Prop 88, a weasel attempt around Prop 13

Enacted by California voters in 1978, Prop. 13 limited property taxes to 1 percent of the purchase price, with a maximum increase of 2 percent per year for inflation. Changes to Prop. 13 could only be made by state or local voters.

Since then, local voters sometimes have increased property taxes to fund schools, usually through higher percentage taxes on a property's value, but sometimes through a parcel tax -- a tax of a specified amount on each parcel.

Prop. 88 is a statewide parcel tax -- the first such statewide tax in California since 1910. Every parcel in the state, no matter what size, would pay $50 to fund statewide education programs, amounting to $450 million to $500 million a year. A car dealer or Costco would pay $50, the same as for a family home or small business.

Read more about Prop 88 on the Howard Jarvis website or do your own Google search.

I'm voting NO on 88 this fall.

50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350...


Even the owners of these ugly generic houses shouldn't have to cough up an extra $50 bucks every year, especially when it can be raised every 4 years.

Sometimes I Feel Like I'm The Only One Trying To Gentrify This Neighborhood

By Eli Kearney
August 23, 2006 | Issue 42•34
Opinion Sometimes I R

When I moved into this neighborhood, I fell in love right away. Not with the actual neighborhood, but with its potential: It's affordable, there are nice row houses all around just waiting to be filled up by my friends, there's lot of open space to be exploited, and plenty of parking. Plus, this area has got a great authentic feel and, with a little work, it could be even more authentic. Perfect, right?

So why am I the only one doing anything about it?

I am always telling my other struggling artist, freelance graphic designer, and independent T-shirt-maker friends that this is the neighborhood to take it to. It's the next big thing. Sure, it's an hour from my day job and right next to a stinky canal and a power station, but that's the whole charm—it keeps the yuppies out.

It's frustrating, though. My friends insist they're happy where they are. But if they only saw the idealized neighborhood I see, where that rundown old health clinic is turned into a tattoo parlor, and that Last Supper mural is replaced with one featuring Radiohead or a stylized corporate octopus, they'd come around.

The problem is that the property owners here are clueless. They fill their yards with pavement and statues of the Virgin Mary, when all they have to do is clear that brush and we'd have a great beer garden or bocce court. They're spending all this money to renovate the old church, when it'd be put to better use split it up into condos. My landlord has no idea this apartment—hell, every apartment in this building—is undervalued. He could quadruple his profits by cutting my place in half. So I give him an extra 20 bucks a month hoping he gets the hint, but he just takes it out of the next month's rent.

Do any of these people appreciate what the neighborhood they're living in could be?

I'm trying to convince the owners of that taqueria on the corner to change their décor to incorporate some more of that funky Day Of The Dead motif I really like. But they insist on bland white walls. Ugh! I can barely pronounce the name, let alone enjoy its delicious, reasonably priced meals. Plus, you could take all the cool stuff from the five thrift stores and make one really great vintage shop. They'd make a fortune! And, you know, we would all have a fantastic view of downtown if only they'd tear down that dilapidated garage by the waterfront. Or, better yet, they could turn it into a restaurant with a roof deck. Can you say "brunch on the harbor"?

I can't be the only one who'd like to see a community garden and dog run around here, can I?

It sure would help attract people like me if there was a record store, too, and not the one with the giant Shakira cutout in the window. I mean a decent one. I went in to see if they had the new Fiery Furnaces, and they had never heard of it. They said they'd see if they could order it for me, but I declined. I mean, what's the point of supporting a local business if it's not cool?

It feels like I'm the only one trying to do any good around here.

When I first moved in, I loved the 50-cent coffees—it was like living in the '80s—but I wish they'd listen to me and start making lattes. I know I'd pay the extra three bucks, and I'm sure everyone else around here would, too.

I've tried being proactive. But none of the locals I've talked to about bringing in a co-op health-food grocery store have seemed excited at all. Nor have I gotten any of them to take part in my community open-house idea for hip young people to come see what this neighborhood is capable of. What did they do instead? They had a barbecue. With very loud music.

I mean, I don't want the people here to leave. I just want them to stay inside more. Especially if they're not going to do anything to bring this community to life. But they're always out on their stoops, just playing dominoes or talking. I like talking, but I do it inside, where it was meant to be done. It makes me uncomfortable to have people watching me all the time. Not that I think they'd do anything, but I just like to be a little more private.

Also, their dogs stay outside and bark all day. I like dogs just fine, but why can't their dogs be smaller and more nervous?

It's getting to the point where I feel like I'm tilting at windmills. But I can't give up—I know this neighborhood would benefit from the diversity of more people like me moving in. If you need a good place to live, come check out my 'hood. It's quirky, but it could use a few more creative types to get it jumping. But no developers—those guys just ruin it for the rest of us.

"a fee with a name that made us feel good"

Why Encinitas rejected Prop. C



Letter to the editor SDUnion

Regarding “City-funded firm donated to Prop. C” (Local, Aug. 2)link:

The article on Encinitas' Proposition C revealed that Dudek & Associates dominated the proponent's contributions base. The description of Dudek's tight relationship with the city administration was meaningful. In contrast, the opposition campaign was funded by a grass-roots uprising. The article failed to remind your readers why a coastal city with a pollution conscience population would trounce a proposition with “clean water” in its title.

It lost because Proposition C provided the city with no new clean water mechanisms. All we were going to get was a fee with a name that made us feel good. The fee would have released some steam off the council's pressurized general fund. Fortunately, city watchdogs blew their whistles loud enough to overcome the propaganda and rigged public comment process. The Encinitas Taxpayer Association ended up creating a long list of dirty tricks the city used to get the proposition to pass. Once it became clear that the city manager and mayor condoned the overtly bad behavior, recruiting people to help fight the proposition was easy. On the other hand, support of Proposition C was so weak that pro C signs had to be distributed by Dudek employees.

KEVIN CUMMINS
Leucadia

Weekend Update

Recent news items:

Encinitas abandons plan to rename B Street NCT.com story

The city bails on changing B St to Amakusa Way. Dalagher scolded me for "scaring myself to death" because no such plan existed and then he takes credit for my idea to name the Moonlight park after our Japanese counterparts. Thanks bro!

Landmark restaurant shut; abrupt move by Hershel's owner surprises many NCT.com story

It's tough to be Jewish these days. First Dalagher changes the name of the holiday parade back to Christmas parade, alienating the local Jewish community and now this deli closes down. Oh yeah, that whole mess with Israel and Lebanon too.

City takes on $20 million debt for multiple projects SDUT story

Dude I can't be broke, I still have checks left.

Proposition 218 mean what it says link

The importance of this ruling cannot be overstated. Water rates, sewer rates and other property related fees are now subject to Proposition 218's "cost of service" requirements. What that means is that the hundreds of millions of dollars transferred to cities' general funds from enterprise funds is now illegal. Let the games begin.

Anger rises as school in doubt, Homeowners taxed for it, but board says it's not needed now link

I've said before and I'll say it again, Mello-Roos SUCK and are a giant SCAM.

Council votes for landlord permit, Renters blamed for noise, vandalism link

Good for Stocks for voting no. This $150 permit is a band aid. I say short term rentals should follow the same rules as a bed&breakfast.

Art Walk

Time to test out how walkable blighted/funky/unique Leucadia is this Sunday starting at 10am. There will be one of those awesome red double decker buses if your little legs get tired.

Will the art be good or will it be Kincaid style crap hotel art like they always have in Carlsbad? Come on down and find out!

*Here are some links to Leucadia artist whom I like:

Mary Fleener

Scott Saw

Miles Thompson (relocated to LA for now)

George and Tanya Pure Corn

Matt Walker's 6 Points

Dear Mayor Guerin and City Council Members:

I will not be able to attend the August 23 Council meeting but wanted to express my opposition to the plan to proceed with revenue bonds.

Here are my reasons:

1 The city should refrain from future major expenditures until it knows the size of its unfunded pension liability. As you know, the 2004 liability was substantially greater than the 2003 amount. In 2005, staff received pay and benefit increases. Unfortunately, we do not know the unfunded liability amount for 2005 (Mr. Lembach told me the numbers will be available in October or November), but I would guess the amount is very substantial. We should know how big this (debt) mountain is before we float more bonds.

2 Bonding is unnecessary now. The City could pay for fire stations and the public works yard by selling the Quail Garden property and using the money that would have been spent on bond issuance and interest. It will be years before we are ready to do anything with the Hall Property. The Hall Property EIR is not even done, and we can pretty much assume it will be challenged in Court.

3 The City will pay millions in fees, expenses and interest on the bonds. Mr. Lembach told me the issuance expenses will include over $600,000 in professional fees and charges, and over $900,000 for capitalized interest. Annual interest will be $1 million. All these expenses and interest will be wasted because we have the capacity to pay-as-you-go until we are ready to develop the Hall Property.

4 The rationale that we need to float bonds to save construction costs makes no sense. No one has actually projected how much construction costs will increase over the next several years (which is of course impossible). No one has attempted to compare the cost of bonding with the cost of pay-as-you-go utilizing a realistic assessment of when the City's projects will actually be ready to build. The financial projections prepared in May were clearly designed to support bonding, and are not believable.

5 The City could save money by selling general obligation bonds. Why is the Council is so opposed to a public vote that it will spend extra money floating revenue bonds?

6 I gather the proposed bonds will be paid from a revenue stream to be created by leasing the library from the EPFA to the City. I have seen a lot of gimmicks in my time, but this seems over-the-top. Are you sure this plan could withstand a legal challenge? Why start a process that seems so legally flawed? The Council made the same mistake trying to put the public works yard on Saxony Road.

I do not have an agenda here other than the fiscal health of my city. I think unnecessary debt is a bad idea. I have not seen anything that tells me this is the right time or the right reason to sell bonds. Many of us claim to be fiscal conservatives; this proposal is anything but fiscally conservative.

Regards,

Matt Walker
721 Saxony Road
Encinitas CA

Matt Walker is a local attorney. We have never met.

LA Times Scopes Out Leucadia

Leucadia hangs onto its '60s vibe
By Irene Lechowitzky, Special to The Times
August 20, 2006

Leucadia is, well, funky. Once a hippie mecca, remnants of the '60s remain in this coastal north San Diego County community. But it's not all tie-dye, love beads and surfboard mailboxes: Residents are trying to preserve their lifestyle in the face of change.

Read the article here.

Irene Lechowitzky wrote an almost identical article about Encinitas in Oct. 2005.

Where shops close early when the surf kicks up
By Irene Lechowitzky, Special to The Times
October 2, 2005

People roam around downtown Encinitas barefoot or tuck their surfboards under their arms while they pedal their bikes to the beach. Spiritual centers and yoga studios add to the mellow vibe. But don't write this off as just another blissed-out beach town.

Read the article here.

Next year when Irene goes to the track maybe she will write about Cardiff?

Apartments vs Condos in Leucadia

Several people wanted to know my opinion on the issue of allowing apartments to be built in Leucadia instead of condos. Since I am an opinionated person I will oblige.

I had opinions that didn't matter,
I had a brain like pancake batter.
--Jack White, The White Stripes

The North 101 Corridor Specific Plan says that any multifamily or other residential structure within the plan area must be constructed as condominiums instead of apartments. This probably seemed like a good idea at the time but these days developers don't want to build condos anymore because A) the market is dead for condos B) the people who buy condos are Nazis and will sue the developer sooner than later. The architecture firm my wife works for will no longer do condos because the liability insurance is too high.

People don't really want apartments built in their neighborhoods because apartments are mostly rented by A) Mexicans B) young people ages 18-30.

I heard that apartments don't have the same parking requirements as condos, so that becomes a huge problem.

In this week's Coast News article on the matter (Hey Coast News, please, please, please update your website. Transcribing stuff sucks. I want to copy and paste man) there is quote from Leucadia resident Mary Anne Penton who says, "Leucadia tends to be a dumping ground. We have enough low income housing. We don't have to carry the weight for low income housing for all of Encinitas."

Ouch. I felt a little sting there because I've rented apartments in Leucadia before. She does have a point though, how many low income apartments are there in say, Olivenhain?

None.

I'm not really against apartments and here is why, since everyone in New Encinitas has 4 or 5 kids these days and those kids are rapidly approaching age 18; many of these kids need to strike out on their own. It's important that there are places for them to rent and live. It's a rite of passage, you get a few roommates, scrounge some ugly couches and learn how to pay rent and bills while working crappy night jobs at restaurants and going to school during the day. These 18-30 year olds are the most powerful consumer force in America. They spend money freely and are good for local business. Plus it's totally sweet to meet girls and bring them back to your swanky bachelor pad.

This age group of renters do bring bad things, like late night noise. It's a culture clash of sleepy baby boomers and wired up 20somethings. A well managed apartment complex shouldn't have too many problems and apartments should be built as soundproof as possible.

Vulcan Ave. in Leucadia is a well known apartment area. Some of them are nicer than others and some are fairly ghetto, run by slum lords. Some of those shag carpets haven't been changed in over 25 years and reek of beer and bong water. Many of the Vulcan apartments are rented by Mexican families. The general consensus of the local population is that all the Mexicans should move to Vista. Personally I like the diversity and the culture clash but that is not a popular opinion in this age of Minutemen and am talk radio screamers. I am also the only white person in the world who has an appreciation for Ranchero music besides my friend Josh. We both feel that tubas and accordians are overlooked instruments.

Now, regarding the apartments themselves. Regular readers of this blog know that I am an architecture snob. I hate ugly foo foo pink stucco crappy ass apartments. The vast majority of apartments built in southern California look like buildings that threw up on themselves. I have a conspiracy theory that developers who build apartments want the renters to feel bad about their lives so they make apartments as lame and tacky as possible. Then they label the apartments LUXURY.

The Poinsettia Ridge LUXURY apartments off Leucadia Blvd (by Target and the post office) are a good example of this lameness. With it's faux shutters and steroid puffiness I laugh everytime I drive by that stucco heap of shit.



An example of cool apartments would be the more modern approach taken by San Diego architect Ted Smith. His apartments are hip, cool and well designed and are cheaper to build than your typical southern California apartment complex.



Sorry I don't have better photos but this is the Ted Smith Merrimac apartment complex in Little Italy.

Planning Commissioner Bill Snow has this quote in the Coast News article, "Apartments can be nice or they can be crappy." This is true, the devil is in the details as always. Can we trust our planning commission to have our back and keep crappy architecture out of Leucadia? The Rite-Aid rejection gives me hope that they won't rubber stamp any apartment that comes crosses their desk. Oh, and props to Mr. Snow for using the word "crappy" in an official city meeting. Personally, I believe the word crappy should be found in architecture dictionaries.

Fred Caldwell, whom I have great respect for, has this quote, "Building apartments disrupts the flow of commerce. Apartment building are dead zones of commerce."
From the article, He asserted that the goal for Leucadia is to encourage a pedestrian friendly, business to business area along the corridor.

I agree 100%. Caldwell is a good man and he cares about Leucadia. I think a good compromise solution is too build mixed use live/work buildings. The greatest example of this has been in old school downtown Encinitas all along. On E St above the Detour hair salon are apartments. The key is that the apartments don't have balconies for drunk frat guys to lean over and leer at passing pedestrians. If any apartments are to be built on the coastal Leucadia corridor they should have business located in the ground floor. This creates a more lively downtown vibe. The landlord can collect rent from both civilian renters and a business. The coastal corridor gets more pedestrians walking around and patronizing the shops and restaurants. Call it Urban-Lite.

The commission has currently not reached a decision on this issue and will discuss it again next month.

Beautiful Downtown Encinitas

I love downtown Encinitas. I love the La Paloma theater. I saw my first big screen movie there when I was 4. It was the original 1933 King Kong. They were showing it as a double feature with a big summer surf movie that the entire surf community came out to see. It was a rowdy crowd. In King Kong the explorers open fire on a giant Stegosaurus. "DON'T SHOOT!" I yelled out, "HE'S A PLANT EATER!"

Locked and Loaded for Nov. 7

Here is the official candidate list the this year's Encinitas city council run:

Ms. Teresa Barth

2140-K Orinda Drive (Google Map)

Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007

634-3115

Mr. Thomas Brown

2905 Wishbone Way (Google Map)

Encinitas, CA 92024

599-0755


Dan Dalager

554 Hermes (Google Map)

Encinitas, CA 92024

753-5709


Mr. Doug Long

858 2nd Street (Google Map)

Encinitas, CA 92024

436-2511


Mr. Paul Martens

178 W. Leucadia Blvd (Google Map)

Leucadia, CA 92024

942-3894

The North County Times reported that Will Perry was a candidate but there was some kind of problem with his petition signatures so he is out.

A special thanks to everyone who encouraged me to run. I gave it some serious thought. Hell, I even drove to city hall and sat in my car in the parking lot. I was on the verge of going inside and pulling papers. I gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, then I grasped at the door handle slowly. Beads of sweat collected on my brow. My heart was racing. Luckily for me I came to my senses and peeled out of there and drove to work where I belong.

Kerry MIller Going to Folsom

Controversial Encinitas city manager Kerry Miller is going to Folsom.
No, he's not going to jail. He has taken a new job.

Former South Lake Tahoe city manager takes Folsom job
By Cathy Locke -- Bee Staff Writer

Kerry Miller, the former city manager of South Lake Tahoe, was named the city manager of Folsom on Wednesday night.

Miller, currently city manager of Encinitas in northern San Diego County, was named to the post during a special City Council meeting. He will take over the new job by Oct. 15.

Miller,55, has 30 years of municipal management experience, including 25 as city manager, 12 in South Lake Tahoe.

Folsom Mayor Andy Morin said council members were impressed with Miller's staff-development skills.

"He has the ability to work from the bottom to the top in the (organizational) chart," Morin said. "He has a real talent for mentoring employees."

Miller succeeds Martha Lofgren, who resigned after six years as city manager.

sacbee.com story

rocklintoday.com story

City of Folsom official website press release.



Kerry Miller wishes he was as cool as Johnny Cash. Or even as cool as Joaquin Phoenix.

Stir, Tizzy, Spasm, Incredulous, Absurd, Ugly, Passion

Name-change proposal causes stir in Encinitas
By Angela Lau
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

August 16, 2006

ENCINITAS – Change B Street to Amakusa Way, in honor of a sister city in Japan?

Some say no way. Others say it must be a joke.

The source of the commotion is a surprise proposal to change the name of B Street downtown, from South Coast Highway 101 to Moonlight Beach.

City officials who proposed the change – without City Council approval – had hoped to use it as a welcoming gesture to an Amakusa delegation that is expected to arrive Sept. 28 to participate in Encinitas' 20th birthday bash Oct. 1.

But what seems to have been an administrative move has thrown the city into a bit of a tizzy and prompted a business owner on B Street, who would be most affected by the proposed change, to ask: “Don't they have anything else to do?”

“Why in the world would they change the name of B Street to something that has nothing to do with us?” said Paul Rotsheck, owner of Moonlight Beach Motel.

“The sister-city program is a very exclusive group of people who get to participate. This is the only la-di-da cultural thing this city does.”

The objections were not directed at Amakusa, which politicians emphasized has been a gracious host since a friendship with the southern Japanese city started in 1988.

Instead, the spasm is about an official notice sent by the Engineering Services Department to 54 property owners around B Street without notifying the Encinitas City Council.

“This sounds like a prank,” Councilman Jerome Stocks said, laughing. “I find it hard to believe this is a serious issue.

“No, I don't support it. It is too arbitrary for me. We have A through K Street. The alphabet is all in order. I rather like an orderly way to do things.”

Stocks' counter-proposal is to give the sister city a nice plaque.

Councilman Dan Dalager said he would rather stick with B Street.

“It's been B Street all my life. It works really well,” Dalager said. “They want a new name, find a new street. If they want to do it as a temporary thing, it's absolutely wonderful. We can even rename Highway 101 (temporarily) to Amakusa 101.”

Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan saw little humor in the situation and accused city officials of bypassing the City Council.

“I was incredulous,” Houlihan said. “This is absurd. It costs money to change the name of a street. Why don't we name a park after the sister city instead?

“They are going to make the sister program into something ugly. This is a good program that needs public participation.”

Deputy Mayor James Bond said he prefers to name a new street after Amakusa, adding that Mayor Christy Guerin probably knows what's going on better than anyone else.

“She's the one with the passion,” Bond said.

Guerin did not return repeated telephone calls.

Parks and Recreation Director Chris Hazeltine said the proposal originated from a visit to Amakusa at the beginning of June.

At the time, Amakusa officials told the city's delegation they wanted to name a street after Encinitas.

Members of the delegation, which consisted of Hazeltine, City Manager Kerry Miller, Fire Chief Mark Muir, Guerin and Bond, said they wanted to reciprocate, Hazeltine said.

The proposal is expected to be discussed by the City Council on Sept. 13.

Those farther away from the epicenter were blasé about it yesterday.

A homeowner near B Street, Jerry Mendelson, said he has no problem with the idea.

“Some people just don't like change,” Mendelson said.

Another resident, Travis Higginbottom, said he didn't really care.

“Let them do whatever makes them happy,” Higginbottom said.

5 Burning Questions about the Mossy Land Deal

Five Questions to the city council by Kevin C,

I know this is a set of 5 questions, but each one is worth at least a
hundred grand and up to a million bucks of my tax dollars. So bare
with me.

1. Why did the City pay more than your own appraisal's estimate of
"fair market value?" How many of you were aware of this (or is that a
rumor)?

2. Why didn't the Council adequately answer questions about the tax
benefits to the seller of choosing to sell under friendly
condemnation? Is your staff not knowledgeable or did they fail to
inform you of the important consequences? (for a timely article see,
www.signonsandiego.com/)

3. How many of you closely reviewed the appraisal and remain
comfortable with the 8.5 million dollar estimate of fair market
value? How much was Mossy trying to sell the property for before they
came to the City to sell?

4. Is it always necessary to buy property under the threat of
condemnation when a willing seller approaches the City with a
property that they have been trying to sell?

5. Can a City negotiate a price or do they have to purchase at what
ever the appraiser comes up with (as one Councilmember has indicated to me)? If you can't negotiate, then what was all the blabbing about how great you guys are at negotiation?

This purchase was a huge expenditure of the taxpayers' money. I think you should all be able to answer at least three of these questions and be curious about all of them. So, the first one to answer 4 or more wins several points in my book.

Kevin Cummins is a local yokel muckraker who married one of the most popular surfer girls around. A major coup for Kevin!

B St to Become Amakusa Way

Some folks on B St received a letter from Debra Geishart, Engineering Technician at the city that clearly states “The City of Encinitas is requesting the following street name change in the Downtown area:

Present street name: B Street.

Proposed street name: Amakusa Way”

The letter goes on to say that “Encinitas has the privelage of sharing a Sister City relationship with Amakusa, Japan” and that “This symbolic gesture will help strengthen the bond between the two cities.”

Geishart futher states that “should you have any questions regarding the street name change, please contact me at (760) 633-2779.”

Jerome, Dan shoot Geishart a call.

Google satellite map view of B St click here

UPDATE-This story made the front page of the North County Times. Click here to read the story.