The long, convoluted history of a city-owned parcel on Quail Gardens Drive may finally be coming to an end.
On Wednesday night, the Encinitas City Council will consider whether to begin a process that would turn the nearly 9.4-acre, city-owned property, known as “L-7” on city planning documents, into an officially designated public park site.
In a written statement asking for the item to be placed on the agenda, newly elected Councilmembers Jim O’Hara and Luke Shaffer wrote that settling the L-7 park situation was one of their key campaign promises. Newly elected Mayor Bruce Ehlers, who ran on a slate with O’Hara and Shaffer, also has supported turning the property into an official city park.
Noting that the land was purchased with city park funds decades ago, O’Hara and Shaffer wrote that L-7 has been proposed for various things in the years since the city purchased it, including a park, a library, public works yard and, most recently, a low-income housing project.
“Now is the time for the city to make a decision that reflects the community’s best interests, best use, and best fit for this parcel,” the two men wrote. “The discussion of what to do with this parcel should come to a conclusion.”
Wednesday’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Ave. During the discussion, council members are expected to direct city staff to prepare a report, which will spell out the process to officially declare the property a park. Shaffer and O’Hara also are asking for the city’s Planning Commission to review the matter. Ultimately, they declare in their agenda request, the item should come back to the City Council for a final decision within 90 days.
For a several-year period, the council pursued the idea of putting a low-income housing project on the site. Council members hit the pause button on that effort in mid-November after two council members who backed it lost their election bids and a third didn’t seek re-election.
The housing proposal had generated intense community opposition, particularly as the Quail Gardens Drive region already is a hotbed of new housing construction, with some 1,100 units either in the works or contemplated.
In July, area resident Glen Johnson offered to donate $100,000 to Encinitas, if city officials would drop the housing project idea, turn the property into a park and name it after his wife. He’s not the only one offering funding for the park concept — Oliver Pratt, a 10-year-old who lives near the property, also has been selling used golf balls and collecting donations online.
