SAN MARCOS — After a lively opening in which numerous local schools were recognized for educating students about the dangers of drug use as part of Red Ribbon Week, the City Council quietly approved a consent agenda that included a $2.5 million contract to upgrade lighting at city sports fields to LED fixtures.
The money will come from a state parks grant and will fund sports lighting upgrades at the following parks:
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Connors Park
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Hollandia Park
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Las Posas Community Park
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Mission Sports Park
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San Elijo Community Park
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Sunset Park
Also on the consent agenda — in which multiple items are grouped together and voted on without discussion — was the second and final reading of a new ordinance regulating massage parlors in the city. The ordinance was introduced at the Sept. 22 council meeting but required a second reading before it could take effect.
While the county formerly conducted annual environmental inspections, state law now preempts those inspections, so the municipal code was updated to remove references to them.
The updated section of the code (Chapter 5.44) also requires massage facilities to display their city and state permits, prohibits the use of massage facilities for housing to help prevent sex trafficking, and adds a provision barring new permits at addresses where the city has shut down massage facilities for violations. The change closes a loophole that allowed illicit operators to file new applications under different business names.
During open communications, when members of the public can address issues not on the agenda, two students in the Mission Hills High School marching band and two band mothers again urged the council to ensure the annual holiday parade does not disappear.
While the parade is not scheduled for 2026, one of the students pointed out that the parade is one of the few events that brings the entire city together. Lily Harrington, a drum major in Mission Hills’ Cardinal Alliance marching band, told council members, “I believe the cancellation is not a cost issue, but a care issue.”
Konane Martinez, who has a teenager in the band and is also an anthropology professor at Cal State San Marcos, noted that the parade’s previous organizer, the Kiwanis Club of Lake San Marcos, had given notice in April that it could no longer afford the costs associated with the event.
“I do feel the city had ample time to address the sustainability of the parade,” she said.
A second mother said she has accepted that there will be no parade this year but challenged the City Council: “I hope you get to work on making this happen next year.”
Three other residents addressed the council, opposing a proposed 31-unit condominium project in San Elijo Hills that the Planning Commission rejected Oct. 5.
The developer, Encinitas-based Ambient Communities, has until Thursday to file an appeal with the City Council. During the Planning Commission hearing, the city’s legal counsel expressed doubts about whether the city has the authority to deny the project under new state laws promoting low-income housing.
Because neither the proposed condominium project nor the parade was on the agenda, the City Council did not comment or take any action.
