Got an Opinion on the Hall Park in Cardiff?

The Cardiff people (half from Citizens For Quality of Life) have spent thousands of dollars to hire a mediator. They came up with the idea to try to come to an open process solution. Basically, the idea was to let the citizens work this out. Don't leave it up to the city alone (my view, the city will monkey around, screw it up, cause delays, and waste a lot of money) I give them some credit for doing this.

Doug Long is running on a Hall Property Campaign, so it would be weird if he didn't participate. All candidates should for Encinitas city council should attend this meeting.

You are invited to attend:

Hall Park Conflict Assessment Presentation

Dick Bayer and Christina Simokat of the La Jolla Center for Dispute Resolution invite you to join them at the Encinitas Community Center on Monday, June 2nd at 7pm to discuss their assessment of the community conflict over the development of the Hall Property in Cardiff. The public is welcome; seating will be limited.

The La Jolla Center released the Hall Park Conflict Assessment at the end of March after almost a year of soliciting interviews and opinions from a wide range of Encinitas citizens. It is available to the public on the Contact page of their website, www.lajollacenter.com

Hall Park Assessment PDF link

Land use disputes are increasingly common in San Diego County, and usually create frustrating delays and costly political and legal battles. The purpose of the report was to help the people of Encinitas to decide if there are alternative strategies that could be used to develop the park more quickly and inexpensively, with the support of the majority of the community.

For more information, contact Heather Pollock at 858-454-3350

The Paper Rose in Leucadia

The Paper Rose is hosting some special events in the garden this spring and summer.

This weekend they are having an Arts & Crafts Fair with 6 local artists participating & selling their work.

Super Saturday is 15% off everything at Paper Rose (no coupons honored that day though). Super Saturday goes from 10am to 6pm & they have Richard the mellow guitar player from The Lumberyard playing his mellow guitar music.

June they are having a big doggy party to celebrate Mojo's (the official Paper Rose dog) 3rd birthday with free doggy treats & contests.

July has a very big event with a celebrity guest & August a physic fair.

Anyone interested in being notified of details of upcoming events can sign their guest book at the store.

Owner Kerri Stewart writes, "Thanks so much for all you support JP & fellow bloggers! :- ) It really rallied my spirits to push on & hopefully we can survive these harsh economic times by mixing a bit of spice & pizzaz into the weekends."

Paper Rose
705 N Vulcan Ave
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 436-2855
www.paperrosegifts.com

By the way, Mother's Day is coming up, Sunday May 11th.

***The Paper Rose just got wireless high speed internet access in the garden for all customers to use for free.

Joe Sheffo Announces Bid for Encinitas City Council

Press Release:

SHEFFO FOR ENCINITAS CITY COUNCIL

Community. Accountability. Environment.

Joe Sheffo Announces Bid for Encinitas City Council

Sheffo will fight against local sales tax increases, high-density mandates and for more transparency at City Hall, local control

ENCINITAS – Joe Sheffo – a 20-year resident of Encinitas and a former aide to Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and former state Assemblyman, now state Senator, Mark Wyland – today announced he will run to fill one of three seats on the Encinitas City Council that will be contested this fall.

“Encinitas is the only hometown I’ve ever known. If we are to preserve the attributes that make Encinitas so special, we must pursue responsible growth and environmental stewardship. We must also change recent actions by the council that have needlessly made City Hall less open to citizen involvement and oversight.”

Until recently, Sheffo worked as an editor at the North County Times. He left that position to run for city council.

“In the newspaper business it’s easy, and often necessary, to criticize. I want to work with my fellow Encinitans to find solutions to the challenges facing our city and the county as a whole.

“As we face attempts by the state to mandate high-density growth by thwarting local control on planning and development, and by local politicians to raise local sales taxes, our values – and our pocketbooks – are under assault.

“We must continue to preserve and expand our system of trails, parks, and open spaces while protecting our coastline. We must also be on the lookout for opportunities to make our city an innovator in alternative energy, clean air, and clean water.”

If you are interested in helping the campaign, please contact sheffo4council@yahoo.com

A candidate biography is forthcoming.

*blogger's note-Sheffo and I graduated from San Dieguito high school the same year, class of '88. Our 20 year reunion is this year. I think he is a stand up guy.

Bob Nanninga starts a Blog

Coast News columnist and longtime city activist has started a blog, nanningaforencinitas.org/blog

Bob is running for Encinitas city council this year, nanningaforencinitas.org

His is without a doubt, the best website design we've seen out of city player so far.

Encinitas, Economic Oasis?

Adam Kaye is no longer reporting for the North County Times and is now covering Encinitas for the San Diego Union Tribune,

Read the article online: City budget not affected by economy

Excerpts,

On Wednesday, the City Council took its first look at a draft $53.5 million operating budget for the next fiscal year that shows $2 million less in revenue than initially projected but hefty reserves and no cuts in jobs, programs or services.

Property tax is the city's No. 1 revenue source, but in contrast to the flagging real estate market elsewhere, Encinitas anticipates a 2.9 percent increase in property tax revenue for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

In Encinitas, foreclosures are low and property is holding its value, though home sales have dropped dramatically, Smith said.

In the 92024 ZIP code of Encinitas, home resale prices in the first quarter of 2008 rose by nearly 7 percent over the first quarter of 2007, according to statistics released last week by DataQuick Information Systems. The number of home resales dropped from 111 to 73 for the same period.

Encinitas was one of three ZIP codes in the county where resale prices rose between Jan. 1 and March 31 of this year and last.

A belt-tightening exercise throughout City Hall has trimmed $605,000 from the budget, finance manager Darlene Hill said.

The exercise included some personnel shuffling, resulting in a slight cut in hours for one full-time employee. That would bring the number of full-time positions to 240.6.

The budget shows an increase of $203,252, or 0.4 percent, in revenue from fiscal 2007-08. The increase, however, falls far short of the $2 million budget increase projected one year ago.

Less-than-expected revenue would stem in part from $1 million less in projected sales tax and receipts, which the fiscal 2008-09 budget estimates at $8.2 million.

Income from permits, inspections and plan checks is expected to decline by $539,000, or 10 percent, reflecting a slowdown in construction.

On the other side of the ledger, revenue from red-light cameras, fines, fees and other penalties is budgeted to increase by $60,000, to $878,200, which officials attribute to an increase in parking citations.

See also, Encinitas Taxpayers Association Blog

*The total budget for the city of Encinitas is $53.5 million dollars which is what the CEO of Goldman Sachs received as a bonus in 2006. source

Shark Attack Fear, Local Beaches Mostly Empty

Beacons Beach, Leucadia California the afternoon of the fatal Solana Beach shark attack.

Surfy Surfy: Remember, there are no sharks in Southern California

A Short Break

The Leucadia Blog is going on hiatus for a few days. In the meantime watch this,

Leucadia Nights!

LEUCADIA NIGHTS IS SATURDAY APRIL 19 6-9PM ON THE HISTORIC COAST HWY 101.


Be sure to stop by the little Leucadia Roadside Park for surf movies, music and ambiance.


Take pride in your local downtown.

click image for large view

Recycle your e-waste Saturday before enjoying Leucadia Nights.

San Marcos to Install Impossible At-Grade Rail Pedestrian Crossings

Did you guys see this shocking story in Tuesday's North County Times?

SAN MARCOS: City to install pedestrian crossing over Sprinter track

EXCERPT:

the pedestrian crossing will include automated gates to keep pedestrians off the tracks when the Sprinter comes through. Designs for the project have been submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission, which must issue a permit for any train-related project, and city officials hope to get the go-ahead to start construction in time to finish the project before the 2008-09 school year starts in August,



As you know, the city of Encinitas has lofty plans to build 4 pedestrian tunnels under our coastal railway at the conservative cost of $20 million (some say it will be more like $40 million).

See this NCT.com story: Encinitas investigates possible pedestrian RR crossings

EXCERPT:

The undercrossings are expected to cost about $5 million each, for a total of about $20 million.

Many in the audience noted that much cheaper ground-level at-grade crossings are used in other states and other countries. At-grade pedestrian rail crossings generally use automatic metal gates hooked to sensors in the tracks that only open when trains are not coming.

Russell Levan noted that at-grade crossings are much cheaper than digging under the rails.

"It just seems like a terrible waste of money at a time when there isn't any to be had," he said.

But Tognoli said the California Public Utilities Commission does not favor at-grade crossings because they do not separate pedestrians and trains. He said getting approval for ground-level crossings would be a long battle with no guarantee of success.

"If you want to have a project, this, realistically, is your only option," he said.


Residents illegally crossing the track amid the stunning beauty of the NCTD rail zone in north Leucadia.

Suggestions to the Encinitas city council and staff that we should have at grade pedestrians crossings have been met with fierce resistance and even mocking laughter. The NCTD will never allow it, we've been told.

"Impossible" in Encinitas is apparently something they will at least try in San Marcos. We must watch this story, if the California Public Utilities Commission approves the pedestrian crossings for San Marcos then we must demand them in Encinitas.

The mayor of Encinitas, Jerome Stocks is on the board of directors for the NCTD.



E-mail the Encinitas city council, tell them you want the more affordable option of at-grade rail pedestrian crossings and not 60 ft wide mega tunnels that will smell like pee within the first month,

council@ci.encinitas.ca.us

~" "~

West Leucadia Blvd,

Weekend Chaos

click images for larger view

AT&T blocking off the entrance and exit to and from the popular Beacon's Beach on a hot sunny Saturday morning at the already insane Leucadia Blvd/Hwy101 intersection.


The Leucadia Blvd streetsign about to fall due to the strong offshore winds.


Traffic backing up from the Vulcan Ave light to the Roundabout with 7-11 cross traffic and lycra 10 Speeders in the the mix.

Slightly Less Dangerous Pedestrian Path added to Leucadia Blvd

click images for large view

Note Casual Guy watching others work.


Note Casual Guy checking out the first pedestrians to use the new path, two cute beach girls.

Leucadia Nights April 19

click poster for larger view

Vacant Lot Becomes Blooming Meadow

The empty lot on Edgeburt Dr (next door to the Bar Leucadian on the coast highway) has an amazing wildflower bloom right now.

click images for large view


This view brings back memories of old rural Leucadia.

There is a smushed trail through the flowers and I was going to enter the lot and take a photo from the center of the bloom because I thought that might look cool but then I noticed that was about 50 million bees in there.



These flowers must be Roy Rogers fans (Don't Fence Me In)



6000 sq ft coming soon.


The photo below shows how the lot usually looks:

800 tons of industrial sand to be dumped at Moonlight Beach

click image for large view and then read the city ads from Friday's Coast News.


Moonlight Beach, photo taken Monday April 7 2008.

Moonlight Beach in 2006.

The city of Encinitas is going to import 800 tons of sand from Carmeuse Industrial Sands INC in San Juan Capistrano to be dumped on Moonlight Beach next week. The sand they always import is that itchy rough/course river sand that they use in hotel ashtrays. Do you think Moonlight Beach needs sand replenishment this year?

Bonus: Aerial photo timeline of Moonlight Beach, click me.

Last Booth Standing

I bet this is one of the last of the old school telephone booths left in southern California, and maybe even the country at this point. It's in Leucadia, can you guess where? (I neglected to check for a dial tone).

Hot Rods in Leucadia

Leucadia Beach Inn.org

The 'Over the Hill Gang' car club has taken over the Leucadia Beach Inn this weekend. They are in town for the Goodguys Hot Rod Show at the Del Mar fairgrounds. I went with my Dad on Friday, it's a hoot.