Keep Your Eyes Peeled

Limitation, not ban, urged for Encinitas. Mayor Guerin's blood boils

Encinitas short term rentals; uncouth party pads or nice family vacation destinations?


Union Tribune story by Angela Lau today on the short term rental ban drama, click here

Excerpts from the article:

*The city's attempt to ban new vacation rentals leased for 30 days or fewer has been dealt another blow by the California Coastal Commission.

The commission's planners have once again rejected a citywide ban on short-term rentals and have recommended, instead, a partial prohibition covering just residential areas east of Coast Highway 10l.

*City officials had estimated Encinitas has about 110 vacation rentals and are now taking an inventory of how many are west of Highway 101.

*Yesterday, news of the rejection outraged ban supporters but instilled some hope among vacation rental landlords whose properties are west of Highway 101.

Harry Fund, a member of Encinitas Citizens for Residential Stability, which supports a citywide ban, said of the rejection: “That's ridiculous. You can't do that to a city. It absolutely goes against what the city believes. It's absurd.

*“There are not enough vacation rentals. A ban will decrease access to the coast,” Carrico said. “A lot of the complaints have not been validated. We had a very quiet summer.”

Murphy said he had expected obstacles in pushing through the proposed plan because Coastal Commission planners had rejected a similar proposal in February.

At the time, the city withdrew its application to avoid a definitive commission vote that would seal the fate of the proposed ban.

This time, however, the city will not back off. A gung-ho City Council decided in August to make its case before the commission, with Mayor Christy Guerin then saying the city will bus ban supporters to the commission meeting if necessary.


And in the North County Times a story about the new senior citizen complex Mayor Christy Guerin has this quip about the Coastal Commission: "The issue about the Coastal Commission really makes my blood boil." link

Okay first, the fact that a group of people named themselves Encinitas Citizens for Residential Stability is hilarious. What are we, San Elijo Hills now?
Boys, what we gotta do is form a committee. No wait, a task force. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I always love a good compromise, especially when it leaves both concerned parties unhappy. I like this, new rentals should be at least 200 feet apart, similar to existing restrictions on bed-and-breakfast inns.


For those of you out there that believe the Coastal Commission does a good job of protecting our coast you need to be deeply concerned about the venomous hatred Christy Guerin has for them because she is going to work for your new congressman Brian Bilbray.

Pablo picks up a few more votes!!!

Here is your updated vote count:

CITY OF ENCINITAS CITY COUNCIL
DAN DALAGER 9509 32.26%
TERESA A. BARTH 7214 24.47%
DOUG LONG 6298 21.36%
THOMAS L. BROWN 5131 17.41%
PAUL 'PABLO' MARTENS 1327 4.50%

They are still counting absentee votes.

source

*I'm really not all that interested in this. I just want to put in some distance from my baby seal clubbing post.

Dalager celebrates election victory by clubbing baby seals

Re-elected Encinitas city council incumbent Dan Dalager celebrated his sweeping victory at the polls last Tuesday by clubbing baby seals.

Dalager encouraged residents to drop by his small business centrally located on Second Street to talk about city issues in person; and to feel his soft new seal pelt sash that he is making.

"Encinitas is the greatest place on Earth." said Dalager in between kill strokes. "The library is on time and on budget and the flooding problem in Leucadia is fixed. Now if you will excuse me, this little guy is trying to wiggle away."

Election Roundup

This morning's NCT.com story on the election results:

Dalager coasts to victory in Encinitas; Teresa Barth wins City Council seat

Both Doug Long and Thomas Brown say they are going to run again in 2008. I have heard speculation that Jim Bond may retire, leaving an open seat. Maggie Houilan will be up for re-election but since she received over 13,000 votes last time, way more than Dan even, she is a shoo in.

It's now all on Jerome Stocks.

Jerome doesn't possess the wide folksy appeal of Dan Dalager so he is going to have to step it up over the next two years. Jerome is going to play an important role in the council now. I believe he may now be the most important person in Encinitas.

With Christy "Bossypants" Guerin no longer around to bully the council things should loosen up a bit. Jerome can now be his own man. I want to see that defeated slouch disappear, I want to see him to sit up straight with confidence. I want to hear what he has to say about issues and not just grumble.

There are questions about Jerome. Is he really a fiscal conservative? Dan can get away with pretending he is while taxing and spending at whim; but unless Jerome starts a barber shop on Second Street or something I don't think he can get away with the same behavior.

Personally, I think Jerome can be an ally when it comes to improving the infrastructure on Leucadia without resorting to eminent domain. But will he make smart choices about projects or will he rubber stamp anything that comes along? Can he be objective when it comes to projects by Barratt American? Councilman, developer say donation is a mistake

There is an undercurrent of people who want to have a recall election and unseat Stocks. I feel that is a bad idea and will further poison the climate in this town.

Jerome needs to become a leader over the next two years because Long and Brown are nipping at his heels.


Stock photo of Stocks.

Let's all move forward together

CITY OF ENCINITAS CITY COUNCIL
DAN DALAGER 8843 32.13%
TERESA A. BARTH 6752 24.53%
DOUG LONG 5891 21.40%
THOMAS L. BROWN 4782 17.37%
PAUL 'PABLO' MARTENS 1255 4.56%
Precincts: 52.....Counted: 52.....Percentage: 100.0%

Waking up and checking the election results I'm surprised to see all votes are counted. I thought it would be at least the end of today. Man, those ballot counters deserve credit for staying up all night.

Dan Dalager gets re-elected with big results. I guess his charm and wit overrides the fact that he voted for an illegal tax hike. Well, good for him I say. I've been coming down hard on Dan for the past week and now I get to pester him for another 4 years.

Teresa Barth is in. This is a good thing in my opinion. I think her smarts and charisma can do a lot of good. Maybe she can be a positive influence and build a bridge between Maggie and the rest of the council. Teresa will keep an eye on our tax dollars at the very least. I admit, I'm stoked she won.

Doug Long comes in third. I think Doug killed his chances when he erected a giant sign next to the story polls of a beloved old building in the heart of downtown that is going to get razed . Oh yeah, and his major campaign contributer was Barratt American, the controversial mega-builder that wants to turn Encinitas into an LA suburb.

Tomas Brown, what can you say? He spent a lot of money and he showed us he is a smart, clean cut, white collar professional. Brown should have worn Hawaiian shirts and grown a mustache. I think people were nervous about voting for a guy who has such close ties to developers.

Pablo! Okay Pablo, you didn't actually say anything concrete all summer until last weekend in the NCT. You were the spoiler man, keep on trucking.

Thanks goodness the election is over. Now let's embrace this new city council and all move forward together.

Your Moment of Zen

Pablo chills out after voting.

Leucadia, a beautiful place

Leucadia is a unique place in this world. You have a stake in it's future. Be sure to vote on Tuesday.

Oddly enough, I'm somewhat newsworthy

San Diego Union Tribune reporter Angela Lua wrote a piece on an e-mail I sent out the other day encouraging the surfing community to support Encinitas city council candidate Teresa Barth.

So, now I get to blog about myself which is creepy and fun at the same time.

Blogger asks surfer friends to go to polls

By Angela Lau
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 4, 2006

ENCINITAS – A few ripples have finally appeared in this unusually quiet City Council race.

In the waning days before voters go to the polls on Tuesday, a Leucadia blogger hopes to tap the power of the local surfing community by urging them to vote for candidate Teresa Barth, one of five competing for two council seats.

Blogger J.P. St. Pierre said he's also sent an e-mail to several hundred Encinitas surfers, urging them to go to the polls Tuesday and vote for Barth, saying she is not one of the “Usual Scoundrels” at City Hall.

“We surfers are haunted by many stereotypes, one of them is the stigma of political apathy,” St. Pierre wrote in his email. “The local surf community has to shoulder the burdens of rapidly expanding population that puts unprecedented pressures on our beach and surf spots.”

St. Pierre started Leucadia.blogspot.com, a popular forum for residents who are disgruntled with City Hall. These days, it mostly attacks incumbent Dan Dalager, who St. Pierre describes as a longtime friend and neighbor who has turned his back on surfers.

Dalager took it in stride.

“What are you going to do?” he said. “It's silly season.

“I think my credentials and my background speak for themselves,” Dalager said. “Some people will say most anything. God love them. It's their right.”

In addition to Dalager, co-owner of Dalager's Sharpening Service, and Barth, a former county fair exhibit supervisor, candidates running for the two council seats are contractor Tom Brown; Doug Long, owner of Bert's plumbing and chairman of the city Parks and Recreation Commission; and photographer Paul Martens.

Outside of cyberspace, Brown and Dalager have secured the support of the Deputy Sheriffs Association of San Diego County while Barth is endorsed by the Sierra Club.

Although the council seats are nonpartisan, Brown and Long have been endorsed by the Republican Party of San Diego. The local Democratic Party didn't weigh in on the race.

Brown has been under scrutiny by some voters who question how he can be on the council, since his Sierra Pacific West Inc. has done work for the city.

He said he won't bid for city contracts if he is elected.

“It's a conflict of interest. I will never bid for any more work as a prime contractor,” he said. He did not, however, rule out the possibility of subcontracting some projects.

The candidates have been spending various amounts of money, according to the latest financial forms filed with the City Clerk.

Long has raised the most money – $27,000 – and listed developer Barratt American President Mick Pattinson as a contributor.

Brown has been funding his campaign. Of the $24,000 in campaign contributions listed, $14,000 came from him.

Dalager has raised $15,100 while Barth has collected $14,900 and Martens has brought in about $1,100.

Despite the wide-reaching power of the Internet, Barth will not have to disclose St. Pierre's support because the California Fair Political Practices Commission does not consider e-mail messages as advertisements in the same vein as fliers mailed to voters, a commission spokeswoman said.

Angela Lau: (760) 476-8240; angela.lau@uniontrib.com

Here is the complete e-mail I sent out to my bros:

Dear fellow Encinitas surfers,

We surfers are haunted by many stereotypes, one of them is the stigma of political apathy. Encinitas will always be a surf town first and a flower town second. The local surf community has to shoulder the burdens of a rapidly expanding population that puts unprecedented pressures on our beaches and surf spots. As a 36 year old Leucadian surfer and second generation surfboard builder I have become active in local politics over the last two years. I am asking all Encinitas, Leucadia, Cardiff and Olivenhain surfers to support Teresa Barth for Encinitas city council on November 7th. Teresa Barth is a rare find for the surf community, she respects us.

The current Encinitas city council attempted to dupe us all by trying to Jedi mind trick us into raising our fees/taxes in the feel good fiasco that was Prop C, a bad tax disguised as a clean water program. Thanks to Teresa Barth and the Encinitas Taxpayer's Association (headed by lifelong surfer Bill Rodewald) Prop C was exposed as a sham and was soundly defeated. The Encinitas surfing community deserves better. Surfers, you are vital part of this town and critical to the local economy. I urge all surfers and the local surf industry to please support Teresa Barth, she has our back.

Unfortunately our longtime friend and neighbor and incumbent council member Dan Dalager no longer has our back. Danny Dalager has repeatedly raised our fees and taxes at every opportunity and has been very deceitful and even dishonest with the public. Dalager and the rest of the "Usual Scoundrels" that make up the current city council conceive these fee and tax increases behind closed door sessions, often in violation of the Brown Act. It pains me to say this, but we can no longer trust Dan Dalager. Make Teresa Barth your only vote for Encinitas city council and stop the bleeding.

warm regards,

J.P. St. Pierre
Leucadia, CA USA

In other news, the mysterious "Pablo" has launched his website: http://www.vote4pablo.com/

Election Signage

Tom Brown's smiley face signs.


The sleaziest motel and liquor store in town is supporting Dalager and Long.


Are these sign clusters even legal?


Pablo's sign is pretty funny. It reads, it's all about US! it's all for YOU!


The majority of these orange and blue Teresa Barth signs were stolen from private properties all over town in a single night. Classy.

Dalager's amazing lies, half-truths and misinformation (PART 3)

Part 3 The Whine Heard Around the City



Dan Dalager is fond of calling people who question his authority "whiners", but Dan and the rest of the Usual Scoundrels whined the hardest when it came to the state mandated clean water program.

Considering that we are a beach town it is a no brainer that we should do everything we can to keep our beaches clean and our water quality high.

But this city council caught up in their usual financial flim flam whined like little girls and decided to sneak in a little illegal tax hike and hope nobody would notice.

It didn't work. The "whiners" caught the Usual Scoundrels with their hands in the cookie jar and they were sued by Howard Jarvis, a group that protects our hard earned tax dollars.

But this arrogant city council couldn't just take it on the chin, they decided to spend over a $100,000 on consultants to try and influence an election. Prop C was born, a shady tax with a fake feel good premise.

Dalager says he is most proud of his Tot Lot in Moonlight beach and it's a fine little park. It is also right next to a creek that drains out by the volleyball courts. Upstream from this creek is sprawl and infrastructure that contributes to contaminated runoff. You think Dalager would make it a priority to ensure the creek next to his beloved Tot Lot was clean. But no, Dalager whined that the state was coming down on him too hard, that money to keep the Tot Lot clean and safe shouldn't come out of the general fund.

Dalager brags in his campaign mailer "As a former beach lifeguard, our beaches have always been important to me."

Then why does he act like our beaches are a burden to this town when they are our #1 asset?

"Since I've been in office, we've prevented over 6,000 tons of trash and debris from draining to our beaches."

This is the state mandated clean water program in action. Trash and debris are cleared from our storm drains. He brags about this in his mailer but whined about it in real life.

I can see Temecula or Escondido being pissed off about the clean water program because they don't care if trash and toxins wash down to Carlsbad, but our city council should have been doing this stuff before the state mandate because *cough* we are a beach town.

Prop C was an unfair tax that targeted certain homeowners and let restaurants, shopping malls, golf courses and business off the hook. Prop C was crushed at the polls. If you voted against Prop C then Danny Dalager thinks you are a whiner.

Dalager's amazing lies, half-truths and misinformation (PART 2)

Dalager's boasting on his campaign mailer knows no boundaries and for him truth and reality are slippery subjects:

"Construction of our new library is also underway, on time and on budget. Environmental reports on the Hall property are complete, and I am anxious to get that park opened!"

The library is far from being on time. In fact, the library is a black eye for the current council. The library will be years late and its construction costs are millions more than they had budgeted. This is one reason the City of Encinitas recently had to borrow $20 million (kinda easy to now say everything is on budget when you borrow all that money).

Union Tribune story from last year about our library delays.

By Angela Lau
STAFF WRITER

December 31, 2005

ENCINITAS – The new library is falling further and further behind schedule.

Although the facility was projected to open this fall or next winter, the city hasn't chosen a company to build it. And city officials are scrambling to figure out how to pay its skyrocketing construction cost, which has doubled.


Construction of our over designed bling bling library has just begun. On schedule eh?

Dalager claims everything is right as rain wih the Hall property.

The Hall property EIR is "complete"? Oh really? Can we see it then?

Check this out:

Dan started saying the EIR was done well before I got this response.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Kathy Greene"
> Date: October 23, 2006 10:37:32 AM PDT
> To: "Kevin"
> Subject: RE: records request October06-2
>
> Hi Kevin:
>
> I have been informed by Jennifer Smith that the Hall Property EIR is not
> yet completed and is still a "working document." Jennifer has not
> received the draft from the consultant but hopes to have it available
> for distribution in November.
>
> When it is received I will advise.
>
> The reason I am so late replying to you is because I have been on
> vacation and just returned today.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Kathy Greene

Dudebro Dalager just got caught lying on his campaign mailer.
Stay tuned for Part 3 where we discuss Dalager's hubris when it comes to clean water (and the scam that was prop C).

Dalager's amazing lies, half-truths and misinformation (PART 1)

Dan Dalager sent out a glossy fold out mailer this week. It is full of lies.



It reads: Infrastructure Improvements

"We've also managed FEMA flood plains and improved storm drainage, which have significantly reduced flooding along Hwy 101."

I almost choked on my Halloween candy when I read that. The Leucadia flooding fix botch job, now lovingly known as the Pasco Fiasco, actually made the flooding worse. On top of letting this fiasco slide, Dalager repeatedly talks about declaring Leucadia "blighted" because of the flooding problem. You will recall at the Redevelopment workshop that when the RDA bond stooge admitted Leucadia's only "blight" was flooding Dan Dalager exclaimed "We don't want to talk about flooding tonight, that is a different subject!" (a chorus of groans came from the audience).

Now in his campaign mailer he is claiming the flooding is "significantly reduced". Talk about spin, spin, spin. The flooding is a colossal failure and city is now saying it will cost $30 million to fix. Of course, there is no funding out of the glorious $20 million bond for Leucadia flooding. Dalager says he loves that bond as much as his own family (cue Twilight Zone theme).

read What is a Pasco Fiasco?

also check out the City Council Monitor.

Stay tuned to this blog for more updates on Dalager's sad little lies.

Dalager releases names of people who enjoy paying unnecessary fees and taxes

Encinitas city council incumbent Dan Dalager has never met a fee or tax increase he didn't like and I suppose these people feel the same way:


click image for large view.