home solar panels and charging stations was a prior recommendation of the Environmental Commission. ...can’t find the meeting urgh. It was also already common practice in other cities. 

• Farmers Market- Approved unanimously (5-0) after being put on the agenda by the Mayor and City Manager. 

The Farmers Market issue was brought to the council on Feb. 15, 2012 by the Planning Dept. as they were recommending that the city charge a fee to use the public parking lot. Gaspar pursued an aggressive line of questioning if those fees were set high enough.  The agenda item was NOT initiated by the Mayor only a procedural requirement.

• General Plan- Since my election, I have worked harder than any other Councilmember to oppose increasing density along the El Camino Real and Encinitas Blvd corridors. I asked the Council to join me in declaring the land use and housing element of the General Plan officially 'dead'. Again, consensus was developed in a 5-0 vote, and I continue my persistent efforts to make sure those elements do not reappear. 

At the July 18, 2012 council meeting Kristin said staff could use both the Housing Element and Land Use element along with all other elements of the draft General Plan for reference, excepting only the proposals for El Camino Real corridor, Encinitas Blvd. & Santa Fe Dr, when the staff  creates a new draft document. Sounds like she partially resurrected both elements. 

• Protecting natural wetlands- The council supported staff's rejection of a recent Caltrans proposal to enlarge the Interstate 5 ramps at Encinitas Blvd, which would have destroyed a protected wetland. 

Staff and Caltrans have been working on these plans for years. At the Aug. 15, 2012 meeting, Tony Kranz asked why there was not going to be a four-leaf clover design at Encinitas Blvd. The Mayor noted that the area just east of the off ramp was classified as wetlands and Caltrans did not want the extra expense of mitigation. 

The interchange is a Caltrans project and the city council has no authority to approve it or not. At the same meeting, Jerome Stocks mockingly described the area as a wetland...he certainly didn’t sound like he thought the area was worth protecting.  In fact, both Jerome and Kristin were on record supporting Caltrans proposal to widen I-5 significantly through Encinitas. 

Though we have accomplished a lot we can still do more.  We continue to retain the services of an environmental consultant who is pursuing further environmental improvements with the Environmental Commission, at the unanimous direction of the Council.

Please feel free to make an appointment to meet with me at City Hall to address any further concerns you might have.  I do realize that this is an election year and I choose to address citizens concerns in the open, instead of leading from behind.  Misconstruing the voting record and/or views of fellow council members, as Council Member Barth did in her recent email, is counterproductive and is certainly not the best  way to generate a consensus for positive environmental changes.

I thank you for your positive advocacy which is a big part of why Encinitas is such a great place to live!

Best in health and happiness,
Deputy Mayor, Kristin Gaspar

Admittedly, this much immersion in this amount of horse pucky makes us want to scream. *Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! they scream as they run outside to clear their brains*

We Write Letters

By Olivier Canler - printed at North County Times

For most participants, the process of updating the housing and land-use elements of the Encinitas General Plan has been frustrating and difficult. These elements must be resolved before the City Council can consider the overall General Plan Update. To engage the public in re-drafting the housing element, the city administered a dot-mapping exercise that pitted the five Encinitas communities against each other. We have yet to see the results of that exercise.

Consequently, the General Plan Update is stalled after two years of work, and there's still no red-line version from the current general plan. These circumstances should produce local political drama in the run-up to the November election.
Some residents who were concerned with the potential outcome of the dot-mapping exercise have formed a committee called the Encinitas Project. The committee's goal is simple: a ballot initiative that would let registered voters in Encinitas decide on major density increases in the city.

At issue are up-zoning decisions meant to increase the density set by the present General Plan. A four of five member majority of the Encinitas City Council is required to approve certain up-zoning in the five communities ---- New Encinitas, Old Encinitas, Cardiff, Leucadia, Olivenhain ---- that make up the city.

Since the General Plan Update won't go before the current council before November's election, the next city council will eventually vote on it, should the present procedure remain in place. However, if the Encinitas Right-to-Vote Initiative reaches the ballot and voters approve it, residents will decide if major density increases should be allowed in the city.
With the Encinitas Right-to-Vote Initiative in place, voters would have the opportunity to decide if proposed changes respect community character, and maintain or improve their quality of life. Poorly planned projects that would increase traffic and the carbon footprint, degrade infrastructure, force density or height changes, or just fit badly with our community character would have little chance of approval.

The initiative is not no-growth, but it would mean growth most people can abide. The Encinitas Right-to-Vote Initiative would take the trickery out of land speculation. Developers would have to work within current zoning. Pushing city council members to up-zone would stop. Similarly, city planners would have to submit proposed up-zoning to a vote of the people. The initiative would subject the General Plan Update to a voters' referendum. The Encinitas Right-to-Vote Initiative would govern major housing and land-use amendments.

Most Encinitas residents want to maintain our small beach-town atmosphere. We're concerned about environmental issues, traffic, adequate resources, proper infrastructure and overall quality of life. We love our town and want to keep loving it. As Encinitas approaches built-out status, growth can only go two ways: denser and taller. A look at community history reveals that local control of growth motivated Encinitas to incorporate in 1986. Passing the Encinitas Right-to-Vote Initiative is in keeping with that precedent.

Volunteers are starting to walk neighborhoods to gather the number of signatures needed to get the initiative on a future ballot. Volunteers will also be in front of stores with forms for registered voters to sign. You can also find out more about the initiative by visiting www.EncinitasRightToVote.com.

Dots!

Remember the mapping exercise, placing 10 dots - each to represent 130 housing units - where you wanted on the map of Encinitas?
 
This General Plan Update (GPU) restart process was brought to you by the city council majority's scheme described in a whole series, start  here and here if this is new to you.

Despite community-wide frustration and disappointment coming out of the open houses in New Encinitas, Leucadia, Cardiff-by-the Sea, Old Encinitas and Olivenhain; there were 500 people who attended the 2 big workshops to place dots on maps to communicate where they thought high density housing development should be located.

Now, two months later the agenda item on last Wednesday's meeting included an update on this update process.  One aspect of the evening's deliberations are captured in clips below.  A public speech from Pickering regarding respect for citizen participation and clips of two different responses to the overall public participation in the mapping exercise experience, from Gaspar and from Barth.

The great chorus of voices 500 strong (albeit a few out of towners and overlapping commercial participation stuck in the mix) are a group that must not be placed in a secondary position behind ERAC as the council majority is insisting. It has already been done once, where hundreds and hundreds of community members participated in months and months of workshops and events to only have their voices silenced by Gaspar and the rest of the council majority and community provocateurs and financial players generating fear and discord instead of deliberation and problem solving. In a politically staged process at council and in the press, past community work in the GPU was declared dead under the guise of the monster from Berkley consultant takeover.  Bwaahaaa!  Not again.

Now there seems to be plenty of time and energy towards redlining and exploration of alternatives (a good thing) that for some reason was absolutely not even whispered of last September 14th.  Yes, it does indeed smell badly.  But now there are hundreds more from New Encinitas who are quick studies and dedicated activists working really hard.  Taking time, exploring things could be a real thing in the real world.  Counting on New Encinitas as the sound asleep voter base, little sacks of cash and votes, isn't as surefire as it used to be for the super majority sitting on council and running for election.

Rachelle Collier wrote a wonderful letter in April about this and it is a perfect time for a re-read, especially for the New Encinitas activists.  We are all in this together.

KC and the Sunshine Band

Musical homage to Kevin Cummins and the many other advocates for Sunshine Ordinance in Encinitas. See further information about tomorrow's, January 18th meeting below.

More seriously, open government is well and truly the most fundamentally important issue in all of the city issues. Councilwoman Barth has consistently spoken out for open government. This video clip spells out her views on the public's right to know.

January 18 Council Agenda Packet

• Item # 4 Council to meet with applicants for Element Review Advisory Committee (ERAC)
• Item # 5 Review public notice mailer for the Comprehensive General Plan Update
• Item # 6 Report from Commission for the Arts FY10/11 accomplishments and consider and approve FY11/12 proposed Work Plan
• Item # 7 The Sidewalk Café Policy

The whole KC and the Sunshine Band intro relates to what's lurking in the Consent Calendar where it doesn't belong?

Calendar definition: "Items on each Consent Calendar are matters which are routine, and it is anticipated they will not be discussed separately. With a motion "to adopt the Consent Calendar" the City Council approves all Consent Calendar Staff recommendations, as shown on the agenda. Items may be removed for discussion by submitting a "PINK" speaker slip to the City Clerk".

If you guessed "Destruction of records in accordance with retention guidelines and pursuant to Government Code." you'd be right. By no stretch of the imagination could record destruction be considered routine or unworthy of public discussion. Citizens and Candidates have championed open government and the need for sunshine ordinances for years.

We as citizens have the right to our distrust. This council majority has consistently failed us. Their votes tell us they want us to keep our expectations tiny. This council majority headed by Mayor Stocks have battled sunshine ordinances and recently cost the city taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars by refusing to be open and forthcoming with a single pavement report. Kevin Cummins' lawsuit has been covered several times already at this blog here, here & here.

So, no doubt Kevin and others will pull this item from the Consent Calendar and be present for the other agenda items. Update: Schedule conflict with event to unveil art banners may empty the room.

Whoops! Another confusing message from city staff. And this is most critical for New Encinitas residents becoming involved in city government through the General Plan Update. First applicants are on the agenda to interview with the city council and then essentially told they are NOT needed for the council to make decisions. Sit down and be still? The applications were received more than a week before this meeting and only now volume and time constraints are considered?

Dear Applicants for the Element Review Advisory Committee (ERAC):

Due to the volume of applicants and time considerations, the applicants will not be interviewed on January 18, 2012. On January 18, the City Council will receive the applications and provide direction. You are welcome to attend the January 18, 2012 meeting. You will be notified of the date the Council makes the appointments.

Thanks.

Patrick Murphy

Director of Planning and Building

City of Encinitas