Illegal Alien Labor & Ecke Ranch

Ecke Ranch has always been a mecca for illegal aliens. When I was a little kid I remember riding my dirt bike on the trails of what is now the shopping center and seeing the large migrant worker camp.

I wonder how much money the Eckes have saved in tax free low cost labor over the decades?

I wonder how many of those illegal aliens ever received free medical care from Scripps at the taxpayer's expense?

I wonder how many of those illegal aliens committed petty to serious crimes against the legal citizens?

Is that how the Eckes became millionaires? By employing a cash under the table labor force?

We know one thing for sure, none of those workers were "coddled".

Yup, the Eckes are true local hero's

Baby Steps Towards Improving Leucadia

Now that total redevelopment is dead a lot of long overdue improvements are finally being done. There are a lot of conspiracy theories about work getting put on hold over the years in order to make Leucadia seem "blighted".

The little Leucadia Wino Park has new sod and other improvements and the street going up to the Beacon's beach parking lot has been repaved. I'm happy about that.

Jack Orr Lives In Oceanside, Chimes in about Leucadia

Jack Orr gives some to the Sheridan development opposition in a letter to the NCT.
NCT link

Isn't Jack Orr the campaign manager for Jerome Stocks new run at State Assembly?

Here is a photo of Andrew. The City gave Ecke-Meyer a couple
feet of the street so that they could get more building space and maybe more houses.

They approved this by calling it "street improvements"

It double sucks because the Barratt/Meyer development will not have
street parking (so that streets can be more narrow and Barratt can
get more buildable space), and thus all the overload parking will
be out on Andrew in front of the neighbor's houses. What strike is that Mr. Orr?

Ecke Re-Education Camps Begin

Today is the first in a series of tours of Ecke Ranch. Right now 100 of our fellow citizens are learning about the most important thing in the Encinitas microverse, the holy poinsettia.



Paul Ecke III?



You will vote yes on prop. A

Don't be suprised if later today you see someone running through the woody show screaming this.

Downtown Encinitas Rakes In 29 Meeellion Bucks!

DEMA link

The most important part of the press release is this:

Encinitas is unique in the fact that it is one of the few cities in San Diego County without a redevelopment agency. Typically, cities rely on redevelopment agencies and economic development agencies in many case both, to "redevelop" older section of their cities that are for whatever reason less viable than before, and suffering through "consumer neglect" resulting in deteriorating sales tax and other problems requiring increased city services.

18 years ago, Encinitas opted for a different way, it signed up for a pilot program through the State of California and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be a designated Mainstreet city. Mainstreet is a strategy developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that seeks to use preservation and incremental improvements focused on the inherent strengths of a district and its stakeholders, to promote a "restoration" of the vitality of the district.

If only poor "blighted" Leucadia had been so lucky.

Eminent Domain in Olivenhain!

NCT story by Adam Kaye Link

Mr. and Mrs. Garner of Olivenhain are going to lose a chunk of their personal private property for a road widening.

Expanding roads and infrastructure is the "good" kind of eminent domain right?

But first we must think, why does this road need to be widened?

It is so the new residents of the sprawling insta-town of San Elijo Hills can better access Target and Barnes&Noble and Stater Bros. all part of the Ecke Ranch shopping center.

This is an example of backdoor loss of property to another private party. Technically the city is taking your land, but it is the for the benefit of another private party. This is exactly what happened to the people who lived on Leucadia Blvd. They lost their homes for the benefit of the same Ecke shopping center.

Remember at the city council meeting about Jerome Stocks' then proposed anti-eminent domain ordinance that a lady lawyer got up and spoke about the need for eminent domain in Olivenhain specifically? Coincidence?

Stinky West Nile Infested Lagoon Will Host 4 or More Hotels

Angela Lau Union Tribune Link

The Batiquitos Lagoon already host the famous La Costa Resort and Spa and the Four Seasons in the Aviara, soon it will have the big hotel development on the Carlsbad side (save Ponto) and Leucadia will have two hotel/condo developments on the Encinitas side.

That is a lot of high end money to be next to a stinky estuary with hordes of mosquitoes.

Morgan Mallory has a quote in the UT story, "They're going to improve that intersection architecturally, aesthetically," said Morgan Mallory, a board member for Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association, a downtown improvement and historic preservation organization. "Growth is inevitable. Having attractive growth is good.

The existing hotels are pretty lame architecture wise, does anyone know what the new hotels are going to look like? We don't need anymore faux Spanish conquistador style stuff. Doesn't Morgan Mallory walk around town in a beret? Can we trust him when he says the hotels will be cool?

Will the new multi-million dollar Leucadia hotels be hip hotels with swanky lounges like the W Hotel or The Omni?

Or will they be lame and ugly like the crusty La Costa Resort and Spa?

If anyone from the KSL Corp. reads this please put in a cool jazz lounge or something. Leucadia needs a hip hang out. Gawd bless The Leucadian and The Boardroom but sometimes the wife and I want to dress up a bit and go hear some Coltrane or some avant garde turntablist instead of shooting pool with the local meth heads and listening to Van Halen on the juke.

Another Super Funny Letter from M. Pattinson

The best thing about reading the newspaper is looking for the latest wacky column from my now favorite super rockstar developer Michael D. Pattinson (president of home builder Barratt American and former president of the California Building Industry Association).

NCT link

His latest rant is a good one, a real knee slapper. He is all hot and bothered that developers are not allowed to dump dirt in rivers. Then he heard that there wasn't enough sand at the beach, so he figures that there is no sand at the beach because no dirt is washing out from the rivers onto said beach. The rivers are dirtless, thus the beach is sandless.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

This is a common belief, especially by yuppie golfers who only go to the beach on Labor Day.

River sand and dirt is not the same stuff we have on our beaches. A trip to the beach revels this simple if not totally obvious truth.

Our beach sand is pushed up from the deep blue sea by south swells in the spring, summer and fall. There is vast amounts of sand on the bottom offshore. Millions of years worth of the stuff.

The sand gets stripped off our beaches in the winter, usually during big storms with big waves. We lost almost all our beautiful sand after the El Nino winter of '83. It was after this time that most of the cliff trouble started.

Right now we have lovely sandy beaches. If you go down the stairs at Grandview beach at the north end of Leucadia and walk a few steps south you will see some sandstone rocks poking up. These seemingly small rocks are actually huge boulders that a few years ago loomed up a good 8-10 feet. They serve as a good eyeball measure of how much sand we have.

We still don't have as much as we had in the 70's when the beaches were HUGE. But we've come along way and the major dredging project from 5 years ago really helped (although we were experiencing a decent natural recovery at the time).


Even though it rained a ton this last winter the waves were not very big so we did not lose much sand. It was a woeful summer for surf but this fall is looking promising. We may end up with quite a bit of even more sand before the winter storms arrive.

As posted before, the newest multi-million dollar sand replenishment project is somewhat of a head scratcher because we do have a lot of sand now. But by 2008 things could change.

The rivers Pattinson wants to fill with dirt did wash out into the ocean this last winter. This is really good for the quality of the waves. The rivermouth "blows out" and forms a big sandbar and the waves peel along it. The bad part is that the water quality of the runoff is so bad that it is risky to surf these spots.



This north county rivermouth made the May '05 cover of Surfing magazine. I surfed this spot a lot this winter. It looks pretty but the pesticides runoff was so bad that it burned my eyes.

Fill dirt seems to be a real problem for Pattinson considering the drama on Sheridan.

Pattinson is reaching for another long stretch of logic on this river dirt/sand deal. Sorry buddy, nice try though. And thanks for laughs. If you are finding yourself with too much dirt why don't you build some kids some baseball fields or something?

Psychologists would call Pattinson's latest column "whiny little girl syndrome".

*I did a search on "pattinson" on the North County Times website and found his previous letters plus rebuttal letters from the public. It's a riot.
link

Our Cliffs Are Dry, So They Fall

SDUT link

Here is a Union Tribune story about dredging offshore sand and dumping it on the beach to help prevent the cliffs falling, a better solution than seawalls.

The offshore sand will be the good stuff, not the horrible river sand the city of Encinitas used to import in the 80's and it won't be dirt (see post below).

There is one thing I never hear anyone in charge talking about, the cliffs are no longer drippy.

What? Drippy you say?

When I was a kid the cliffs were wet, damp and dripping. Ever build a sandcastle at the beach? You use the damp wet sand to build it because it sticks and stays up. The dry sand crumbles. The physics of sandcastles.


Think also, concrete. What do we mix with concrete to make it strong? Water!

It is the same with our cliffs. When I kid the dripping bluffs were covered in blooming flowers and red ripe wild tomatoes. Yes, there were slides from time to time but the bluffs seemed much more solid then than now.

My guess is that the cliffs no longer drip because we have paved over so much of North County that the rain no longer soaks into the soil and gradually makes its way west via percolation and osmosis.

Now the rain rushes down the roads (through downtown Leucadia) and into the ocean. This run off may keep costing you an extra 5 bucks by the way (on top of the $110,000 we collectively put up as taxpayers. Our city looooves it's consultants!) link

Anyone that has lived here for more than 30 years can confirm that the area bluffs were drippy, not dry like today.

What can we do? Probably nothing at this point. It's only getting worse as the sprawling San Elijo Hill's continues to build out. So if you own a multi-million dollar home on Neptune Ave. shake your angry fist east towards your new neighbors.

Dredging offshore and dumping sand will help the cliffs but probably destroy the quality of the surf for a few weeks.

I humbly request that the city do the dredging in June when the weather and surf is horrible anyway. Please do not do it in the fall when the surf is good.

Attn: Yuppie Dorks, Dirt is not Sand

NCT link

Story in the North County Times about that hotel (which is now some sort of scammy condo deal) to be built on that pretty piece of land at the end of North Leucadia. The suits from KSL Encinitas Resort Co., which also owns the La Costa Resort and Hotel Del Coronado, probably haven't been to the site lately but if they had they would notice that there is a really nice natural beach there with our famous perfect Leucadia sand. There are a few cobble stones sure, but that changes daily.

Of course these knuckleheads want to dump the brown cliff dirt on top of the beautiful natural beach.

Maybe they could just give the extra dirt to David Meyer? (zing!)





The site used to home to the classic Barker's Noah's Ark restaurant.

Things Are Getting Aggro...

UT link

"Underlying the fight, which involves 110 residents along Andrew Avenue and surrounding streets, is animosity by some toward the Ecke family. Paul Ecke III's brother-in-law, developer and real estate consultant David Meyer, owns some of the land at the heart of the fight"

Kind of trippy that the SRF sold some of that land eh?

Eminent Domain Restrictions Pass (but is it a hoax?)

NCT link

I worked until 9:30 last night so I missed the city council meeting. Anyone out there go?

The council passed Jerome Stock's eminent domain ordinance 5-0.

Jerome, big night for you. This will really help your run for higher office. I would like to think that this blog inspired this whole thing. No need to thank me bro, it's all good. Now read this:

I would like to share what I told the Council. First I said (except what is in parentheses), "When this item was put on the agenda a few weeks ago I gave a presentation that pointed out that the governments here in San Diego have been doing similar things as occurred in New London. (where was Council's outrage then?) My examples included the Top Gun House, Del Mar Highlands Shopping Center, and the Petco Park district. Council avoided discussing these projects. The use of eminent domain in those places occurred in redevelopment districts. (then I put up one of those anti-redevelopment posters that were everywhere in Leucadia, I think JP has one on this blog)This poster went up all throughout Leucadia when this Council, led by Councilmember Stocks, attempted to push a redevelopment district on this City. If you read the third whereas in the ordinance you will find an apparent admission that this ordinance does not protect the Citizens from what happened in New London (we already have some state laws that protect us). Is it true that a redevelopment district won't be constrained by this ordinance? If so, this ordinance is there, but it is useless (flaccid keeps coming to mind) . I would go so far as to say it is deceptive (Jerome would be happy that people think he added some security) . Fortunately for Leucadia, your plan to tie the redevelopment agency to the storm drain problems backfired. The public began asking too many questions that Council did not want to address with regards to the $5 million dollar storm drain fiasco (Council gets a scrunchy face when you bring this up... later Stocks made some comments about how they dropped the redev. idea but that he wanted credit for exploring all the options. I don't give credit because it was a waste of the City's money and a HUGE waste of a lot of Citizen's time and effort.).Along with many other citizens I requested that you come up with an ordinance that outlaws forced transfer of private property (at the previous meeting). This ordinance doesn't do that. It instead puts it to a vote. Just outlaw it! If this law is just a gesture, make a good one (Christy seemed to admit that it was just a gesture in the last meeting).I will again try to guide this council into a discussion of this City's policies regarding the legal use of eminent domain. The City and the agencies you sit on have the power of eminent domain to gain property for public uses. Roads (for instance). When is it okay to force someone into an offer they can't refuse to sell their property? What restrictions or policies does this City have? None I assume (except this new ordinance, but it is just a gesture). Lets make some. I think the use of eminent domain should be strongly incorporated into all planning processes. The use and threat of eminent domain should not be allowed when alternatives have not been thoroughly weighed. I also think there should be a lengthy notice of intent to use eminent domain prior to its use. Lastly, there should be safeguards so that this City can not use eminent domain to support private enterprise, even if the direct use is public. What if the Ecke rezone will have a significant impact on the traffic on Saxony and widening the street is required. Would it be okay for the City to use eminent domain then?I can't tell you if this scenario is realistic because this council put the cart before the horse and is putting that rezone to a vote before the environmental impact report is out (I keep hearing that this might be realistic).These are my three questions:1) Is it true that a redevelopment district won't be constrained by this ordinance? (I think the answer is no because Christy told me that I should lobby my state representatives... you should see the proposed bills ACA 22 and SCA 15) 2) Why not just outlaw the New London approach to eminent domain? (The response was something like... we could get sued or this unusable ordinance won't stand up in court if we outlaw it straight up. I can't image a scenario where an outside party could sue the City for NOT using eminent domain to give them someone else's land BECAUSE of an ordinance outlawing it. Can you? The ordinance would restrict the City and the City would have to sue itself????? I missed something) 3) Does this City have any guidelines or policies that constrain the otherwise legal use of eminent domain? If not, spend your time here starting an ordinance that provides useful protections, instead of wasting your time on an empty gesture. (I suggested this last time too, no one wants to go there because it is a little less SAFE than proclaiming they are against New London style attacks on property rights... kinda like in redevelopment districts. The citizens have missed out an opportunity to gains some protections)

Kevin Cummins

I Am Not a NIMBY

I am not a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard).

A NIMBY is regarded as anti-development. I am not this. I like buildings. My wife graduated from architecture school last year. She has several projects going up around town right now. They are good clean designs and her customers are happy campers.

I am not anti-development in Leucadia. I am against declaring Leucadia "blighted" because that was a colossal scam. I am anti-scam, which makes me unpopular with some powerful people in this town. Boo frickin' hoo.

I want to see the empty lots in Leucadia developed. But I don't want to see Leucadia become littered with ugly pink pseudo Tuscany villa lot busters like in Carlsbad. I really don't consider this to be an extreme viewpoint.

Attention Baby Boomer developers: I know that when you are out on the golf course dipping into your third beer of the morning that good architecture is the last thing on your mind but consider this, you are spending far too much money constructing those tacky homoerotic McMansions.

Good clean design not only looks better and functions better, but it is more cost effective. Why are you wasting $200 a square foot construction cost on those goofy faux castle turrets? Are you trying to launder money or something because you can't possibly think your "Old Creek Ranch" or "Nantucket" or "Rancho Villa Hamptons" are in good taste. I mean, even Liberace thinks your houses are gay.

Thank goodness Encinitas no longer allows paranoid gated communities. Don't build in a town if you are afraid of your neighbors.

Architecture these days has been committeed to death. Too many cooks in the corporate kitchen.

So please, if you own some land by all means build yourself some shelter. But remember, architecture begins with the site. Maybe take a gander at it first before just bulldozing it and importing a bunch of fill dirt.

There is a whole new generation of gifted architects coming out of San Diego right now. It's up to you to have the foresight and vision to really do good for the future of North County. You will save an assload of money while you are at it so it's a win win.

I got your back.

*Note-Beware the NIMNBY, Not In My New Back Yard. This person moves into your neighborhood and then tries to ban your kids from skateboarding down the street or something.

Quality of Life vs. Quality of Life

Is quality of life having a mall and a Starbucks to drive to like in the uber congested and bizarre UTC area or is it being able to take your kids for a bike ride down Encinitas Blvd. without fear of them getting rundown by traffic?

Density has been a bit of a dirty word in this town over the years but I have always seen it a little bit differently. To me, "good" density is when small towns have multi-level apartments and live work lofts and mixed use buildings. A town with density creates a lively walking vibe with people on the sidewalks and small markets and bakeries and other shops. The town should be surrounded by open space that you can escape to when you and your sweetie need a little elbow room.

Unfortunately, there is little to no open space left surrounding Encinitas (the beach is still the best place to go if you can get a parking spot). "New" Encinitas" is sprawl, which means all those beautiful rolling hills are now ugly tract stucco houses and those people needs cars to get around full time. (I'm not a freaky anti-car hippie but I like to stretch my legs and walk whenever I can).

UTC and even "New" Encinitas was not built to ever evolve and change overtime. It is set up to be a stagnant environment forever. Density needs to be formed as an infrastructure that will serve future needs and growth over time. It must be allowed to evolve organically.

Carlsbad has sprawled to our boarders and the once lovely coast highway cruise isn't quite the same as it once was. El Camino Real I avoid at all cost.

UTC is the worst case scenario for Encinitas. Sprawl meets poorly planned density. Unfortunately, I fear that the myopic grumps in charge consider UTC as a model of success.

Blah.