Council hears it, council ignores it.
It was a short agenda but a loooong evening. And the new Urban Forestry Advisory Committee member’s racist comment is not going away.
💬 Quote of the Night : “Racism is not a difference of opinion. It is a disqualifier for public service.” – Encinitas Resident Monette Marino
🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – March 25, 2026
🎤 Oral Communications — One Topic Dominated. The room showed up with one message: remove Steve Houbeck from his Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC) seat over his racist Facebook post. Council has now heard these demands in person at four consecutive public meetings, but has yet to acknowledge any of them.
(At Thursday’s UFAC meeting, Houbeck offered a weak response, saying “the message may have conveyed a wrong impression,” then pivoted to his work with people who are “autistic, nonverbal and intellectually disabled.” But public speakers rejected Houbeck’s statement, one characterizing it as “too little, and far too late.”
Chairman Brad Lefkowits said he couldn’t address the controversy at that meeting, but he could “reach out to the council and the mayor on the committee’s behalf and have a discussion with them.” It marked the first time any of the speakers’ requests had been recognized from an Encinitas dais.)
· 🌮 Food for Thought: At what point does repeated inaction on a sitting committee member’s racist post become its own statement about this council’s values and Mayor Ehlers’ non-responsiveness to Encinitas residents?
Consent Item — Rental Assistance MOU with San Diego Rescue Mission: This item was pulled by staff before the meeting. The Memorandum of Understanding would have allowed SDRM to issue rental assistance checks to qualified individuals experiencing homelessness. One public commenter blamed the Community Resource Center for “ruining downtown” and urged council to “prioritize the tax base” — which seems to be a polished way of saying prioritize the wealthy. The mayor requested this item not be on the consent calendar when it returns before the Council.
Consent Item — Surf Camp Contractor Agreement ✅ Unanimous Revised independent contractor agreement for local surf camps. Approved without drama. 🏄
🌿 Native Plant Ordinance: ✅ Unanimous. Big community support, and council delivered. The Native Plant Ordinance passed unanimously with some council input:
· Biodiversity and podium planting language modified to address real-world application concerns
· Staff directed to return in 12-15 months to evaluate effectiveness after the ordinance takes effect
· Staff directed to analyze financial incentives for native planting — how much to set aside and how to structure it — and bring that framework back by budget hearings.
This is the kind of long-game environmental policy the city should be doing more of. 🌱
· 🌮 Food for Thought: Incentives matter as much as mandates. Will the city actually fund them when budget time comes?
🌎 EcoFest MOU: ✅ Unanimous. After being sent back on March 11 for more homework, the organizers came back with answers. Council approved the Memorandum of Understanding for EcoFest on June 28 at Encinitas Community Park. Mark your calendars. ☀️
📈 Economic Development Strategic Plan: No Consultant, Two Buckets. Staff introduced three potential economic strategies: maximize business revenue, create new employment opportunities, and support small businesses and tourism.
What followed was a lively debate about whether Encinitas even wants substantial economic development — and if so, what kind. At one point, the discussion veered into whether the city should hire an outside consultant or just… buy some books on Amazon and Google it. 📚
The outcome: no consultant (for now). Council narrowed the focus to two priorities:
· 💰 Maximize existing business revenue
· 🏪 Support small businesses
The newly formed Business Commission will develop direction and return to the council with a timeline. A logical fit — but worth watching whether this commission has the teeth and resources actually to move the needle.
· 🌮 Food for Thought: Encinitas has resisted economic development for years in the name of preserving character. But small businesses are struggling, and storefronts sit empty. Can the city thread that needle — or will “two buckets” turn into two years of meetings?
💰 City Manager Gets a Raise: ✅ Unanimous The council unanimously approved an amendment to the City Manager’s employment agreement, including a 2.75% raise and other compensation increases.
🚨 Evacuation Impact Analysis: ✅ Unanimous. Deputy Mayor O’Hara initiated this item, directing staff to evaluate how to perform evacuation impact analyses and developing objective standards that could support development impact fees or other regulatory actions when new projects affect emergency evacuation routes. The devil will be in how “objective standards” get defined — and whether they hold up against developer pushback.
· 🌮 Food for Thought: Evacuation route capacity is a genuine public safety issue that development can make worse. Will objective standards actually limit harmful projects — or just create another box to check?
Short agenda with a few meaningful votes. But until council addresses the UFAC member’s racist comments, the story will keep writing itself.
No City Council meeting next week. Enjoy the break and our summer-y spring!