Tuesday is Dues-day: Developers Agreement

Tuesday is Dues-day.  The dues?  Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

Today's citizen tip was mined out of the early treasure trove of video archives circa 2007.  We owe a debt of thanks to Sheila Cameron and any other local activists and public servants in the early days of Encinitas local government for pushing videotaping of meetings.  This tape was one of the first videos, as videotaping meetings began in September of 2007.

Developer Agreement

Let's put it this way, we are the 99% and the large land owners and developers are the 1% - in the relative measure that is Encinitas.  More than four years of video recordings make the position of the council majority's serving the 1% over the 99% fairly obvious.  But, don't take anyone's word for this.  Watch the actions of our council members, listen to the public speakers and judge for yourself.  Take your time, talk to friends, talk to neighbors and talk to the candidates for city council; Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz.  They have been dues paying citizens for years.

Acronyms and planning terms abound:

IOD - Irrevocable offer of Dedication. When an agency requires a developer or landowner to give certain things to the agency, often as a component of development, such as land for open space or for a sidewalk, an entire street, a streetlight, a pipeline or other infrastructure, etc., the property is granted through an IOD.

CEQA – California Environmental Quality Act

Upzoning -A change in the zoning classification of a property from one of lower use to one that is of higher use; for example, a change from residential to commercial use.

There are three more clips from this November 2007 meeting with well articulated dissent from the public.  These citizens bring a wealth of information to us via their public speeches in 3 minute intervals.  All will be posted this week because it may be very timely.  The super majority on the council are positioning a new advisory group, ERAC, heavily seated with developer, realtor and commercial interests, to be scrutinizing the General Plan update.

Paul Ecke III is scheduled with the Planning Commission regarding his agriculturally zoned land. More details will be forthcoming because . . . forewarned is forearmed. 

Previous Dues-day citizen tips: Mayoral Rotation, SANDAG Growth Forecast 2050
Cross-posted at Our Mayor Stocks blog and Encinitas You Need Us blog 

Update, Today's details:
City of Encinitas Planning and Building Department

NOTICE OF PENDING ACTION ON ADMINISTRATIVE APPLICATION AND COASTAL DEVELOPMENT PERMIT

The Planning and Building Department of the City of Encinitas is currently reviewing the following Administrative Application request for a project located within the Coastal Zone of the City of Encinitas:

CASE NUMBER: 11-113 TPM/CDP FILING DATE: 7/18/11 APPLICANT: Paul Ecke Ranch

LOCATION: 810 Ecke Ranch Road

PUBLIC HEARING: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 5:00 p.m., to be held at the Planning and Building Department, Lilac Room, 505 South Vulcan Ave, Encinitas.

Union Tribune article, Hearing set on Ecke Ranch Plan

Teresa Barth Terrifies Them, apparently

It was highly entertaining in these last few days to read all of the comments following Jerome Stocks embarrassing letter in responding to Teresa Barth's letter in Encinitas Patch.   First, it was appropriate for Barth to publish her perspective as her voice on the council is so consistently ignored, dismissed or drowned out by four others of the super majority. On the other hand Jerome Stocks gets his bully pulpit on the dais, control of the agenda, a NCT reporter who acts practically like his publicist and other media focus and framing.

Yet the Stocks letter is a gigantic overreaction to Barth's statement of her experiences.  He and his cronies have treated this woman's minority voice on the council with irrational fear.  What kind of power toppling abilities does she have that motions, agenda item requests, counter arguments, insights from other California cities, advocacy for residents, (even a vote for the mobile home tenants for God's sake) might she bring down for them?  These mighty majority act like theirs is very fragile platform. They may be correct. There are hours of meetings which are pretty fact-free or so orchestrated for confusion it is difficult to mount rational responses. There is not a lot of 'there' there.  We know its been years since anything has been built or accomplished.  Even the GPU is being sold as a hoax by the council who brought it to life.

Undeniably there is a great deal of money behind these big boys.  Nobody needs to be told that, although it would be helpful if we could be reading in the press the names behind those who back this cabal at city hall.  It is well past time for that preliminary investigation.
Yet, these comments in the letters here and here are a wonderful sign that there are so many articulate, informed and savvy people paying close attention to these (mental and emotional) lumbering brutes who think the city is theirs and the inhabitants are all asleep or imbeciles.  Wide awake comments at NCT's, A"So Much For Democracy" Raspberry discussion thread brought another batch of insight and resistance, though the regular majority's gang were still there crying about that mean (how dare she) Barth and anyone who would attack poor Stocks and Co.

If you wrote a comment speaking out for Barth, against the Crony Club - give yourself a pat on the back.  Several comments were inexplicably deleted.  I hope they might be recovered as they belonged with the rest.  Imagine if 40 people responded rapidly to an engaging story for challengers to the monopoly or to a hit piece.  This would be a revitalized, engaged community before the election was even under way. 

Tonight is Council Night.  Agenda is here for joint San Diego Water District Meeting and regular City Council Meeting.  Between the two meetings there are 20 consent items.  How's that for these recent Where's Waldo? versions of open government as interpreted by city staff?

Tuesday is Dues-day: SANDAG Forecast 2050

Today is Dues-day, introduced last week at Our Mayor Stocks Blog, featuring Mayor Rotation. 

The dues?  Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

For most people local politics only becomes a reality when you are afraid for your home, your property or your neighborhood. Fears can be physical, financial and cultural.  Fears can be great motivators, as so many activists' stories of initial involvement attest.  Fears can also be manipulated with lies, so some video evidence might help set some records straight.

First, SANDAG is the acronym for San Diego Association of Governments.

In October 2009 a demographer from SANDAG gave a comprehensive presentation of the region's Forecast 2050 land use strategy.  This plan was and is the driver for all of the land use controversy going on now across all of Encinitas and with newborn activist ferociousness in New Encinitas.  It doesn't help that misinformation is throwing fuel on this fire to distract people's passions toward the wrong targets. The clip below should clarify some of this deliberate confusion.




SANDAG is essentially a shadow regional government made up of area mayors, council members, county supervisors and policy planners. Although many members were voted into their community offices, they are appointed amongst their councils to hold a seat on SANDAG, like Jerome Stocks was in Encinitas. Stocks has been appointed by his council cronies for 6 years. He now chairs SANDAG, ironically through simple rotation method.

SANDAG planning is behind this Dues-day Citizen Tip.  Mayor Jerome Stocks, the Encinitas city planning staff, the city manager, the city attorney and the rest of the city council are all aware of these facts and this background.  There is no confusion, only super majority council misdirection, drama and blaming about who or what is directing land use, housing and traffic elements in the General Plan Update.

Cross Posted at Our Mayor Stocks Blog.

On a Mission, I'm Going Fishin'

This city's council majority and city staff fail at open government beyond the state mandated minimums. Lawsuits, articles, press conferences, letters to the editor, countless public speakers have made this abundantly clear. What is behind this?

The most popular and obvious response is that the council and staff and city attorney are hiding things.

Candidate Tony Kranz has spoken at council along with Kevin Cummins on this theme of document requests for years. Cummins' recent lawsuit win against the city. seem to confirm this suspicion beyond any doubt. But, Jim Bond's attitude in the clip below reveals something added. Cultural, social traditions are front and center; like the paternalistic, authoritarian notion that he has superior ability which the voting / requesting public lacks. Whether entitlement or deliberate attempts to conceal and confuse, it really isn't our elected officials' right to tell us what we should or should not be requesting for public documents.

 

Jim Bond is so far off the charts in his seeming lack of respect (or even grasp) of people's rights to public records, words fail. He has no right to even ask why a person wants a record. Of course he asked his questions for a laugh, "What would make you happy?" "What would make you just shut up and go away forever?", he did not say.

This is the second time within a month Lisa Shaffer requested specifically the city manager correspondence for 2009 be pulled rather than destroyed. She almost succeeded when Barth made a motion that the new City Manager Gus Vina keep the 2009 city manager correspondence. He agreed until Deputy Mayor Gaspar humiliated him. He reversed himself, the council majority voted against saving these documents and had a good laugh doing it. EYNU editor has some work to do in assembling some of the most obvious potential 2009 City Manager themes that then City Manager Phil Cotton, the City Attorney and the Council Majority of Stocks, Bond and Dalager shared. That is just one fishing expedition, you all are invited.

Disclaimer: The opinions in the post are those of the editor, not the City Councilwoman Teresa Barth or the 2012 City Council Candidates Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz.   

2/19/12 Update:  Cited in the blog post above, the January 18, 2012 council meeting included Council Candidate Lisa Shaffer's first attempt to save the ERGA (Encinitas Ranch Golf Authority) correspondence (currently under audit) records and 2009 city manager correspondence.



The specifics are important.  As stated before, the likely correspondence issues for 2009 may well include Manager Cotton's correspondence over extremely volatile events like the Orpheus Trees being hacked down without anyone assuming responsibility.  The documents might be silly stuff.  The larger issue is first amendment rights to information.  These guys aren't our daddies and we are well aware of we would like to be able to request, to review, to question and / or to store of any city documents, our public documents and records.

It is a fortunate thing that we have intelligent, articulate, dedicated and experienced people like Lisa and Tony running for city council.  If you haven't met them yet, it's time.

Taking Center Stage at Encinitas You Need Us

Councilwoman Barth has a central role for voices unheard by many in this city.  Although Teresa's arguments, votes, questions and outlook will continue to be included in the clips and posts at Our Mayor Stocks blog, she is most welcome here.  She'll be invited to guest post any time.

This week's council meeting was difficult to edit because the majority's behavior towards Barth though outwardly polite, was hyper-mocking in history re-writing, dismissive of her comments and motions and patronizing.  At the end of the meeting the Deputy Mayor even claimed Barth's comments as her own.  This is by no means the first time for openly taking credit for Barth's words and accomplishments; Wayside Horns anyone?

People at the meeting and those watching at home shared with each other how proud they were when Teresa Barth spoke boldly, openly about being in the Twilight Zone. We need to tell Teresa too, I guess. Whoops.  Anyway, this is what she had to say.

On Saturday, February 18, Teresa Barth released this statement summarizing the situation. 

It’s Not Broken, “It’s Fixed”

I have been passed over for the position of Deputy Mayor or Mayor for three years and been denied a position to affect change or implement any creative solutions unexplored by the majority. I have been put into an unwholesome place, marginalized and disrespected. It poisons all discussions.

After more than four years the tactics used to stifle dissent are clear; like using a nugget of truth to misinform.  It’s true; there are no formal criteria for the position of mayor or deputy.  The past decades are filled with the ethical approach that each council member should be given the opportunity to serve in these positions.  The criteria was simple - being elected to the council and sharing these roles. It was an expectation of professional courtesy and civil behavior.

Yet this council majority had an "excuse" for breaking this tradition each year:

In 2009, Dan Dalager nominated out-going Mayor Maggie Houlihan back to the position of Deputy Mayor claiming her chemo treatments meant she’d "missed out" on some of the mayoral activities. Yes, he used her cancer as an excuse.

However, Councilman Jerome Stocks was later quoted in the Coast News. “The bottom line is I wanted to send a message to Ms. Barth."  He went on to say . . . "Don't be petty, don't be rude and duck hard votes."  Yes, he spoke of petty, rude and ducking hard votes without a trace of irony.  

·      Questioning the city's open government policies (or lack of) is my job, it’s not petty. 

·      Jerome Stocks is not allowed to define rudeness and expect to be taken seriously.

·      I have never ducked a vote but Kristin Gaspar can’t say the same.

Deputy Mayor Gaspar has recused herself repeatedly from votes on the Pacific View property because "she wasn't on council when the issue began." Using that reasoning she shouldn't participate in discussions about the Hall property, the General Plan Update or numerous other issues.  So who is ducking hard votes? 

I am not alone in seeing the hypocrisy of their actions.

In 2010, the North County Times editorial board gave Bond, Stocks & Gaspar a "Reindeer Games Raspberry"for choosing petty politics over civility by failing to appoint me to mayor or deputy mayor.

UT columnist and political writer Logan Jenkins gave Gaspar the “Bonehead First Play” award for "failing in dramatic fashion to live up to her campaign pledge to bridge, not widen, the bitterly personal schism on the council....She's either naive or she's secretly spoiling for a fight while pretending to be Ms. Sweetness and Light"

In 2011 the North County Times editorial board gave Gaspar a “Find a Better Excuse Raspberry” for her position on Pacific View.  

North County Times columnist and political writer Tom Arnold made this "Christmas Wish" for me..."The ceremonial position of Mayor....I know they don't like you, but hey, they need to take the high ground."

Yet at last Wednesday's council meeting my colleagues pretended that the process was "broken & needed to be fixed" a bizarre statement considering they broke it.  They have plans, I’m not included and neither is the public.

Why Encinitas You Need Us?

This blog is - in theory - a delivery system for the Encinitas City Council clips at the YouTube channel, encinitasyouneedus. Navigating the YouTube universe is almost as frustrating as trying to find anything at the City of Encinitas website.

The clip below, from two and a half years ago gives a sound rationale for a volunteer effort being required to support citizen information gathering.  This city's council majority and city staff fail at open government beyond the state mandated minimums.  By keeping expectations as low as possible, their proverbial nugget of truth (truthiness?), we must be really motiviated to find information on our own.



To the voters of Encinitas who are too busy, too distracted, too overwhelmed or otherwise able to know what is going on at city hall, you need us.  You need those of us who are willing to dig in and find answers.  This means watching many hours of videos to make clips so you don't have to . . .

• You need us to get all of the background clips for major issues, some in your neighborhood, that have been videotaped since September of 2007. 

• You need us to be vigilant, to watch, to speak up and to capture it all to share. 

• You need us to allow you to hear all of the voices and perspectives of all of the elected office holders and the public at large. 

•  And, in a really satisfying way, you need us to capture you when you stand before the city council and speak your piece. 

 If EYNU captures your moment, we want you to distribute it to everybody you know. This is an election year and Encinitas lacks diversity under the closed loop of the supermajority. This must change.

Under Construction

Coming in time for Leap Day, 2/29/2012 . . .  Migration of dozens and dozens of video clips with various organizational features is underway behind the scenes.

There will be other things related to a typical campaign year, with an emphasis on alternatives to the super majority on the council, citizen voices, and other items people from 5 communities may want or need to know. 

Little oaks, outspoken folks and more in Encinitas.