The Draft EIR for the Hall Property is now available for public review. Review period is Jan 25 - March 12, 2007.
A public meeting will be held by the Planning Commission on Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 6:00pm.
The document will be available for review at the Planning and Building Dept. at City Hall and at the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Library.
Complete information should be on the official Encinitas city website soon.
It surfaced all right. It surfaced with some SIGNIFICANT ISSUES. No wonder they kept its head down before the election.
ReplyDeleteI hope the report doesn't use up too much paper.
ReplyDeleteI hope we can sell part of the property so we can complete other needed projects, beyond a bling bling regional park.
ReplyDeleteJust think of the demand for that property, especially now with the bonus density clause.
Or how about a trailer park? I bet we could get high dollars for property zoned for a trailer park in Cardiff. Plus it would make Cardiff a little more funky, right?
The trailer park idea is not bad, but with all this increased density we are going to need A LOT more recreation space.
ReplyDeleteCan someone tell us what the significant issues are with the EIR?
ReplyDeleteCheap uses for the property:
Largest doggie park in region. All we have to do is purchase poop bags.
National cemetary. We can turn it over to the feds for upkeep and maintenace.
Costco?
Lowes?
Regional Park?
That’s a great idea. Lets grant it to the state parks and let them develop and maintain it.
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of selling a large portion of the property to pay for any needed improvements. I think the total budget for the park including land, staff and consultants design and permitting time, and all improvements should be $40,000,000- That’s $690 per resident. I personally do not want to pay $667 dollars plus perpetual Operation costs for a regional park. I bet the park will serve more residents that live outside of Encinitas than our own residents, just like our community center. Lets not have our City subsidize our county needs.
I think our City Council should focus on our long standing City problems.
The Hall prpoerty is an investment in the future, as development and population continue to increase, this may be the last opportunity for a community park to be built in town.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I am not mistaken the three most vocal proponents for selling parkland for development are Jerome Stocks, Christy Guerin, And Costco lobbyist Anne Patton.
Why build a park for carlsbad residents to host baseball games and soccer tournaments?
ReplyDeleteSan Dieguito Park, in or near Solana Beach is County maintained, I believe. It has some fields, but much of it is more passive use.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the majority of the citizens of Encinitas do want more open space parkland, with fields that can be used for a variety of sports.
Exactly. Most residents do no not want regional sport complexes and more hardscape development. This was apparent at the community workshops that were held re creating a park for everyone. Unfortunately, in large part due to the heavy hand of our former mayor, and her crony fellow Council Members, and the influence of special interest groups, other plans were pushed on us.
ReplyDeleteYes, now is the time when we can re-group. We can work together instead of only thinking about developers or special interests. Value is more than dollars. I don't want my park sold to finance trips to Japan or to pay for McMansions for the fire dept. or McRoundabouts to gentrify Leucadia.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though we have invested so much in this property already. Most do not want it sold for development. We do want more parkland and open fields that can support a variety of sport activities.
ReplyDeleteWe do not want a bunch of dedicated full size soccer fields and baseball fields. These take up soooo much room, and the kids are already playing on the school fields.
I still think that the Encinitas Union School District could be persuaded to transfer the Pacific View site to the City of Encinitas, or to the County, for a reasonable amount, or for free.
ReplyDeleteIt's all taxpayer's money, anyway. The "revenue stream" for school districts is to be the State, not in selling property and speculating, taking away from our quality of life.
There is nothing that Babble will not babble about. Go Babble.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing that cyber bully will not call babbling. I'm on to you.
ReplyDeleteWere you at the goal setting meeting tonight cyber bully? Yes, I saw you there, but not Charles Marvin.
Anything this person doesn't want discussed, he calls babbling. He doesn't respond to the posts, just starts dismissing the poster by calling him a babbler, again and again.
He has nothing to say but his one word complaint: babble, babble, babble. And he's the one doing it!
OK babble-
ReplyDeleteYou are right. A message to you and you only:
Babble, babble, babble, babble, babble, babble and I feel it should be babble, babble. I'm tired of it babble, babble.
Therefore, babble, babble, babble.
Dr. Leaky, Blabber, cyber bully,
ReplyDeleteWhast are the significant problems with the Hall Property Draft EIR? Someone tell us. Don't just complain. Where is Gil when we need him?
Encinitas sets goals for 2007: Hall property park, highway improvements first in line
ReplyDeleteBy: ADAM KAYE - Staff Writer
ENCINITAS -- Building the first phase of a park on the so-called "Hall property" and beautifying North Coast Highway 101 top the City Council's priority list for 2007.
At a Monday goal-setting workshop, council members assigned rankings to more than 20 capital projects. No votes were taken, but the rankings offer a preview of which projects will receive funding when the city releases its budget this spring.
The annual goal-setting session also revealed the issues that will appear on the council's agenda during the year ahead.
Launching construction of the park on the 43-acre Hall property, south of Santa Fe Drive and west of Interstate 5, is certain to be one of them. The property is named for Robert Hall, the flower grower who sold the former nursery to the city in 2001.
Since then, litigation and a prolonged environmental review -- which remains incomplete -- have stalled construction of a park that would include ball fields, a skate park, off-leash dog area and walking path.
Bowing to pressure from skaters, Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan told her colleagues that the first phase of park construction should include a skateboard park, especially if a private sponsor were to pay for it.
Plans for the park property include a teen center and pool, but the council has agreed to delay construction of those facilities because of cost.
Construction of the park was the council's No. 1 priority one year ago.
City Manager Phil Cotton warned the council that even a first phase of construction -- which includes fields, parking, a landscaped buffer, trails and the dog park -- could cost more than the $19 million budgeted for it.
"That $19 million estimate is over a year old," Cotton said, "and we all know what construction prices have done."
Council members did not receive a cost estimate Monday for a second project that they ranked as a top priority: beautifying the highway corridor through Leucadia with landscaping, sidewalks and other improvements.
Leucadia emerged as a leading community under the council's exercise of ranking capital projects.
Toward the top of the list was improving the access to Beacon's Beach at the foot of Leucadia Boulevard. City staffers told the council last week that the Beacon's project, which calls for a new trail, sea wall and parking lot, was the highest-priority project to meet public safety and infrastructure goals of the city.
Improvements to Leucadia Boulevard's intersection with Vulcan Avenue received a high ranking, although no funds are budgeted to pay for the project, estimated to cost $5 million.
Equally ranked was a project to improve Leucadia Boulevard west of Interstate 5 with sidewalks, landscaping and two roundabouts. To date, $1.8 million is budgeted for that project.
City Engineer Peter Cota-Robles told the council he is preparing to advertise for bids for the Leucadia Boulevard job shortly. Officials have said they expect construction on the project to begin this spring.
Thank you, Thank You, Thank You! City Council-
ReplyDeleteLeucadia has been impatiently waiting for some love from our City. We finally are feeling like we are accepted with loving arms!
The beaches are main asset of Encinitas and the reason we all live here. .With Council’s love, watch the Leucadia bloom and emerge the diamond in the rough! We all will greatly benefit from an improved coastal area.
Thank you Council for your outstanding vision.
Bonus thanks for including the skate park at Hall property! Skate parks are in high demand!
The soccer people want a regional park for soccer games. They want all the fields 24/7 and they want the fields to be lighted. The city has said that soccer fields are the most expensive fields in maintenance cost so why don't we give the soccer people the use of 2 or 3 fields and make them pay the rent for these fields like other cities do. After all, the soccer leagues charge the kids a lot of money to pay in these leagues so why in the world doesn't the city charge the leagues to use the fields, like the other cities do.
ReplyDeletePhil Cotton said, "You all know what construction prices have done in the last year."
ReplyDeleteWhat have they done? Are they still increasing at the same rate for materials? Are they leveling off? This is something that staff should state clearly, not just make gross exaggerations, without any evidence to back it up.
The library should remain the number one priority, in my opinion.
The following was included in the City of Encinitas notice that was mailed on Friday, January 19.
ReplyDeleteSIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ANTICIPATED AS A RESULT OF THE PROJECT: The Draft EIR concludes that the project may result in significant environmental impacts in the following areas:
Traffic Circulation
Lighting and Glare
Air Quality
Noise
Soil Contamination
Hydrology and Water Quality
Paleontological Resources
Cultural Resources
Geology
Biological Resources
Wow, that's quite a list! No wonder the city attempted to do a negative declaration and avoid doing the EIR completely. It explains the long delay.
ReplyDeleteOceanside mayor's position on regional committee questioned
ReplyDeleteBy: DAVID STERRETT - Staff Writer
OCEANSIDE ---- Several North County officials said Tuesday that Mayor Jim Wood passed up an opportunity earlier this week to have an Oceanside official serve on a powerful regional transportation committee, but Wood said he did what is best for the city and region.
Wood was the swing vote Monday when representatives of five coastal North County cities narrowly elected Del Mar Councilman David Druker ---- instead of an Oceanside councilman ---- as the voting member of the San Diego Association of Government's committee overseeing planning for regional transportation programs.
"I thought it was in the best interest of the city and region to pick the most stable person with knowledge of transportation issues in the area," Wood said Tuesday.
Two other Sandag members ---- Carlsbad Councilman Matt Hall and Encinitas Councilman Jerome Stocks ---- said Tuesday they wanted an Oceanside official to serve on the committee because Oceanside is the largest city in the region and has many important transportation issues.
After Wood told Sandag members that he couldn't take the seat because he had too many other time commitments, his Oceanside council colleague Jerry Kern offered to serve on the committee. But Wood and representatives of Del Mar and Solana Beach voted for Druker to be the primary representative and for Kern to be a nonvoting alternate. Hall and Stocks voted against the appointments.
"I think what flipped people out is that Jim Wood voted against his own guy," said Stocks. "This is politics and people do things for a myriad of reasons. Maybe it means something symbolic."
Kern said Tuesday he was "disappointed" that Wood didn't support him to serve as a voting member on the committee.
"Traffic is such a huge issue that I think someone from Oceanside should have been on it," Kern said. "We have more residents and traffic issues than all four of the other (coastal North County) cities combined."
Kern said he plans to attend every transportation committee meeting in his role as an alternate. Although he can't vote, Kern said he would voice Oceanside's preferences at the meeting.
The mayor said he supported Druker over Kern because of experience. Kern hasn't served on any regional committees before because he was first elected to public in office in November.
Druker said Tuesday he has served almost 11 years on the North County Transit District's board and was an alternate on the association of government's transportation committee last year. He will serve a one-year term as the voting member on the committee.
"I have a really good understanding of all transportation issues in the county," Druker said. "I will be the best person in terms of making sure the region and Oceanside get what it needs."
Wood said he felt it was also important to spread out appointments to the five regional committees ---- transportation, borders, planning, public safety and executive board ---- to representatives of the different cities.
During the meeting, Hall urged his colleagues to appoint an Oceanside official to the transportation commission because the city is dealing with important transit issues such as Highway 76, Highway 78, Interstate 5 and the Sprinter light-rail line.
Wood said Hall wanted to serve on the transportation committee, but that because Hall didn't have enough support he decided to support Oceanside, the city with the most similar interests. Hall said that Oceanside could use the transportation position to receive much-needed funding for major road projects.
"Transportation is the most important committee," Hall said.
Wood said the committee only makes recommendations and that the entire board ---- representing the county government and its 18 cities ---- has the final say.
Stocks said, however, that the committee is the "meat and potatoes of the action," noting that the committee will review $40 billion to $50 billion worth of transportation projects in the next 30 years.
While Stocks and Hall said they believed someone from Oceanside should have been appointed to the committee, they said Druker would do a fine job in the position.
"I can't say anything negative about Dave (Druker)," Hall said. "He is very well-qualified and is a stellar individual."
Wood said he spoke with Druker about transportation issues before the meeting and is confident Druker would support Oceanside.
Druker said, for example, that at a transportation committee meeting Friday, he told the committee that Interstate 5 should be widened as far north as Oceanside Boulevard because of the possibility of the San Diego Chargers building a stadium on a city-owned golf course in that area.
This article and action of Jerome Stocks clearly shows he is an advocate of widening all the roads to make way for more cut through traffic through Encinitas and is less concerned with Public Mass transit. Encinitas suffers on traffic matters at the hand of Jerome.
traffic will not get better than it is today. Even when they completely spend all the tranporation funds we will not have caught up to the increase. We must stop the population growth.
ReplyDeleteHave looked at Hall EIR and it is all wet. First, traffic impact marginalized, even though this study supposedly calculated traffic in 2010 and 2030 based upon future traffic from 16 different projects - including Scripps expansion and Brown property east on Santa Fe. Looking at the data, current conditions on the Sante Fe/Devonshire roundabout are rated C and D (just like in school) during peak weekday hours -- however in 2010, with no change whatsover to this intersection, the increased traffic generated by all 16 projects and the Hall property will incredibility and magically serve to improve the traffic flow and raises it rating to an A. Gee, I thought the more traffic the more congestion and the rating should go down. What is going on here? Typo? Doubt it. I urge everyone to read this EIR - even though it is written administrativese and may take several bottles of Asprin to get through, because the more eyes that scrutinize it the more ideas and concerns we can generate.
ReplyDeleteP.S.You can review the Hall EIR online through the City's website -- don't have to go to City Hall.
ReplyDeleteOne of the consent calendar agenda items at last night's Council Meeting was a special waiver for the affordable housing fee, related usually, to high densigy housing, which must be available depending upon the circustances of the case, for the developer. This is according to recent Court precedent, so Encinitas made a new ordinance.
ReplyDeleteSurely, there should also be a fee waiver available for the $250.00 appeal fee that we must pay to appeal a Planning Commission Decision. Staff should not be able to give two or three roundabouts a negative impact declaration, legally.
When the Developer is the City, supported by our taxpayer dollar, then we should be able to Appeal to City Council on a fee waiver.
Our City Attorney should see the ethics of this, right Glenn Sabine? He was the contact person on the integrity training requirements, also mandated for the Planning Commission and Council per new State Legislation.
When the developer is the City, at the Hall Property, or for the proposed McRoundabouts on Leucadia Blvd., the people should be able to appeal directly to the City Council. These kind of expenditures all need to be separate agenda items, before the bidding, and before a negative impact declaration is given.
Just found out, tonight, contrary to Rancho Santa Fe, no environmental impact report, or declaration was given for the Santa Fe Roundabout or the proposed Leucadia Blvd. Roundabouts.
ReplyDeleteThis is illegal. The City breaks environmental law, without qualms, and forces citizens to take it to court, threatening, through Stocks, "Go ahead, buy another car for the attorneys."