ENCINITAS — The Leucadia Farmers Market is back in business at a new home, following a contentious appeal process that delayed its relocation and sparked debate over neighborhood impacts, public process and online harassment.
After operating for 20 years at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School, the weekly market held its final event there on June 7 and skipped the following weekend while an appeal filed by neighbors of its new location at Oak Crest Middle School worked its way through the city’s approval process.
The Encinitas City Council unanimously rejected the appeal on June 17, clearing the way for the market to reopen at Oak Crest on June 21. However, council members also imposed several operating conditions to address concerns raised by nearby residents.
Leucadia 101 Mainstreet, which operates the market, was forced to relocate because of upcoming construction at Paul Ecke Central.
Stacy Reddell, executive director of Leucadia 101, said the market’s first weekend at Oak Crest exceeded expectations.
“The market went very, very well and that’s an amazing, perfect location for it,” Reddell told The Coast News. “The new location was everything we were hoping for.”
She said traffic flow and parking worked well, aided by the proximity of the Encinitas Community and Senior Center parking lot.
Reddell added that one neighbor came through his back fence to compliment the market directly.
“He was just glowing with his review of how wonderful it is to have this in his backyard,” Reddell said.
The appeal was filed by Oak Crest neighbors Dr. John Bjorneby and Dr. Kerry Mahoney, both veterinarians, who challenged permits approved earlier this year for the market’s relocation.
The appellants said they supported the farmers market but opposed plans allowing vendor booths, vehicles and parking on the school’s upper grass athletic field and running track. Their appeal raised concerns about traffic, noise, public notification, early-morning setup activities, parking impacts, the size of the market and potential damage to the athletic field from weekly vehicle use.
Bjorneby previously described protecting the field as the appeal’s primary objective, arguing that vendor vehicles could compact soil, damage irrigation systems and interfere with youth sports activities. The appeal proposed a revised site plan that would keep all market operations on paved surfaces.
Earlier this spring, Leucadia 101 representatives met with neighbors and agreed to several concessions, including a 200-foot buffer between market activities and the school’s southern property line. Organizers also reduced the proposed maximum number of vendors in the market from 195 to approximately 135.
The appeal threatened to delay the relocation for weeks and raised concerns among vendors about lost income and customer relationships. At the time, Reddell said some businesses might not return if the interruption stretched on.
The council ultimately upheld the market’s approval while adding conditions intended to address neighborhood concerns.
Those conditions include maintaining the 200-foot buffer from nearby homes, conducting noise monitoring at key locations, assigning code enforcement staff to the first four markets, evaluating satellite parking options and allowing future council review if problems arise. The city also agreed to install additional “No Parking” signs throughout surrounding neighborhoods, many of which were visible during the June 21 market.
The market is currently capped at 135 vendors.
According to Reddell, the June 21 market featured 116 vendors, including 26 farmers, 25 hot-food vendors, 15 craft vendors and 50 packaged-food vendors.
Councilmember Joy Lyndes said she appreciated the city staff for working “creatively and generously” to address residents’ concerns.
“We are a community that loves farms and loves farmers markets,” Lyndes said. “I promote agriculture and agricultural uses. That’s the heart and soul of Encinitas.”
Doxxing allegations
Bjorneby told The Coast News he spent much of the market’s first Sunday at Oak Crest away from home.
“I took a break from it for a while, I just didn’t want to deal with it,” he said. “I’ve got to chill a bit, it’s been difficult.”
Bjorneby said he has received harassing phone calls and found a bag of dog feces thrown onto his porch.
“It may seem small, I’m a veterinarian, I’ve handled dog s*** all my life,” he said with a laugh. “But to have someone actively discredit you, that sucks.”
Bjorneby said he was unfamiliar with the term “doxxing” — publicly posting someone’s private information without consent — until Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara referenced it during the June 17 council meeting.
During council discussion, O’Hara criticized anonymous social media activity surrounding the appeal, saying local business organizations typically “work tirelessly to make our businesses shine,” but that the use of “ghost accounts” to dox a resident “was completely inappropriate.”
He did not specifically name Reddell or Leucadia 101.
“It’s inappropriate for any of these organizations to dox our residents, whether it’s online, whether it’s in the newspaper, whether it’s using ghost accounts to do so – which was done by several ghost accounts,” he said. “On behalf of these organizations, which do work very hard, I apologize for them and I hope that we never see that behavior ever again in the city.”
O’Hara later told The Coast News that anonymous accounts had posted comments such as “dm for details” beneath social media discussions about the appeal and that new accounts appeared after earlier ones were challenged.
“If you have enough dots, it leads somewhere,” he said of a possible connection to the Mainstreet organization.
He added that even if Leucadia 101 was not directly involved, “they did nothing to mitigate it” and “didn’t make an effort to distance themselves from those accounts.”
Reddell said she “categorically” denied any involvement.
“It’s an accusation that’s really serious,” she said. “I didn’t publish any of his information online. I certainly don’t condone it. I didn’t do it, nor did anyone else in my organization.”
Reddell was escorted from the council chambers after an outburst following O’Hara’s remarks suggesting Leucadia 101’s involvement in the doxxing campaign. She said her reaction stemmed from frustration over having “no recourse or ability to refute” the allegation during that portion of the meeting.
Looking ahead
Despite the dispute, O’Hara said he was pleased to see the market operating successfully at Oak Crest.
Ultimately, O’Hara told The Coast News he was happy to see the market return Sunday and felt it ran smoothly.
As for the market’s long-term future, Reddell said it remains unclear whether it will eventually return to Paul Ecke Central after construction is complete.
She said going through the permitting process for Oak Crest has given her a new appreciation for the work involved in securing a suitable location, and any decision about returning to the coast will come later.
“We would love to bring a market back to Paul Ecke Central,” Reddell said. “Hopefully, we will be able to do something really wonderful with them.”
