🔥 The item initiated by Councilmember Joy Lyndes concerning new UFAC committee member Steven Houbeck’s possible removal finally happened after 10pm. The deeply disappointing outcome merited its own Encinitas Action newsletter, which you can read here, along with articles in The Coast News, inewsource, and the San Diego Union-Tribune. Encinitas Union School District school board member Marlon Taylor also wrote an op-ed, published in The Coast News.
The inewsource article about the Houbeck Councilmember Initiated Item brouhaha.
The earlier part of the meeting covered short-term rentals, speed limits, native plants, and a playground sent back to the drawing board:
💬 Quote of the Night : “I think we’re going around in circles” – Mayor Ehlers said during a prolonged discussion on Short Term Rental Ordinance
· 🌮 Food for Thought: Could the circular discussion have been avoided if the councilmembers did their homework ahead of the meeting?
⚡ Special Meeting — Q3 Work Plan Update
Of 76 annual work plan objectives: 52 on track 🟢, 24 partially complete 🟡, zero with no progress 🔴. Four fully done. The rest expected to wrap by year-end, with stragglers carried into FY27. Notable items flagged in discussion:
· 🚂 At-grade crossings: CPUC granted full approval — a genuinely significant win since the CPUC rarely approves new pedestrian at-grade crossings anymore
· 💧 Stormwater: Citywide storm drain assessment underway, producing a 10-year capital improvement plan. CCTV inspections already surfacing actionable repairs. A super El Niño is forecast — Leucadia, take note
· 🏠 Affordable housing inclusionary study: One speaker urged the city to do it right regardless of timing — either outcome will face scrutiny
· 📱 City communications: Mayor and Councilmember San Antonio pushed to fast-track the city’s “know your city” micro-video and real-time messaging program, citing multiple instances in the past 18 months where faster official communication would have countered misinformation
· 🌮 Food for Thought: The workplan format does not work well when plans change, and that green/yellow/red may not be enough of a status indicator (e.g., 3 items related to transportation = 🟡 with no progress in Q4 due to waiting on changes to the Circulation Element). What changes should be made for next year’s workplan?
⚡ Regular Meeting
🎤 Oral Communications: Light rail horn noise, youth marijuana concerns, light pollution from neighbor’s yard, and a resident denied access to the HOPE team through the non-emergency line for a homeless individual. That last one deserves a follow-up. Also: Julie Thunder complained that the Hwy 101 cycle track is too ugly. Priorities vary.
🛝 Wiro Park Playground: Sent Back ✅ Unanimous. A state grant covers playground replacements at Wiro and Orpheus Parks. Sounds straightforward. It wasn’t.
The Olivenhain neighborhood’s first community meeting about the playground drew 3 people — because the city’s standard 500-foot mailing radius barely reached anyone. A second meeting in May 2025 drew 25+ residents saying: save the swings, use rubberized surfacing, not wood mulch. Then: silence.
One resident who’s been part of a HOA collectively paying $50/month for park maintenance — detailed exactly how the communication broke down. Council agreed: this wasn’t good enough.
Outcome: Project sent to the Parks & Recreation Commission with expanded notification beyond the 500-foot radius. The city manager confirmed the notification radius issue is being addressed for all future projects. Vote: 5-0.
o 🌮 Food for Thought: The city has a pattern of checking the “community engagement” box. but with minimal actual outreach, then acting surprised when residents push back. How many other projects are moving forward on minimal input?
🏠 Short-Term Rental Ordinance: Corporate Airbnbs on Notice. The city had a draft ordinance, setting caps and spacing requirements. The Coastal Commission approved it with one modification: reducing the 3-night minimum stay to 2-nights for non-hosted STRs. Adopting modifications would maintain certification and avoid the ordinance becoming null and void.
Current status: 319 permitted STRs citywide — 251 non-hosted, 68 hosted. The city is below its caps (0.96% citywide, 2.2% west of I-5). Enforcement has teeth: $1.2M in back-paid Transit Occupancy Tax was collected in 2024 from 130 cases.
The fight was over one thing: 2-night vs. 3-night minimum stay for non-hosted rentals. Council split:
· Ehlers, Lyndes: Accept it — but fight to get the 3-night minimum back via future amendment
· Lyndes, Shaffer, San Antonio: deny the ordinance and start anew with the Coastal Commission in order to get a 2-night minimum (could take a year or more!)
· 🌮 Food for Thought: Corporate-owned STRs are hollowing out neighborhoods across coastal California. Is a 3-night minimum and enforcement enough to protect neighborhood character?
🚗 Speed Limits Updated ✅ Unanimous: Good news: 85th percentile speeds are actually dropping citywide. Lower limits and increased enforcement are working. Changes approved:
· 🛣️ El Camino Real (Santa Fe to Manchester): 50 → 45 mph
· 🏘️ 11 residential streets: new 20 mph limits under AB43
· 🏫 6 school zones: 20 mph when children are present under AB382
🌿 Leucadia Oaks Native Plant Garden ✅ Unanimous. Three years in the making, this community-driven native plant demonstration garden at Leucadia Oaks Park is finally getting built, though not without some design hiccups. Community members who championed the project said they were not consulted during the design phase until late in the process, and they had significant concerns.
Council approved the design with significant community-informed amendments: retain the two Virginia oaks, preserve existing native plants already functioning as a de facto garden, swap flagstone for stabilized decomposed granite throughout, add a curb-side access strip, and make the volunteer build event a major community moment. Planting day: June 27. Get your gloves ready. 🌱
The council doesn’t meet next week; the next meeting is May 13.
We appreciate you reading, questioning, and caring about our hometown. After all, it’s your city – we’re just taking notes!