Some recent Encinitas news stories:
Chamber insider gets Encinitas Planning Commission seat
Encinitas has missed an excellent opportunity to benefit from the skills offered by Lisa Shaffer; a resident who holds a doctorate in public policy and teaches courses on sustainable development at UC San Diego. Instead the council majority vote went to the politically correct choice of Caroline Thompson who sits on the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce's board of directors.
Encinitas OK's increased building heights
The Encinitas City Council approved an ordinance Wednesday allowing a performing arts building planned for San Dieguito Academy's campus to exceed the city's 30-foot height limit by 10 feet. The vote was 4-1, with councilwoman Teresa Barth dissenting.
The vote clears the school district to build a gymnasium up to 40 feet tall, although no such building is proposed. Classroom buildings, for which plans are incomplete, are capped at 34 feet tall.
"I'm just not comfortable with this request as it's brought to us," Barth said. "It's kind of overkill."
The gym needs to exceed the city's normal height limit because cheerleaders are getting taller and taller these days and the girl at the top of the pyramid was bumping her head on the ceiling.
Encinitas reports headway on pedestrian rail crossings
Construction of the Santa Fe crossing is expected to begin late in 2008 and last 12 to 15 months. Other pedestrian crossings are planned at Montgomery, El Portal and Hillcrest streets, and each is expected to cost $5 million (holy crap!)
The crossings would give pedestrians and cyclists a safe and legal way to pass beneath the tracks that cut a 6.1-mile north to south course through the city. Now those cute surfer crossing signs won't be so ironic (crossing the train tracks now can land you a $1000 ticket).
Sportscaster Lampley to be charged with violating restraining order
In what passes for celebrity gossip in Encinitas two narcissistic nitwits are having some sort of drama that is newsworthy because one is a B grade sportscaster and the other is a gold digger that was declared the hottest babe in California in 2003.
Watch a video about the roadside art banners.
Fricken Stock and Bonds (oh don’t forget Danny)....Anything for money. Including selling out the City to developers who want maximum density at the current residents’ expense including quality of life and long term liabilities.
ReplyDeleteOOOh if only the majority of resident knew.
Shame on you Danny.... You’re a fricken embracement to Leucadia. Sell out and move to OC
Caroline Thompson, our newest planning commissioner with no planning experience, is a Jerome Stocks protege. Her telling employment record goes as follows, she has worked for County Supervisor Ron Roberts, North County Transit District, and currently works for ex-Congressmen Ron Packard, as a lobbyist's lobbyist. Her most recent crusade was advocating for the Sunrise powerlink. A project designed to enable continued growth in north County. Ironically enough the Sunrise Powerlink would actually provided no power to Encinitas.
ReplyDeleteStocks is grooming Ms. Thompson for a City Council run.
Sunrise power link will require eminent domain be used. Sunrise is a good business (power company) decision, not a good public infrastructure decision.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ucan.org/energy/electricity/sunrise_powerlink_issue_center
http://www.peoplespowerlink.org/
The Encinitas Chamber gets almost $100,000 from the city to "run" the visitor's center. Something doesn't smell right when a Chamber insider gets appointed as a planning commissioner.
ReplyDeleteDidn't the chamber get involved in Prop A?
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Chamber of Commerce is getting the City to pay for moving its headquarters from over by Smart & Final shopping center, to downtown Encinitas, on Second St., where there is already parking problems. Mike Andreen spoke about this move at the second City goal setting session.
ReplyDeleteThis was despite the ladies who volunteer there asking, previously, that the Chamber of Commerce "shopfront" remain where it is, as it is easier for tourists to get to, and parking there is not a problem.
I was glad that Maggie and Teresa voted against Caroline Thompson and for the better qualified candidate.
I was disappointed Maggie voted to raise the height limits on more buildings at the high school, along with the male majority on Council, the "density/over development voting bloc." The original request was for a raise in height for the performing arts center, only.
The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce not only endorsed Prop A, it's the President of it's Board of Directors at the time, Gary Tucker, served on the Yes on A Steering Committee.
ReplyDeleteI trust the power company and anyone who lobbies for them.
ReplyDeleteIf the chamber gets 100K from the city why are they 40K in debt?
ReplyDeleteDid the recently departed pres. have anything to do with this?The chamber is run by Bush wannabe neocons not unlike the city council.Beware of the christian mafia.
So their expenditures last year was $140K? he he he
ReplyDeleteBob said it all and correctly. What he left out was that Ms. Thompson is so honest and forthright that she did not disclose her affiliations on her application or during her speech to City Council. But which one of the three men on City Council wants honesty. I am truly tired of the developers running this town. We HAVE to change City Council majority before this entire town is paved over by Doug Harwood (who by the way Lives in Rancho Santa Fe, of course).
ReplyDeleteThat’s where all the big time developers live.
ReplyDeletePatterson will end up moving there as well.
First Developers make their money building homes that cost the community much more than the development fee and taxes generated. The costs include increased traffic, police, schools, parks, fire protection etc.....
then they take the profit generated from pillaging the community and buy a house in an area with the most stringent zoning regulations you can imagine to keep the quality of life high. Three examples- Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, and Pebble Beach....hell I'll throw in Laguna Beach as well.
We should focus on tightening our zoning regulations to keep Encinitas a quality town instead of a sell out like Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and San Marcos. We should end up cooler than any other City in our State
Last anon...finally someone gets it. Tough rules and a reputation for upholding the rules are the ultimate answer. Any design professional knows you don't submit a piece of crap design in Del Mar, lest you suffer the indignity of refusal.
ReplyDeleteI heard that Caroline Thompson stands to enjoy some sort of finacial gain by importing sand on our beach. Now it all is starting to fit together!
ReplyDeleteWE really have quite a while before our next council election if Stocks is actually "grooming" Caroline Thompson as a potential councilperson.
ReplyDeletePerhaps she'll shoot herself at Planning Commission and show that she really has no knowledge of land use matters, or do something obviously contrary to the best interests of the city.
I say time will tell, she could be a non issue.
She is not going to become a non-issue. She is going to be our next council member - guaranteed. You heard it here first.
ReplyDelete