If Encinitas doesn’t want to proceed with a controversial proposal to put a low-income housing project on city-owned property along Quail Gardens Drive, there are four other top options, a new report declares.
All four of these “highest ranked sites” are publicly owned, and that’s important, the new report produced by the Encinitas Affordable Housing Task Force declares.
“Having the city in the driver’s seat on affordable housing development gives the community more control over what is built and where,” it states. “It is also helpful in keeping the city’s Housing Element (a state-mandated, housing planning document) certified by the state Housing and Community Development department.”
A 13-member task force, led by Mayor Tony Kranz and Councilmember Allison Blackwell, worked on the project. Over the course of a four-month period, the task force met nine times and reviewed 20 potential sites, ranking them using a 100-point scoring system. Its four recommended alternatives to the L-7 site are:
- The city’s public works property, a nearly 4.5-acre property on Calle Magdalena. It received a 76.8 point ranking in the scoring system.
- The City Hall property, a 5.2-acre site on Vulcan Avenue. It received a score of 66.8.
- North County Transit District parking areas, 13-plus acres along the railroad tracks. That option received a score of 67.5.
- And, a shared project that would involve using both part of the City Hall property and part of NCTD’s D Street parking lot. It received a 72.7 ranking.
All four options would face significant challenges if the city wishes to use any of them for low-income housing, the report notes. That’s due to the fact that these sites already are used for other activities. Long-term planning, special partnership agreements and other efforts would be required, the document notes.
The report’s conclusions will be discussed by the City Council in a special meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Ave. Visit https://encinitas.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=7&event_id=4898&meta_id=177907 to view the report.
At least two task force members have already expressed reservations about the report’s future use, writing in emails to City Hall that they hope the results are “non-binding.”
Task force member Dick Stern, who is president of the Encinitas Ranch Community Association, noted in his email that the task force was led by two people — the mayor and a council member — who appear to have lost their election bids and thus will not be remaining on the council after mid-December.
“In the interest of good governance and integrity, the mayor and deputy mayor should recuse themselves from the discussion at the special City Council meeting and give no direction to city staff, other than to accept the report,” Stern wrote. “The future, incoming council should be tasked with determining the next steps.”
Stern also wrote that he wished the task force had put more effort into finding other site options, including church-owned properties.
The task force was established last summer after opposition intensified to a tentative city proposal to put low-home housing on the L-7 site, a nearly 9.4-acre, city-owned property on Quail Gardens Drive. Purchased by the city decades ago, that vacant property straddles the 600 block of Quail Gardens Drive. The city’s general plan lists it as a potential parkland, but it’s also been proposed as a possible city maintenance yard and even a library location over the years. Recent proposals have involved housing projects, including one that would be a senior-only facility.
