Open town hall meeting on Pacific View purchase

July 9, 2014

The city of Encinitas signed a purchase contract after the May 28th council meeting that has a 60 day contingency period for due diligence, which means the systematic evaluation a major purchase.  While buying this property has been discussed for years, up until the last few months it was always going to be under a special State law that would have allowed a sharply discounted price for abandoned schools such as this, which would have made it a classic "no brainer."

But since it was determined that this would not apply, the city ended up buying this at market value, calculated on it being used in the most lucrative configuration, a mix of residences and offices that very likely would have included a public amenity component.  The purchase price of 10 million dollars is just the beginning of the city's expense, as there will be design costs, infrastructure and building construction and then legal challenges at the Coastal Commission level that may refuse any use that impacts traffic and parking availability for beach use.  The operating cost of this purchase, including lost tax revenue for a mixed private and public use, which is precluded by the contract of sale, would be well over a million a year, how much over never having been calculated by the city.

The city council has purchased and just launched an internet utility called "Open Town Hall" that promises to rectify the distortion of public input that drove this expenditure of limited tax generated resources.  While these taxes will be paid by every resident of the city, only about 600 people were part of a concerted campaign to purchase this property -- at any cost without any specification of what would be done with it -- under the banner of "Save Pacific View."  The company that sold us the "Open Town Hall" utility promoted its allowing those who do not attend council meetings and send emails to council members to have a voice in city affairs.  While I have many objections to policies of this company, what it claims to do is important, allowing the city to send out a survey that will reach sizable proportion of Encinitas residents to get their views of this purchase, one that still could be canceled or re-negotiated to allow the city complete discretion of use which they have now relinquished. 

The survey should have an introduction that conveys the two sides, one by the organizer of "save pacific" beach Scott Chatworth, and the other that incorporates my opposing viewpoint, expressed in the following essays: This one on the process, and this one presenting the case for the alternate city owned site. Both points of view being fairly presented in the text of the survey will also be a litmus test of the the Open Town Hall product. 

The survey questions should include:

Community location (Leucadia, New Encinitas etc)
Activity with "Save Pacific View" (allow all answers)
       On mailing list
       Sent email to city council of support
       Sent email to city council in opposition
       Attended city council meeting
5 point scale of approval of purchase based on existing contract (with link to details and council discussion)
5 point scale of approval of whether the existing city owned property at Encinitas Ranch Town Center should be used for an Arts Center, as a substitute for the Pacific View site.
A list of specific uses (performance space, galleries etc) that are supported by those in favor of purchase of property.
Open comment field

The staff person who is the contact with the "Open Town Hall" company has been advised of this suggestion by that company, indicating such a survey is consistent with their goals and functionality.

It's only a matter of whether the city council truly desires such widespread input on major issues. 
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City Hall refused to run this, so I made up my own survey that you can take at this link