Written by a member of Encinitas Residents for Responsible Development
The zoom meeting hosted July 23rd by developer Randy Goodson was intended to qualify for the required Citizen Participation Plan meant to give residents the opportunity to understand the project and raise concerns about impacts on Encinitas. The CPP should facilitate open dialogue so the developer can work with residents to mitigate concerns. The 270 residents attending were never allowed a voice in the meeting.
A disturbing outcome of silencing participants was that Mr. Goodson was able to avoid difficult questions and handpick those that suited him. The residents’ urgent concern about wildfire evacuation was paraphrased as: “We have some questions about emergency evacuations.” Mr. Goodson answered, “We have no involvement in that. The Encinitas Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department will handle that. They do a great job.” This project will cause a bottleneck at one of two evacuation exits for Olivenhain. To ignore the potential life threatening problem that he will create is unconscionable.
An article that appeared in the Encinitas Advocate on July 31st quoted many of Mr. Goodson’s statements which could not be contested since no questions were allowed. Some of his assertions include:
- “The project will provide for a much broader range of housing for the city.” This should be put in context: 42 units for families making $80,000/year will do little to help those most in need in our community.
- Mr. Goodson said the project is between 3 and 4 stories. Plans show this complex is one 7-story building.
- “This project does not make the traffic on Rancho Santa Fe Road worse.” How can adding 1700+ daily auto trips to a congested 2-lane road not make traffic worse?
- “This is the perfect location for an apartment complex and affordable housing” because of its proximity to retail, restaurants, and public transit. The only nearby grocery store and restaurants are far from affordable. The NCTD 304 bus with only 2-3 stops per day, weekdays only, is inadequate for transportation to jobs and schools.
- Mr. Goodson said, “We believe this is adequately parked.” His expectation of less than one car per bedroom is unrealistic. Tenant’s rights, which cannot be discriminated against, allow 3 people per 1 bedroom apartment and 5 people per 2 bedroom apartment. With minimal street parking nearby, all those additional occupants with vehicles will be forced to search for parking in neighborhoods up to 1/2 mile away.
This particular development has many negative impacts for which Mr. Goodson claims he has no responsibility. Nothing about the project fits into the surrounding rural community. There are 2 pre-schools and a private K-8 in the immediate vicinity where additional traffic from this project will make congestion a nightmare.
In an emergency, the bottleneck caused by 477 onsite vehicles will add significantly to Olivenhain’s current projected evacuation time of 4 hours. This inappropriate and unsafe development will set precedents for upcoming high-density projects across Encinitas.
In the Third Cycle Review released on July 24th, the City deemed that Mr. Goodson’s meeting was not in compliance with CPP guidelines. Mr. Goodson did not accept those findings and pressured the city to review his Draft CPP Final Report before making a ruling. After spending countless hours reviewing Mr. Goodson’s submission, once again the City announced on August 14th that Mr. Goodson’s CPP did not meet objectives and requirements. He will have to repeat the CPP in compliance with the city’s established CPP guidelines.
The high-density projects planned in all parts of Encinitas do little to address the affordable housing problem but will forever change the character of our communities. It’s time for elected officials to stand behind citizens instead of submitting to pressure from developers and from the state.