On Wednesday, June 26th, the city council heard a staff report on the feasibility of developing 100% affordable housing on L-7. A staff report was received then public comment was made then the council debated next steps. The staff report with input from a consultant, the Kosmont Companies, showed that the development of up to 45 units would require subsidies of between $4.2M and $6.1M to make this financially viable. The study did not include the opportunity cost of the land estimated at around $15M meaning that total project costs could amount to more than $20M. That does not include ongoing maintenance nor any liabilities.

As mentioned in previous newsletter articles this development would have significant impacts on traffic, noise and overall quality of life for residents of Encinitas Ranch.

Below is a link to the formal staff report:

https://encinitas.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=3248&meta_id=171043

There were close to 30 public speakers with the majority of them voicing opposition to any development and for that parcel of land to be used as a park.

After hearing from all public speakers the council debated next steps and agreed on a motion from council member Blackwell, who represents District 1, to form a task force to explore all options for land in Encinitas that could be used for more affordable housing. This would include not only city owned land but other publically available properties. The task force will include deputy mayor Blackwell, mayor Tony Kranz and representatives from each of the five council districts. They are tasked with developing options for choices of land and presenting back to the council in six months.

Below is a link to a KPBS news segment on this matter:

Encinitas considers future of empty lot on Quail Gardens Drive | KPBS Public Media

Also, Fox News Channel 5 had a news journalist attend the council meeting and you can see the summary of the meeting through the clip below:

https://share.newsbreak.com/7hhewcax

Below is some data to support the need for more park land in Encinitas:

Per the National Recreation and Parks Association, the typical park and recreation agency offers one park for every 2,386 residents served with 10.6 acres of park land per 1,000 residents.

Encinitas has 19 square miles of land or 12,100 acres of land. On Wednesday, June 26th we heard two different data points from city staff and consultants on the amount of of park land in Encinitas; one indicated that we have 150 acres of park land and another highlighted in the staff presentation showed 328. If we have 62,000 residents in Encinitas then we should have 657 acres of park land. So, regardless of what the city told residents, we are woefully short of what park land we should have. (The city should not include the golf course as park land as that is very misleading.)

Two surveys conducted by the city indicated the top priority for residents of Encinitas was ‘open space’ and the second was ‘more parks’.  By developing L-7 for housing that flies in the face of what residents want from the city.

We will continue to keep homeowners updated on this matter.