Oral Communications: Tensions High
Residents called out:
- The need for district representation on all commissions
- Concerns about unsafe development, ICE detentions, and councilmember conduct
- One resident criticized State Sen. Blakespear for giving legislative updates (despite that resident previously announcing her own mayoral campaign from the same podium)
Consent Calendar Highlights
✔️ 8F – Glen Park Improvements: Resident requested redesign for ADA + drainage. Staff will follow up. Passed unanimously.
✔️ 8G – Offshore Drilling Opposition Letter: Resident thanked Council for taking a stand. Unanimous approval.
Consent Items:
Item 10A – Sewer Engineering Fees: First update in 20+ years. Fees apply to developers, not ratepayers. Approved unanimously, with CPI adjustments going forward.
Item 10B – Legislative Priorities Shake-Up: A working group (Mayor Ehlers + Deputy Mayor O’Hara) rewrote the City’s legislative priorities without public process, sparking over 100 letters and 20 speakers. Residents objected to:
- Removing “just, equitable, and inclusive community”
- Weakening support for active transportation
- Narrowing gun-violence prevention into something toothless
- Over-emphasizing “local control” in ways that undermine housing and safety goals
After a long debate, Council unanimously approved a reset motion to:
- Restore equity language
- Add gun safety / mental health
- Add federal-agency communication protocols (post-ICE incidents)
- Add wildfire-insurance availability
- Refine density bonus & local-control language
- Return with a clean, public-ready version
Food for thought (FFT): Why rewrite the whole document without public input first — and then spend an entire meeting fixing it?
Quote of the night: “I think gun violence is a massively broad term, and it’s manipulated by so many politicians at the state level and at the national level. And it’s a state and national controversy.” – Deputy Mayor O’Hara
FFT:Why so much concern over whether priorities are “enforceable” at the city level? This is a document to outline priorities on issues that impact lives of everyone living in Encinitas and guide opinion statements on regional, state and national legislation, not to implement policy in our city.
Item 12A – Saxony Improvements (Goodbye Chicanes): Requested by the YMCA + residents: install a 4-way stop at the Y entrance and remove the 6-month-old chicanes. Residents lined up to say the chicanes were unsafe and noisy. Passed unanimously.
Item 12B – E-Bike Ordinance Overhaul: Deputy Mayor O’Hara proposed tightening rules for unsafe ebikes + illegal e-motorcycles (60 mph) to include :
- Impounding after 3 violations (helmets, passengers, etc.)
- 750-watt cap
- Prohibition against sidewalk riding except at <5 mph
- Minimum age of 12
Sheriff confirmed rising e-moto problems and parent citations. Council leaned toward pairing enforcement with stronger education, especially for youth. Passed unanimously, with direction to city staff to refine impound rules and expand educational options.
FFT: Can enforcement alone fix the problem — or is education the thing that actually works for kids?
City Manager Report: HUGE Win — New At Grade Rail Crossings Approved: CPUC issued a preliminary ruling supporting two new at-grade crossings in Leucadia (Grandview + Phoebe).
Next steps:
- Final CPUC ruling in 3–4 months
- Design complete by end of 2026
- $6.5M Construction funding needed by 2027 and City already applying for grants
Final Takeaway:
A long night, a lot of cleanup, and a reminder that skipping public input just creates more work later.