ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council on April 9 voted to reject a late agenda item that would have advanced a grant application for a roundabout at Hygeia Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard.
The proposed action would have granted a one-time exception to Council Policy C-003, which requires council-initiated items to be submitted by 3 p.m. the Tuesday before a meeting. The exception was necessary to consider the Hygeia roundabout project for $3.5 million in grant funding through SANDAG’s Smart Growth Incentive Program.
The proposed roundabout at Hygeia Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard represents the final of three original roundabouts along the corridor between Orpheus and Vulcan avenues. The project includes road regrading, sidewalk upgrades, and new landscaping.
According to city staff, the roundabout is expected to improve traffic flow by removing a stop sign, enhance safety for drivers and cyclists by reducing conflict points, and boost pedestrian access with added sidewalks.
Council members Jim O’Hara and Marco San Antonio opposed the exception, citing concerns about process, precedent, and the absence of Councilmember Luke Shaffer, whose district includes the project area.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers voted in favor, and Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes was absent on family medical leave.
Shaffer submitted a statement in his absence expressing his opposition: “I respectfully express my opposition to the proposed one-time exception to policy C, 003. I believe there is no valid justification for this exception.”
O’Hara motioned to deny the exception, stating the council must uphold its own policies.
“We can’t, this is not a precedent we should set,” he said. “This is not about grant writing … this is really about policy C-003.”
Ehlers, who introduced the item, said the roundabout was part of a long-planned corridor project and that the opportunity to pursue the grant at no cost to the city warranted reconsideration.
“This would restore that money, although this money would be dedicated to this project and only this project in the future,” he said.
Ehlers said the grant application had been written by community volunteers, including former Mayor Tony Kranz and residents who had worked on the project for years.
“The timing was such that … we will miss the grant opportunity,” Ehlers said. “So that’s why I went forward with this.”
During public comment, residents expressed a range of opinions. Some speakers opposed making an exception to policy and raised concerns about city oversight of resident-led grant applications.
Steve Link, a former Carlsbad traffic commissioner, presented data on crash rates at existing North County roundabouts and concluded that the safety benefits were unclear.
“Our roundabouts in North County have a much higher overall crash and injury rate, and it’s not consistent with the generic safety statement,” he said.
Other speakers, including Leucadia resident June Hansberger, urged the council to proceed with the grant application, citing traffic volumes and pedestrian safety concerns at the intersection.
“This is a safety issue for our neighborhood,” Hansberger said. “[So many] cars go down this road every day, and we need to make it safer.”
Planning Commissioner Robert Prendergast also spoke at the meeting, saying the Hygeia roundabout project is shovel-ready, previously approved in 2019, and noted the city already has matching funds, increasing the likelihood of securing the SANDAG grant.
“The existing roundabouts on Leucadia Boulevard have proven to be very successful,” Prendergast said. “From I-5 to PCH, moving traffic through and reducing our greenhouse gasses and helping us meet our climate action plans.”
Kranz also addressed the council, encouraging the roundabout project to move forward.
“Here we have an opportunity to get $3.5 million of grant money from SANDAG, which is essentially funded by our community taxpayers paying into the SANDAG Transnet tax,” Kranz said.
Since the motion to approve the exception failed, the second part of the item — authorizing city staff to submit the grant — was not considered.
Ehlers acknowledged the outcome following the vote but defended the decision to bring the item forward.
“I’m not one that likes bypassing policy or process,” he said. “But in this case, I thought it’s worth the discussion.”
