City Council Undecided About Environmental Action Plan

The Encinitas City Council failed to agree on an Environmental Action Plan Wednesday night, instead motioning to shelve it until a later date. The plan, which took three years to prepare, was designed to tackle the community's environmental issues. The council wishes to go over the plan again in small doses within the next two months.

Environmental Commission Chair Elizabeth Taylor presented seven overarching goals the committee wants to focus on within two to 10 years: waste, water, energy, transportation, biodiversity, community and performance. Taylor and the Environmental Commission chose these themes after discussing the needs with city residents. “The public is definitely concerned with the health of our environmental community,” Taylor said.

The Environmental Commission also wished to make the city more bike-friendly and reduce motor vehicle usage. Encinitas has a well-known cycling community, and residents who bike on a daily basis voiced the need for better bike lanes.

The commission concluded that in order to achieve all the objectives, it would be necessary to create a full-time position for a community sustainability coordinator.

Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan seemed enthusiastic about the plan and responded to the transportation goal saying, “These kinds of things are awesome.” However, shortly after the committee outlined the plan, the council was split down the middle and was forced to deliberate.

Deputy Mayor Jerome Stocks and Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar both opposed the plan, claiming it lacked focus. Gaspar wanted the committee to narrow it down to two more manageable goals instead of seven. “My concern is that because this action plan is so thorough, it could become an inaction plan,” she said.

Stocks was adamantly against the plan and said he would not adopt it. Line by line, he went through parts of the eight-page document and made comments about a lack of attainability. Stocks then went further in his criticism and accused Taylor of placing a “pet” project into one of the goals with the testing of air quality along I-5.

With Stocks and Gaspar opposing the plan, Councilwoman Teresa Barth concluded it would be best to revisit it at a later time. The council then unanimously voted to take no action and further review the plan in smaller parts within 60 days, despite Barth and Houlihan initially motioning to adopt it.

Mayor James Bond left before the regular meeting began and therefore did not vote in the matter.

Aside from the regular meeting, the Encinitas City Council squeezed two other agendas into the time slot Wednesday night. A special joint meeting with San Dieguito Water District (SDWD) was held with the council, along with a report from the Encinitas Public Finance Authority (EPFA).

Members of the SDWD presented a resolution for an updated budget with mid-year adjustments to the Capital Improvement Program. The council unanimously voted to approve the adjustments.

Council members heard from EPFA Chairman Jay Lembach regarding the city’s $46 million outstanding bonded debt. After the presentation, the council voted unanimously to hear from EPFA quarterly as opposed to once a year.