Big budget questions. Another councilmember kerfluffle. And a seventh grader is celebrated for helping create a new park.
🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – March 18, 2026
For three years, seventh-grader Oliver Pratt (above, center) collected, cleaned, and sold used golf balls to raise money for the future L-7 nature park on Quail Gardens Drive. He walked up to the dais and handed the city a check for $15,000. 👏
💬 Quote of the Night “The $7.7 million in unassigned general fund indicates this council’s fiscal restraint… better restraint and better planning and budgeting.” — Mayor Ehlers, taking a victory lap for a surplus the city posts nearly every year. 🙄
o 🌮 FFT (Food For Thought): The city has run an unallocated surplus for at least five straight years — $7M in 2022, $8M last year, $7.7M now. Is this fiscal discipline worth celebrating, or just routine? And while we’re at it: why is a Santa Fe Drive West redo being prioritized over Santa Fe Drive East, which still has no sidewalks or bike lanes?
⚡ Special Meeting— FY 2026-27 Budget Workshop
This was the first of several budget workshops where council begins the hard work of matching a growing list of unfunded needs against limited dollars. The headline: $8.6M to allocate for FY27 — $7.7M in unassigned carryover funds plus a projected $1M surplus from next year’s revenues ($126M in, $125M out).
Two important caveats on what’s NOT yet in that number:
- 💸 $2.6M in expected FEMA reimbursements for the Lake Drive sinkhole repairs — real money, but can’t be counted until it actually arrives from the federal government
- 🚂 $8.4M in required city matching funds if federal rail grants come through for the Leucadia at-grade crossings, quiet zone expansion north to Leucadia Blvd, and the Cardiff undercrossing at Verdi St. — grants applied for in 2025, results expected sometime this summer
What staff put in the opening budget calculator:
· $1.5M in administrative costs, including 4 new hires
· $2M toward near-term facilities maintenance (to get city buildings to “fair” condition)
· $2M toward Santa Fe East improvements
· $1.2M in storm drain repairs and maintenance
· A handful of smaller capital projects
That’s a reasonable starting point — but it barely scratches the surface of what’s actually needed. The city is staring down tens of millions $ in identified but unfunded drainage projects, looming facilities maintenance costs that a recent assessment said need to grow from $1M to $4.6M annually, and a $6.5M at-grade crossing project that’s been in the pipeline for decades.
The room had one message: Fund the Leucadia at-grade crossings. Now. Nine of 10 public speakers said it. 50+ residents submitted written comments. The urgency is real — after decades of planning and regulatory hurdles, the project cleared its final approval in January. Design is expected to wrap by the end of this year. The project would create safe, legal crossings of the railroad tracks, giving walkers, cyclists, and rollers access to Coast Highway businesses and the beach without having to get in a car. The construction price tag: $6.5M.
After much discussion, the Mayor laid out his stated priorities for fund allocation:
1. 🚂 At-grade crossings + quiet zone expansion — “must have”
2. 🚒 Fire Station 6 in Olivenhain — “must have”
3. 🛣️ Santa Fe East improvements — “nice to have”
Bold words. Then the meeting ended with only $300K in the budget calculator for at-grade crossing design — and zero discussion about how to fund the remaining $6.2M for construction. Zero discussion about setting aside the $8.4M in matching funds in case the federal rail grants come through. If the grants are awarded and the city hasn’t reserved matching funds, it could miss the window entirely.
The gap between what councilmembers say at the podium and what ends up in the budget is worth watching very closely between now and April 8.
· 🌮 FFT: The Mayor called the at-grade crossings a “must have” — then left $6.2M of the $6.5M project unfunded and unaddressed. If this is the priority, where’s the money? And if the federal grants come through without matching funds reserved, does Encinitas lose its shot?
Next budget workshop: April 8. That’s when the real horse-trading begins.
⚡ Regular Meeting @ 6PM
🎤 Oral Communications
· 🥁 Still waiting on Houbeck: Residents from the Encinitas West African Dance Community returned for the third straight meeting demanding the city agendize a review of committee member Steve Houbeck’s racist Facebook post. “ You are sick of hearing from us, just as we are sick of saying this, but we are not going away.” Council has still not responded.
Top: Mayor Ehlers attempts to calm Councilmember O’Hara during his interruptions. Bottom: An example of a social media post where Councilmember Marco San Antonio, AKA “encinitasdistrict4cowboy” collaborated with anonymous instagram accounts SaveEncinitasNow and EncinitasKeepinItReal.
· 📱 Brown Act watch: More examples of councilmembers “liking” social media posts in possible violation of the Brown Act were presented by District 4 City Council candidate Brad Lefkowits. O’Hara objected loudly — and repeatedly interrupted the mayor. Nothing says “you hit a nerve” like getting interrupted twice. 👀
· 🕳️ The pothole that time forgot: One resident has been asking the city to fix a large alley pothole for months. Still not fixed. Referred to the city manager and attorney.
· 💰 CRC donation questioned: A resident raised concerns about the city’s $30,000 CDBG grant to the Community Resource Center — made without a memorandum of understanding — given the CRC’s proposed downtown expansion.
· 🌮 FFT: Three weeks. Same residents. Same ask about the Houbeck post. How many more appearances before council puts it on the agenda?
🏢 Encinitas Gets Its First-Ever Business Commission ✅ Unanimous:
A new formal advisory body to connect local business owners with City Hall — focused on economic vitality, local character, and small businesses (no chains or franchises). Eight members appointed from 15 applicants, with a 9th District 3 seat still open due to an application error.
Appointed:
· Heather Addy Crider – Owner of A Children’s Garden preschool, 2nd generation Encinitas business owner (3-yr, At-Large)
· Tony Dellamano – Owner of Culture Brewing, 25+ years in hospitality (3-yr, District 2)
· Jason Janecek – (3-yr, District 1)
· Brandon Jennings – Co-founder of Pastoria Vivi, Italian specialty market opening on El Camino Real (2-yr, District 4)
· Jeffrey Schade – Owner of Leucadia Cyclery (2-yr, At-Large)
· Ray Hutchinson – Retired optometrist, 42-year Pacific View Eye Care owner, Rotarian (1-yr, At-Large)
· Gerard Pascale – Commercial real estate entrepreneur, former Economic Development Committee chair (1-yr, At-Large)
· Paulette Khoury – owner of businesses in businesses in San Diego, San Marcos and (1-yr, At-Large)
District 3 is still open and recruitment begins immediately — appointment expected early April. Own a business in D3? This is your moment.
🚒 False Fire Alarm Fees Updated ✅ Unanimous:
493 false alarm calls in 2025 alone — pulling first responders away from real emergencies. New fee structure (first update since 1993):
· 1st & 2nd: Free
· 3rd: $75 | 4th: $150 | 5th: $250
· 6th+: $500 (Mayor Ehlers pushed this up from the proposed $300)
Last year’s top repeat offenders: Scripps Memorial Hospital, San Diego Academy, Seacrest Village, and Aviara. The new fees should generate ~$12,000/year and save $73 per avoided call in dispatch costs.
· 🌮 FFT: It took 32 years to update a fee schedule for false alarms that drain first responder resources. What else hasn’t been looked at since 1993?
📊 City Manager Updates
· 🚦 Traffic enforcement: January: 70 citations. February: 82. Top violations: speeding, cell phone use, stop sign violations. Drive like you live here. 🛑
· 🌳 L-7 Park Workshop: Thursday, March 26 at 6 PM at the NC Community Center. First of many public design workshops — go help shape the park that Oliver Pratt helped pay for!
We hope you’re finding these council meeting recaps useful in helping you better understand the issues facing our fair city. All of us at Encinitas Action appreciate your interest, and we invite you to get more involved.