Pleas for Safety Fall On Deaf Ears, Climate Action Goals At Risk, and Tightening Screws on Unhoused
🚨 Aloha Shirts, But No Action?
Encinitas City Council returned from summer break with leis around their necks—but left urgency at the door.
🌺 While Council showed up in Hawaiian shirts, 15 speakers—including the grieving parents of Emery Chelakian—showed up in yellow demanding action. Emery was just 12 when she was killed in a crosswalk by a red-light runner. Hers is the 4th pedestrian/cyclist death in Encinitas this year.
Despite a unanimous vote on June 25 to agendize a traffic state of emergency at this meeting, it was nowhere on this meeting’s docket—or the next. The silence was deafening. 😔
💭 Does this Council prioritize cars over lives? Over climate? Over community safety?
Councilmember Jim O’Hara proposed a trio of stricter laws targeting public camping and vehicle dwelling:
- ✅ Passed: Removed “at night” clause from camping on private property.
- ❌ Failed: No action on changing RV parking hours—not even a motion from Jim himself.
- ⚠️ Modified: Sleeping in vehicles banned from 8 PM–6 AM (was 10 PM–6 AM), rather than the ‘dusk to dawn’ period proposed. Lyndes voted no, advocating for services over stricter bans.
💭 Are these the safety priorities we need in a city reeling from pedestrian deaths?
Council delayed re-adopting our local reach codes—key existing building rules that support our Climate Action Plan—despite expert advice and an October 1 deadline.
Instead of acting, they questioned proven standards (like EV chargers) and floated unsupported ideas, risking the loss of years of climate progress.
💭 Are we walking back from our award-winning climate leadership? 🌍🔥
🗳️ Youth Commission Alternates: A 1-Hour Debate
Council spent nearly an hour debating whether to add two alternates to the Youth Commission… and unanimously agreed to refer it back to the Youth commission for their feedback.
💭An hour for alternates, but zero minutes for Emery? Priorities feel out of sync. ⚖️
🍺 No Booze at 7-11
Council upheld the Planning Commission’s decision to block alcohol sales at Village Park 7-11. Cheers to… zoning? 🙃
