ENCINITAS — The city of Encinitas is considering legal action against the owner of a parcel where people appear to be living amid at least two RVs, a water tank, shipping containers, heavy machinery and other equipment.
County records show Matthew H. Wolff owns the property adjacent to Interstate 5 at the southern end of Playa Riviera Drive.
The parcel is zoned Rural Residential 2, allowing for agricultural uses and low-density, single-family detached housing, with a maximum of one primary dwelling per lot under the municipal code.
City Attorney Ajit Thind addressed the matter at an August City Council meeting after residents raised concerns about the property’s use for storage.
“We are aware of this,” Thind said. “Code enforcement has been out there recently. They’ve issued citations recently, and the matter has been referred to my office as well. So action is imminent.”
A city spokesperson declined to comment further, citing legal reasons, when The Coast News asked for an update on Sept. 10.
The controversy was first reported by NBC 7 San Diego.
The Coast News could not locate Wolff for comment, whose mailing address is a post office in Point Loma.
On Sept. 14, the parcel contained at least two shipping containers, a fifth-wheel trailer, an excavator, what appeared to be a motorhome behind a wooden fence and several automobiles. A water tank was also on the property.
Some neighbors told The Coast News they were frustrated by what they viewed as the property owner’s circumvention of permitting laws to operate what appeared to be a storage business.
Neighboring resident Conny Carson said the owner had presented himself as a contractor and said he did not need permits for the work he was doing.
“Right now he looks like he just brought all his friends in to make a little camp land,” Carson said. “He’s not bothering anybody, you know. It’s his land.”
Christopher Bacon contributed to this report.
