ENCINITAS — In preparation for the final budget in June, the Encinitas City Council recently took steps to allocate most of the remaining balance in the city’s general fund to various capital improvement projects throughout the city.
During a special meeting on April 17, the City Council divvied up more than $3.5 million to the following projects:
- $1.8 million to extend drainage along Coast Highway 101 to Grandview Street;
- $800,000 for design services and construction estimates to install a protected intersection at El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive;
- $300,000 for general mobility improvements;
- $200,000 for safe routes to school;
- $150,000 for activities related to a native plant ordinance that includes installing a demonstration garden, education resources;
- $100,000 for the Encinitas Habitat Stewardship Program;
- $60,000 for a project that would build a safe bike route to Paul Ecke Central Elementary from Orpheus Park;
- $50,000 to maintain on-call drainage consulting with Q3 Consulting;
- $40,000 for the Chamber of Commerce’s visitor center; and
- $8,500 to the Encinitas Historical Society for the annual heritage tree lighting in December.
This leaves a remaining $791,500 in unassigned money in the general fund.
During the meeting, residents and council members spoke in favor of installing a protected intersection at El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive, the location where a work van fatally struck 15-year-old Brodee Braxton Champlain-Kingman last June while riding his e-bike northbound on El Camino Real.
The San Dieguito Academy student died in the hospital from severe injuries a few days after the accident.
Many also spoke in favor of allocating $350,000 for consulting services to create a native plant ordinance and an additional $150,000 for the demo garden and other native plant-related activities. However, the City Council could not agree to spend the entire $500,000 on native plant efforts.
Mayor Tony Kranz said he supported the demo garden and other native plant installation efforts, including codifying a requirement for developers to include native landscaping in their projects, but the cost of consulting services to develop an ordinance deterred him.
“The notion of spending $350,000 on a consultant for that is not a great look because of the other issues we desperately need to address,” Kranz said.
The City Council bifurcated its vote to approve the funds, separating the native plant requests from the rest. While funding for the other projects was approved unanimously, the council denied the $350,000 for native plant consulting by a 2-3 vote, with Councilmember Kellie Hinze and Councilmember Joy Lyndes in favor and Kranz, Deputy Mayor Allison Blackwell and Councilmember Bruce Ehlers opposed.
Lyndes expressed her shock at the action and noted that if it went forward, the $350,000 was a small price to pay and might even save the city money.
“There’s much support across the table,” Lyndes said. “It’s important to do it right and create green infrastructure; if we don’t, we’re leaving money on the table.”
Storm drainage has been an ongoing issue for decades in the city, particularly noticeable during the recent winter storms that flooded several streets in the Leucadia neighborhood and other parts of the city. The damage to homes and businesses prompted the city to utilize the funds to extend drainage infrastructure improvements to Grandview Street and maintain on-call drainage consulting services.
Kranz also requested that the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce present more information on the visitor’s center in the future, noting that its website should promote all local businesses, not just chamber members.
“I think that’s really critical,” Kranz said.
The next budgetary steps include introducing the draft of the fiscal year 2024-2025 operating and capital improvement budget on May 15 and the council’s final vote on the budget on June 12.
