Monday, November 15, 2010

Where do you stand with the General Plan?

Encinitas General Plan Workshop Tuesday, Nov. 16 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Senior and Community Center. 1140 Oakcrest Park Dr

Be there, tell your friends, bring your kids and dogs (well, maybe not). But be there.

more info: www.encinitas2035.info

Post meeting update: Article by Patch Here

54 comments:

  1. I believe the general plan should be updated. The entire community seems to agree on the vast majority of issues.
    But, I foresee council doing whatever they, (3-2), want, even if goes against the public's wishes.
    I will be surprised if we are not going to witness a continuing era of 3-2 votes in favor of special interests.
    I hope to be surprised, but I don't think so.

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  2. what are the issues that we all agree on? Which don't we agree on?

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  3. If you review the work that has been done since January, it indicates the goals from all 5 communities are very much the same. Maintaining community character of each of the communities is the main goal of all.
    As an example of what the taxpayers want verses what the new 3-2 majority wants is the devastation of community character in the Cardiff area with the plan to change the general plan there to install stadium lights with half the light output of the Rose Bowl to accommodate a regional sports park when the majority of Encinitas want a community park for all.

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  4. Dalager wants to debate the Cardiff Kook on appearances - them thar appliances weren't be bribes, they's a bruken when in i gots them! The Kook has a better reputation than ol' Danny bob! (and is smarter too!).

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  5. There is no law requiring a General Plan update.

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  6. While it may be correct no law requires a general plan update, state funding for Encinitas projects does require a general plan update and particular accomodations. So, far, the process has been based on good consensus on very limited potential zoning changes. The bulk of the changes will be along El Camino Real.

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  7. "will be"

    It has been decided already?

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  8. anon 10:52---

    Where in state law does it say an update is required for state funding?

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  9. 11:18 - Nothing has been finalized. Sorry about using the words "will be" - my intent was to convey that based on the general plan update meetings it appears that the proposed General Plan update will have the bulk of the notable zoning changes along El Camino Real.

    At today's workshop the public will get to view and comment on potential zoning changes.

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  10. Workshop was such a strong word. It was more like a city funded sales pitch for ugly high rise structures in Encinitas. If you're into card tricks, you know what forcing a card means. Likewise, the event gave the illusion of giving the public a choice, but the whole time limiting your choice to which kind of 3 or 4 story building you would prefer in your neighborhood.
    These people have no concept of build-out in our community. They only think build-more. Their clean illustrations of 3 story work/live "green" buildings for example had ONE car, I repeat only ONE car parked in front of them. The reality is a congestion of parked cars day and night in such developments, inhibiting parking for all, and that's neither livable nor merchant friendly. Predictably, the production featured Leucadia last. Life's way too short for elaborate parlor tricks. And was it just me, or did it feel like staff was luking in every corner? Felt like invasion of the property snatchers more than an earnest attempt to better Encinitas. I'm surprised they didn't feature Quail Gardens Drive as the future mega live/work corridor. Cause that's what it's really all about. But pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Me cynical? Yes. Hope I'm wrong? Yes.

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  11. Patch coverage:

    http://encinitas.patch.com/articles/workshop-addresses-land-use-housing-density-for-general-plan-update

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  12. there is no state law which reguires Encinitas to increase its density and lower the existing residents quality of life.

    why don't the state focus on Rancho Santa Fe or La Jolla? They have plenty of land!

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  13. It's all about the pension disaster.

    Dalager and Stocks have created such a huge pension liability that they have to have massive overdevelopment to grow the tax base to pay for it.

    Reform the pensions now! And for all employees, not just new employees. Current employees are not entitled to a permanent gravy train that will ruin Encinitas.

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  14. Just say NOOOO!!!November 17, 2010 8:39 AM

    W.C.Varones hits the nail on the head!!! POW!!

    It is all about keeping money coming in to pay outrageous salaries and pensions.

    How many building permits have been issues in the last 2 years?? YET, how many people are on staff in the building dept?? NO layoff there, yet there is no work for the the department.

    It's all about keeping the charade of govt necessary.

    Say no to more salaries.
    Say no to extortion and scare tactics.
    Say NO to giant money sucking parks.
    Say no to $5 million fire stations.
    Say no to $3 million lifeguard towers.
    Say NO to your Encinitas City council.

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  15. After attending the workshop, I was left wondering why the City Planning Staff was not conducting the process instead of a 500K consultant.

    The answer is that hiring a costly consultant would take the heat off the staff (possible failure that might threaten that pension), or there isn't the skill level there. BTW, isn't that why we paid the big bucks to hire these special employees?

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  16. Plan away but like recent Harrisburg, PA or Bell, CA.... Encinitas will file bankruptcy (the tax payers will force the issue) for the unsustainable pensions of city , safety employees... it's the future !

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  17. Who is heading up the cause for pension reform in the city? We need to organize and grow big and stop the madness of free spending of our tax revenue, especially when it's lining developers' pockets.

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  18. Barth claims to be for pension reform but she needs 3 votes.

    Bond voted against the huge pension increase, so presumably he's still on board. So Barth just needs to persuade her friend Houlihan to come around.

    As far as citizen groups, the ETA is the natural group I think.

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  19. The ETA held a pension forum this year. Houlihan voted for the pension increase. It is up to Gaspar to join Bond and Barth to make 3.

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  20. 11:51,

    Yes but remember Houlihan is like Jar-Jar Binks: she sides with the wrong people sometimes but her heart is in the right place. She could come back to the good side.

    And Gaspar was elected with union money.

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  21. Houlihan is a retired state employee and was backed by the unions. She is not capable of saying no to people who pretend to be her friends.

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  22. Isn't Barth a retire state employee too?

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  23. How about KC (President of ETA)? Will he be getting a government pension?

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  24. I don't think Gaspar was elected with union money, as her plan is a 401K type plan which I doubt the unions would appreciate. From what I could tell her money came from outside developers and physical therapists and perhaps Scripps. Paul Gaspar is the only physical therapist that gets to use the YWCA's pool, which just happens to be Ecke's gift to the city. Coincidence/ Perhaps.

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  25. The sky is falling, the sky is falling. There sure are a lot of hypcrites on this blog. It is hard to balance the wants of a few with the needs of the many. Rose bowl style lighting. Ha! Go up to Lake and see what 90 foot light poles look like at Cardiff sports park. The lights are off at 10:00 p.m. They are not on every single day either. Who came up with the million dollar price tag for maintaining it?

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  26. Dear Little Chicken
    The proposed lights on the Hall Property will put out half of the light output of the Rose Bowl according to the light manufacturer. He also agreed that the light spillage would be equal to 80 full moons.
    The maintenance will cost upwards of $500,000.00, not including any maintenance or electrical costs.
    The total bill of a regional sports park, proposed will be close to $100,000,000.00 with the bond repayment, development, street redesign, maintenance, electricity and development.
    Not sure where you came up with your figures.
    The sports fields on Park are 80 feet.
    There is ample evidence that the majority of Encinitas want a community park for all. The supposed need of the few do not change this.

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  27. Actually, the sports lights are 80 feet, not the fields themselves.

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  28. To Chickenlittle:

    The $500,000 figure for park maintenance comes from the city itself. The city always low balls its cost estimates, so $1 million is not far off. The Hall property is 44 acres and should have a "park ranger" on site. The old Hall residence was proposed for this use. Security could become a big problem.

    Also the Cardiff fire station was suggested for location on the property to serve as security, but the city foolishly bought a property at I-5 and Birmingham that will be expensive to develop, as it doesn't have gravity flow for the sewer line and has a steep slope.

    The latest official cost estimates from the City are $12-16 million to build Phase I of the park. Does anyone who followed the library construction or the Mossy Chevrolet conversion really believe these figures? The sky really is falling.

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  29. Pensions

    I have a 401K from my time in biotech and I'm in the UC pension system. Even when the UC pension was supposedly "super-funded" I was advocating for a different system. Yes, this might be against my own best interest, at least that is what I thought at the time. I've advocated for other things that remain against my own personal interest, because it is the right thing to do.

    The economy has turned out much worse than even I expected with pension investments. Like many others, I saw that the real estate market cheerleaders had no clothes (because I looked at the data and didn't rely on happy talk). Younger workers are likely to be asked to take cuts to support older and retired workers.

    The UC is NOW ahead of the curve and admits we are headed toward a financial shit-storm. People who looked at the data and saw the housing bubble were labeled chickenlittles too.

    If you have good reason to think differently about the coming pension crisis, I'd really like to think differently about this whole thing. Put your name on a researched post explaining why there is no pension funding problem and I'll pay you $100 (you'll have to defend the financial assumptions, but that is the whole point, isn't it).

    I am not the President of the ETA.

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  30. The city was budgeting half a million a year for the hall park. Curiously they've never budgeted (ie planned) for maintenance anytime soon. In fact, the current budget has NO operations funding for the next 6 years.

    My best friend grew up across the street from the field on Lake. Its not a huge deal. They had to buy thick window dressing and its mostly all good. Not the end of the world for sure. I made an offer on a place backing up to the YMCA ball fields. The lights and noise were a very big issue for the seller. They even offered to let us spend the night before making an offer so we could check out the quality of the sound and light insulation. We didn't really care that much, but that was just us. Being downwind of the freeway was a bigger issue.

    We weren't silly and didn't think that the lights didn't impact the value of the property.

    ...I really hope we can get the park done and open so we can get past the park (see my previous posts on the hall park). Now, why aren't we going out to bid? No one can give evidence why we have been delayed.

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  31. This is somewhat off the subject but maybe not.. Can anyone shed some light on why the City has put a $100,000.00 lean on Russell's house and they have done nothing to the owner of that eyesore drug shooters den of a property on Quail Garden Dr? Something is wrong here.

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  32. Why does the City spend millions on study after study and consultant
    after consultant just to raise our taxes. If staff can't get it done then they should be let go. If there are employees with little or no work to do lay them off as it is criminally wasting our tax dollars to keep them. We should demand it from our elected representatives. From Council to the President.
    The results of staff and pols in California and Washington are disastrous. We must roll back our welfare state. It will not affect the regular working stiff as it would those who are employed by the government and those on some type of welfare. Wait, employed by the gov is being on welfare.
    The Ins at City Hall, staff and Council, are here to serve US, NOT to feather their nests. Half a Trillion dollars is the unfunded pension liabilities currently owed to California public employees. We are stuck with the tab, for now.
    As elsewhere in California, our staff is in collusion with Council. Why else are we in such a mess. Politicians, government employees and such must be stopped from robbing our hard earned tax dollars.
    Job prospects are grim if not hopeless but as sure as the sun rises tomorrow, a day of reckoning is coming and all should prepare for the default of our state and local governments. California will go bankrupt as most will not stop drinking the Kool-Aid.
    Get ready!

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  33. 753: you must be a blast to hang out with at parties.

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  34. Check out the Democratic Party in San Fran....
    http://pajamasmedia.com/zombie/2010/11/14/nancy-pelosis-san-francisco/

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  35. WC and 753 are right on the money.

    Assholes like Dalager, Stocks and Houligan take pride in the fact that even though their is no development, and no money for capital projects, no employees have been layed out. Pathetic. No wonder Dalager could never run a business. What a jackass.

    They should cut 40% of the employees and end the pensions for all. Make them all a part of the 401k and social security system like good tax paying citizens.

    End the freeloaders reign.

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  36. The cause of Russell's $100,000 lien placed by the city goes back to a neighbor's complaint about an illegal garage conversion. This was the same problem Dalager had on his F Street property. Russell argued that he bought the house with the conversion, which was done before incorporation and thus was grandfathered in. All county records have been destroyed.

    He strongly fought the city and eventually lost the legal fight. He never got a hearing in court. The City out maneuvered and outspent him. He could have done what others have done and simply stripped out the stove and toilet, passed the inspection, and quietly reinstalled them a few years later. It's probably what Dalager is planning to do.

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  37. will do?

    Dalager still appears to have three units from the exterior. Three active mailboxes. Three entrances. Three addresses.

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  38. When is Dalager's last council meeting? We need to plan a celebration.

    I know it's still 3-2 in favor of the "wall of sausage", but it's still good to celebrate Dalager being gone (and that it is 3-2 and not 4-1).

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  39. I'd love to see Gaspar's sausage!

    I'm not sure if that term applies anymore?

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  40. The vendetta against Russell and Lynn cost the City of Encinitas approximately $100,000 in attorney fees to guess who? Yes, Glen Sabine, our own City attorney. Hard to believe, but under the Freedom of Information Act you can get that kind of information. Use it if you want to know what is really going on.

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  41. I guess the 100 K lein makes up for Sabines costs. Seems pretty excessive for a granny flat that should be grandfathered in. What a waste of time and money. These so-called illegal conversion grannie flats(and there are many in the hood)are really the only low cost housing that young people can afford to rent in this City.

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  42. Russel shows at the Council meetigs and terrorizes the clowns. $100,000 lien - to punish him for asserting his rights? Outrageous! Sabine is a typical lawyer - takes 15 minutes of confusing, convoluted language to say something that could be summarized in a minute - he is a snake. Dalager has multiple units out of one house - looks like special dispensation for the stooge. The lien should be dropped, as this was needless litigation on the part of the city. Yes, a celebration is due on Dalager's last day - it has been too long in coming. Also, where is the DA's conclusion about Dalager's bribe taking? Seems like they want to quietly sweep it under the rug and let the crook slide - Dumanis is part of the power structure that caters to special interests.

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  43. I always thought the sheriff, or police (depending on the city) had to file the charges, and the D.A. had to decide if the charges were worth pursuing. At least that is what happened to the women at Busby's campaign fundraiser where they were pepper sprayed by the sheriff. The sheriff's office filed a criminal complaint against the two women. The D.A. decided not to pursue it, as there was not enough evidence. The women won a civil suit for $1.2 million against the Sheriff's dept. So, I don't quite get what is going on with Dalager. Did the Sheriff file charges of bribery etc.? Why is the D.A. involved until some criminal charges have been filed. Duke Cunningham had charges brought against him by another agency and then the D.A. decided to go with it. We all know the outcome of that one. Perhaps someone with legal knowledge can answer this, as I am confused.

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  44. I understand Danny is going a round town complaining how poor he his. Were the bribes not big enough? Will the Ecke's not pay him off now?

    You would think he could sell his illegal triplex (must be sold as a duplex) and make good money.

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  45. Yes, the lien should be repealed. The county let all kinds of unregulated building go on in the 70's. Much of the infrastructure problems in Leucadia are because of the county's lax building codes back then. It does seem like payback or some kind of personal vendeta against Russell as there are many grannie's throughout Encinitas.

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  46. And all the while they let that loser developer get away with that defaulted eyesore property drug den on Quail and Encinitas blvd sit there for years and do nothing.

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  47. Eckes has dropped Dalager from the Christmas party list - he has lost his utility to the little king. Dalager was allowed to lick the caviar off the catering patters, but now must rummage thru the garbage. Normally, one would let Dalager's transgressions slide, figuring that he was just plain stupid. But his mouth keeps flapping - claiming he's poor, saying he could make more with a minimum wage job than as a councilman, blaming his bribery cases on others, and just showing a complete lack of remorse. He needs to be charged as a lesson to all civil servants - it is not an avenue for self-enrichment. A law should be passed that any pension is forfeited if a person is convicted of malfeasance in office - Dalager doesn't deserve another dime of the public coffer.

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  48. Get your hands out of my pocketNovember 19, 2010 8:27 PM

    Commit a crime... No government dime. Sounds good to me.

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  49. Complaints against Dalager were made to the Fair Political Practices Commission and the office of the County District Attorney. These are the agencies with jurisdiction. A number of people sent in complaints. The Sheriff Department does not have jurisdiction.

    In the Busby affair a noise complaint was made to the Sheriff Department. District Attorney Bonny Dumanis refused to bring charges against the deputies for thier excessive response, but it was later determined to have breached protocols. This cost the county $1.2 million and an apology from Sheriff Gore.

    Evidently the FPPC thought the charges against Dalager were serious enough to hand them over to the DA's office. It dithered a day or two before deciding to begin an investigation. I called the Public Affairs section to urge them to do a proper investigation, and not a whitewash as in the Busby affair. You can do the same.

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  50. Is Danny even capable of doing a minimum wage job? He is so incoherent, I don't believe he would be able to ask, "Would you like fries with your burger?"

    His lifetime health insurance benefit should be taken away. In fact, no council member should get that for being on council for 8 years. The rest of us do not get that benefit.

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  51. Dalager gets lifetime medical benefits - for what? I imagine he gets a pension too - I wonder how much that is? Let's face it - Dalager did nothing for 8 years except do what he was told. This guy makes a rock look intelligent. One wonders what other improprieties he "got away" with during the 8 years that will never be uncovered? A law needs to be passed that strips civil officials of all benefits if convicted of malfeasance in office. Dalager is an unrepentant crook.

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  52. The General Plan - also known as Ecke's Master Plan! Der fuerher plans to develop the Saxony Road route and every other spare piece of former nursery land that he has. His stooge, Superintendent Baird, takes his marching orders from Ecke, as will Kristin (duh) Gaspar. Ecke promised to keep that land in agriculture in perpetuity in exchange for the massive development of the housing tracts, shopping centers and golf course. Now he intends to renign on his promise, as der fuerher makes the rules as he sees fit. All you have to do is buy the appropriate stooges, and they will do your bidding. May the community activists prevail - stop Ecke and the School Board stooge Baird!

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