ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council took a significant step Wednesday evening toward designating the L7 parcel on Quail Gardens Drive as parkland, advancing discussions on the future of the long-debated site while balancing concerns over the city’s affordable housing needs.
The council unanimously approved a motion on the item, initiated by newly-elected Councilmember Jim O’Hara and Councilmember Luke Shaffer, to direct city staff to prepare a report evaluating the process of downzoning the L7 parcel for public or semi-public use as a community park.
The report will also assess other city-owned properties not currently designated as parkland and determine whether rezoning them is appropriate.
During the meeting, several speakers, including residents, city officials, and council members, emphasized the critical shortage of parkland in Encinitas, noting the city’s deficit of over 400 acres of recreational space.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers highlighted the increasing density along Quail Gardens Drive, where more than 1,000 housing units are planned or under construction, including the Fox Point Farms development.
“Those families … are going to want a park, and this is exactly the right place for a park,” Ehlers said. “This lot should be a park. It was, it is, it should be.”
O’Hara presented a graphic showing the parcel’s location within a one-mile radius of approximately 1,100 homes, underscoring the area’s need for accessible green space. He argued that creating a park at the site would help reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by allowing nearby residents to walk or bike to a local park rather than driving across the city.
“Putting a park there actually reduces VMTs rather than driving across the city to get to the larger park by Vons,” O’Hara said, referring to the Encinitas Community Park.
Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes acknowledged the challenges of balancing the city’s parks and affordable housing needs.
“Affordable housing is such an emotional topic, I hear about it more than parks from my constituents,” Lyndes said.
Despite voicing support for affordable housing, she emphasized her commitment to parks, citing her decades of experience designing and planning them.
“I fully support L7 as a park, but I also believe we must continue the conversation about affordable housing in the appropriate areas of the city,” she said.
Affordable Housing Debate
Public speakers overwhelmingly supported preserving L7 as a park. Young resident Oliver Pratt, who has raised $15,000 for a potential park at the site by selling upcycled golf balls, urged the council to move forward.
“I’ve been thinking about ways to keep our community involved and help fund a park,” said Pratt, who proposed a “buy a brick” program to further fundraising efforts. “I’m so proud to be in Encinitas, and I love and appreciate my community.”
While the motion to explore downzoning L7 received unanimous support, discussions revealed a divide over the city’s handling of affordable housing. Several speakers referenced the city’s Affordable Housing Task Force’s previous evaluation of L7 as a potential housing site, where it received low rankings compared to other properties.
“The Affordable Housing Task Force had unanimous agreement … not to pursue Quail Gardens Park site for affordable housing, period,” said Elena Thompson, a former task force member who argued that the site’s original designation as parkland should guide the council’s decision.
Former Encinitas mayor Sheila Cameron reminded the council of L7’s original designation as parkland in the city’s General Plan.
“It was already designated parkland in the General Plan, which is our Constitution,” Cameron said. “That has never, never changed.”
She also criticized past affordable housing decisions, noting that higher inclusionary housing percentages were once rejected. “We could have had much more [affordable housing],” she said.
Jim Stiven urged the council to avoid prematurely removing L7 from consideration as a housing site. “
The recommendation to downzone the L7 parcel from residential to public use is premature,” Stiven said, citing unresolved evaluations of other potential sites in the city. He warned against legal challenges, including those under Proposition A, and emphasized the need for careful deliberation.
In response, Ehlers said he supports a Proposition A vote if required.
“Hey, I’m the original author [of Prop A],” he said. “I agree we need a Prop A vote if we’re changing zoning.”
Council deliberation
Ehlers also pointed out that the city could pursue alternatives for affordable housing under state laws like AB 2011 and SB 6. These laws permit housing to be built on commercial properties by right, providing a viable pathway to meet Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) requirements without relying on the L7 parcel.
“We need to be arguing for that credit,” Ehlers said, referring to RHNA compliance. “That right there would give us an out for no net loss,” he added, emphasizing the potential benefits of leveraging state laws to address affordable housing needs without impacting the L7 parcel.
Responding to assertions that the decision was anti-affordable housing, O’Hara emphasized that the intent behind designating L7 as a park was not to oppose affordable housing but to promote parkland instead.
“I don’t think anybody up here is against affordable housing, I certainly am not,” he said. “This space should be a park. It’s the wrong space for affordable housing because it’s going to make it more dense.”
Shaffer asked City Attorney Tarquin Preziosi what steps were necessary to make L7 a park. Preziosi said finalizing the designation would require further evaluation, including a Planning Commission review and potentially a public vote under Proposition A.
“We would not be able to do that tonight for a couple of reasons,” Preziosi said, addressing whether it would be legally and procedurally feasible to designate the parcel as a park through a council vote that evening. “One, it’s not agendized as such. Two, it would need to go to the Planning Commission.”
Next steps
City staff will return with a comprehensive report detailing the zoning status of L7, the steps required to designate it as a park, and any potential legal or procedural considerations, including the implications of Proposition A, which may require a public vote for rezoning.
“I support moving forward with the next step, which is not a commitment yet,” Ehlers said. “I want staff to come back and report on the status of the site, whether it’s under the Surplus Land Act, and steps to rezone to public, semi-public, if that’s what we choose to do. I also want to know the requirements for a Proposition A vote and options for addressing housing elements under state laws like AB 2011 and SB 6.”
CORRECTION: Jim Stiven did not serve on the city’s Affordable Housing Task Force.
2 comments
Correction: Jim Stivins was NOT on the Encinitas Affordable Housing Task Force.
Stivins is however an ‘affordable and homeless housing’ advocate in Encinitas, and sadly, willing to give up precious park land and open space to see it built locally. Exactly what the Task Force was NOT in favor of, as noted in the final report.
The city of Encinitas cannot fund a 100% affordable project, how silly! Not here, not now, not ever. Which is why these projects are being built in Carlsbad and Oceanside, other places, far larger cities, with substantial tax bases, and available open space.
This is why this election was so important. We know that Kranz and Blackwell would have voted for housing, and Lyndes would have gone along with it just as she has for every terrible decision made by the previous Council and Mayor.
““Affordable housing is such an emotional topic, I hear about it more than parks from my constituents,” Lyndes said.”
No, she hears it from the developers and The Developer Party.
She needs to be the next to go.