The Coast News, June 14, 2013

JUNE 14, 2013
THE COAST NEWS
Prop A election triggers debate over land use
By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — Pam
Slater-Price, the mayor of
Encinitas in 1990 and former
county supervisor, noted that
land use has consistently
been a hot topic in the city.
With a June 18 special
election on Prop A, the issue
is once again at the center of
a citywide debate.
Last summer, residents
began gathering signatures
for the “Right-to-Vote” initiative,
now known as
Proposition A. By January, the
initiative qualified for a special
election, sparking a backand-forth
debate about how
the city should grow.
Proponents maintain
Prop A would protect community
character by putting zoning
decisions in the hands of
residents.
The City Council has
stated they believe in the spirit
of the initiative. But they
oppose Prop A on the grounds
that it makes development in
some parts of the city needlessly
difficult and opens
Encinitas up to legal challenges.
Slater-Price said Prop A
would continue a tradition of
self-determination in
Encinitas. Because of concerns
with overdevelopment,
residents voted in 1986 to
break away from the county
and make Encinitas its own
city.
“I’ve always believed
that people who live here
know what’s best for
Encinitas,” Slater-Price said.
“Not developers, the region or
Prop A is headed for a special election June 18. The land-use
initiative reignited a debate over how Encinitas should grow.
Photo by Jared Whitlock
the state.”
In most cases, Encinitas
voters already have the power
to vote on increases in density,
as well as changes in zoning.
Prop A eliminates the
City Council’s ability to “upzone”
beyond height and density
limits with a four-out-offive
councilmember vote. The
“four-fifths” exception was
passed in 1991 to give council
more flexibility with zoning
— a decision Slater-Price
called “a mistake.”
Councilmembers agree
that the four-fifths exception
could lead to development
that doesn’t sit well with the
community. So they unanimously
eliminated it with a
resolution last month.
Prop A supporters counter
that because it’s a resolution,
a future council could
reverse the action.
In response, City Council
intends to put the resolution
to a public vote in 2014.And if
passed, future councils couldn’t
undo it.
The City Council has yet
to release the language.
Consequently, Slater-
Price said there’s no guarantee
they’ll submit a ballot that
eliminates the four-fifths
exception and that doesn’t
contain any other zoning loopholes.
Yet Councilman Tony
Kranz said he’s committed to
an initiative on the 2014 ballot
that reaffirms the public’s
right to vote — sans any loopholes.
“We got rid of that exception
and we want to lock it in
with a public vote,” Kranz
said.
Kranz signed Prop A this
past fall, but later came out
against after it was brought to
his attention that “specific
plans” within the city would
be impacted.
Most of the city has a
maximum height limit of 30
feet. Yet a handful of specific
plans throughout the city
allow a small number of
mixed-use projects, as well as
some commercial buildings to
be taller than 30 feet. For
instance, the mixed-use
Pacific Station development
was built according to guidelines
in the downtown
Encinitas specific plan. Thus,
it wasn’t subject to a public
vote, though residents
weighed in on the project during
city council meetings.
As another example, the
Encinitas Town Ranch Center
permits some buildings up to
40 feet.
If Prop A passes, existing
buildings in the specific plans
would remain intact. But proposed
buildings higher than
30 feet within them would go
to a public vote. Proponents
of the initiative argue that
some of the specific plans are
flawed, because they were
passed with the four-fifths
exception.
However, Kranz said the
specific plans revitalized businesses
across the city. And
they take community character
into account.
“I’m not sure why Prop A
addresses specific plans,”
Kranz said. “They’re largely
popular with residents.
“Prop A overcomplicates
matters,” Kranz added.
As an example, he said
an area near C Street and 2nd
Street in downtown is zoned
greater than 30 feet for visi-
TURN TO LAND USE ON A20
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Council finally
gets TBID financials
By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — Council
members finally received a
progress report with financial
details on the Tourism
Business Improvement
District formed nearly three
years ago to increase occupancy
in the city’s six hotels.
The district is required to
provide City Council with an
annual update. A presentation
was given March 4 by the
owner of a company hired to
help with the marketing
efforts but council members
were frustrated by the lack of
financial information.
Those details were provided
June 3 by John
Lambeth of Civitas Advisors,
who helped develop the Del
Mar program, and Mike
Slosser, general manager of
L’Auberge Del Mar and chairman
of Visit Del Mar, the nonprofit
organization created by
the district to manage the
assessments.
Slosser was sick in March
and unable to attend that
meeting to give a presentation.
The district is funded by
a 1 percent fee paid by hotel
guests since October 2010.
Nearly $375,000 has been collected
so far but less than half
has been spent, Lambeth
said.
After repaying the startup
costs, about $205,000 was
rolled over into this year’s
budget. Most of that will be
spent in the next six months,
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Slosser said.
Nearly $30,000 will go
toward downtown improvements
such as pathway lighting
between Hotel Indigo and
downtown, holiday lighting
and entry signs into the city.
The remaining $175,000
is slated for marketing.
The majority of the
money collected — 74 percent
— is budgeted for a promotional
campaign. Another 10
percent each goes to commercial
zone improvements and
the Del Mar Village
Association downtown program.
Only 5 percent is allocated
for administrative costs
and the city receives 1 percent
to cover any costs
incurred for processing the
money,which is collected with
the transient occupancy tax.
By comparison, the
Carlsbad and Carlsbad Golf
district budgets total more
than $1 million and Coronado
and Oceanside have budgets
of $517,000 and $472,000,
respectively.
Del Mar’s is enough to
make a difference but it’s on
the small side, Lambeth said.
Slosser also noted collections
were impacted because
some of the hotels have
undergone renovations since
the district was formed.
The assessment applies
to hotel stays 30 days or shorter.
Government days are not
TURN TO FINANCIALS ON A21