encinitasaction
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Council votes to sue Sacramento over Santa Fe Drive
Wednesday’s meeting produced more than the headline lawsuit against Sacramento. The city manager also detailed four immigration-enforcement operations in three days, addressed questions surrounding a $33.6 million federal rail grant, and council faced renewed pressure for manufactured-home protections. Here’s what stood out — including a couple of things missing from the city’s official recap. 💬 Quote…
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Threats and Intimidation Have No Place in Encinitas
Encinitas Action unequivocally condemns the threatening phone call made to Encinitas City Councilmember Marco San Antonio, which the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating. Threats and intimidation have no place in Encinitas, and no one should ever have to fear for their safety simply for participating in civic life. We can challenge decisions,…
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National City councilmember ejected from Encinitas council meeting
Encinitans endured another tumultuous eight-hour series of meetings at City Hall last Wednesday night. 💬 Quote of the Night: “So don’t say you’re here to advocate for people when you’re here to campaign. It’s insulting to all those people. It’s insulting to me.” — Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara, to National City Councilmember Jose Rodriguez, who had just asked…
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They own their homes, but they rent the land. And their rent is skyrocketing.
One of Encinitas Action’s focus areas is housing, which includes preserving our existing naturally occurring affordable housing and preventing predatory landlord practices. Consistent with our mission, we want to alert you to an important housing item on next week’s council agenda – Manufactured Home Park Land Leases. On November 1, some Encinitas manufactured park homeowners will…
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Encinitas Action’s 2026 Ballot Recommendations
We don’t have to tell you that it’s a critical time in Encinitas (and everywhere). Ballots for the November 3, 2026 election are landing now. The races at the bottom of your ballot shape your streets, housing, and kids’ schools more than anything at the top. On City Council, the mayor, District 3, and District…
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City Spends More on Street Sweeping Than on Saving the Planet
Correction. We hold the City Council to a standard on facts, so we have to hold ourselves to it too. Our September 23 recap reported a $2.2 million annual street sweeping contract. The actual award is $732,236 for year 1, with optional renewals bringing the 3-year total to $2,274,633. Our headline emphasized that the street…
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Call to Action: Help protect Encinitas’ climate action plan
We know that Encinitas Action has been in your inbox a lot lately. And we’re reaching out today because the City Council has a critical decision to make on the Climate Action Plan. 🌊 Three years of work. Three workshops. 200+ public comments. Over $100k spent. And this Wednesday’s Special Meeting at 4pm, Council could water down the whole thing…
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The biggest vote didn’t make city’s council meeting recap
🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – September 9, 2026 The council voted to ask the governor to veto a bill tied to a former mayor. It was the longest and most contested item of the evening. First, an important remembrance… Yesterday marks 25 years since September 11, 2001. We will never forget the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the…
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Meet the City Council candidates: Encinitas Mayor
The 2026 Encinitas Action Candidate Questionnaire On August 3rd, Encinitas Action invited all six candidates for Mayor and City Council Districts 3 and 4 to answer the same nine questions about the issues, decisions, and responsibilities they would face if elected. We’re publishing the responses over three weeks: District 4 two weeks ago, District 3 last week,…
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Commissioner accused of having an opinion
The city launched its own council meeting recap this week — a welcome addition to the kind of meeting coverage we’ve been providing. Below is the city’s summary in full, with some added context and notes from Encinitas Action. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – August 26, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night“I believe she has shown too…
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Meet the Encinitas City Council District 3 Candidates
The 2026 Encinitas Action Candidate Questionnaire The 2026 Encinitas City Council District 3 candidates are Arielle Golden and Ed Sprague. On August 3rd, Encinitas Action invited all six candidates for Mayor and City Council Districts 3 and 4 to answer the same nine questions about the issues, decisions, and responsibilities they would face if elected.…
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Council Meeting Recap: E-bike crash data offers a surprise
The council spent an hour telling nine volunteer business owners that their ideas were too ambitious. Meanwhile, Encinitas e-bike crash data revealed something unexpected: riders were at fault in only five of the 14 collisions reported so far in 2026. Plus, the city landed the biggest grant in its history on a $77,000 bet —…
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Meet the City Council candidates: District 4
The 2026 Encinitas Action Candidate Questionnaire Encinitas Action invited all six candidates for Mayor and City Council Districts 3 and 4 to answer the same nine questions about the issues, decisions and responsibilities they would face if elected. Our goal was to give each candidate an opportunity to share their perspectives with you on a variety…
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Years in the making — $33.6 million for Encinitas!
After years of planning, persistence and collaboration, Encinitas has received the news we’ve all been waiting for: the Federal Railroad Administration has selected the city to receive a grant for up to $33.6 million to construct a series of railroad crossing safety improvements along the rail corridor through Encinitas. Former Encinitas Mayor Tony Kranz has…
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Angry deputy mayor declares himself ‘out of order’
Back from summer break. First meeting with call-in comments. And within 20 minutes, the Deputy Mayor had declared himself out of order. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – August 12, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night • Mayor Ehlers: “I wish you would stop, Jim, because you’re violating… I should put you out of order at this point.” Deputy Mayor O’Hara: “I am out of order on this.”…
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Encinitas City Council Report Card 2026
How did our council perform in first semester 2026? Six months into the year, the Encinitas City Council has given us plenty to grade — some genuine wins, a fair amount of unfinished business, and more than a few puzzling incidents and decisions that left us wondering what they were thinking. We dug back through…
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Council Meeting Preview: 8/12/26
If you are unable to attend a city council meeting in person, you can watch it on the City of Encinitas Youtube Channel or on the city’s website. Here’s the current meeting schedule and information about city council subcommittees. To view via television:Cox Communications: Ch. 19Spectrum: Ch. 24AT&T U-Verse: Ch. 99 For more on how to engage with city council meetings visit…
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Skateboards trump fatalities at City Hall
Families are still waiting for a street-safety task force Speak out at the Traffic Safety Commission meeting Monday! Over the last three years, three young people have been killed by cars on Encinitas streets. Families and safety commissioners have asked the City Council for an emergency response, an action that’s been declared by earlier councils.…
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If services attract homelessness…
Here’s a thought about one of the arguments used to defend the council majority’s rejection of nearly $4 million in encampment funding. Supporters of the council majority’s decision repeatedly claim that accepting money for outreach, shelter and housing assistance would “attract” more unhoused people to Encinitas. So let’s follow that logic. Nearby communities accepted this…
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The collapse of compassion at Encinitas City Hall
For decades, Encinitas built a reputation as an independent-minded, environmentally conscious, welcoming community. Residents didn’t agree on everything, but there was a shared expectation that local government would reflect the city’s generous spirit and solve problems in the best interests of its residents. That spirit is becoming harder to recognize. The City Council’s recent decision…
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Council wastes residents’ time for 10 hours until 2am
🌙 Ten hours. One night. Zero homeless grant applications. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – June 24, 2026 4 PM to 2 AM — and when the gavel finally fell, this council had spent $3.8M undoing a bike lane, blocked a free grant for homeless outreach, and let O’Hara argue about geology for 20 minutes. Summer recess starts…
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Council cross-examines pennies, rubber-stamps $ millions
🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – June 17, 2026 6+ hours. Midnight adjournment. A $158.5M budget that drew less debate than a farmers’ market relocation. Let’s distill it down for you. ⏰ 💬 Quote of the Night: “But that wasn’t in council direction… So if we’re in court, we’d strike the whole record of that whole conversation.” — Deputy Mayor O’Hara,…
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Our Juneteenth celebration was enlightening fun!
Let’s celebrate Juneteenth! June 19, marks the day back in 1865 when people in Galveston, Texas were informed of the end of slavery, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s a day of reflection, joy, and community – and that’s why the West African Dance Company and Encinitas Action previewed the holiday with a…
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Council Meeting Preview: June 17, 2026
Special City Council Meeting – Council Annual Work Plan, June 17th, 4:00 p.m. This Special City Council meeting is a review of the draft Fiscal Year 2026–2027 City Council Annual Work Plan. This is the document that helps set the Council’s priorities, focus areas, goals, and objectives for the year ahead. No final project approval…
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It’s a ‘Housing First’ grant, just don’t call it that
🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – June 10, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night: · Ehlers: “It’s one bird in the hand,” referencing that one applicant withdrew, leaving only one other application for Parks & Rec Commission seat · O’Hara: “Is it? Not if the bird poops in your hand. Or the bird in the hand flies away.”…
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Celebrate Juneteenth in Encinitas with West African Dance
Sunday, June 14 · 1:00–5:00 PM (final permit pending) This June, we’re hosting a Juneteenth celebration right here in downtown Encinitas, with a live performance from the West African Dance Company. Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when people in Galveston, Texas were informed of the end of slavery, more than two years after the Emancipation…
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Another meeting about another meeting
Climate change denial, outdoor dining rats (?), and a mayor who thinks homelessness data is “not for us to solve.” Buckle up. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – May 27, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night: “The longer we wait, the more we pay.” J.P. Bruner, Environmental Commissioner, regarding the Climate Action Plan discussion. ⚡ SPECIAL MEETING: Climate Action Plan…
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Council grandstanding stalls kids’ bike training
A budget improvised on the fly, the council looking to allow time-limited parking on all our roads, and a crumbling road nobody wants to own. Just another Wednesday at Encinitas City Hall. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – May 20, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night: “If we can’t find a way to continue with the [bike] training…
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Council Meeting Recap: Back to 1989? Encinitas Council Rejects Circulation Element Update After Five Years of Work
Five years of planning were rejected in one meeting, and the skate committee debate went around in circles. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – May 13, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night: “We’re not going to stop because a couple of people just don’t want to hear some noise.” – Councilmember Shaffer in response to residents’…
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We have news — and our first big celebration is June 14th!
We have some news worth sharing: Encinitas Action is a 501(c)(4) (a nonprofit social welfare organization) and can now accept financial donations. For the past year or so, we’ve been working to engage the community — newsletters, social media, meeting recaps, and showing up — with energy and the belief that local government matters. That…
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Encinitas Council Blames Residents After Racism Accountability Demands
At the April 22, 2026 Encinitas City Council meeting, residents demanded accountability for Steven Houbeck’s racially demeaning remarks and questioned whether he should remain on the Urban Forest Advisory Committee. But instead of focusing squarely on the harm described by residents, much of the council discussion turned toward the people speaking up. This meeting was…
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Fear of a crowded Zoom room: Council meeting recap 4/15/26
Water bills, native plants, community grants, and a debate over hybrid access all shaped the April 15, 2026 Encinitas City Council meeting. This recap walks through the key decisions, the public controversy, and what the discussion revealed about this council’s priorities. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – April 15, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night: As the…
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Mayor Ehlers’ State of the Spin?
🏙️ Bruce Ehlers’ 2026 State of the City: Our Encinitas Fact Check Here’s our take on the mayor’s speech — some props, some call-outs. Mayor Ehlers’ Theme: GSD — Get Stuff Done The mayor summarized the progress in our city, with more than a few pats on this council’s back. But even he had to admit…
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Council skates past one controversy — and into another
The April 8, 2026 Encinitas City Council meeting included FY27 budget discussions, debate over a proposed Glen Park skate feature, commission appointments, and renewed public criticism over Steve Houbeck. 🏛️ Council Meeting Recap – April 8, 2026 💬 Quote of the Night : On his initiated agenda item for skateboarding features at Glen Park, Councilmember Luke Shaffer said…
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When the Rules Become a Joke, Encinitas Has a Leadership Problem
Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara may have mocked Brown Act concerns, but the real issue is the lack of leadership from Mayor Bruce Ehlers. The Brown Act exists for a simple reason: the public’s business must be conducted in public. It prohibits councilmembers from discussing or deliberating on city matters outside noticed meetings, including through social…
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Week 4: City council’s deaf ears on racism
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…
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Encinitas Native Plant Ordinance Explained: What It Does, Who It Affects, and What Comes Next
An Encinitas Native Plant Ordinance will gradually reshape how landscaping is handled across the city. The proposal is intended to promote drought-tolerant, native landscaping and to align local planting standards with broader city goals around water conservation, habitat restoration, pollinators, biodiversity, and environmental resilience. (Source: City of Encintas) This did not appear overnight. The process began on January 25, 2023, when…
