Encinitas City Council Recap - June 18th

Planning Commission Work Plan 📋, Budget & Fees ✔️, Panhandling ❌, and Another Monologue 🎤

Council is in the home stretch before their summer recess. Here’s what happened at their meetings last Wednesday.

📋Planning Commission Workplan — Code Rewrites In, Affordability Out:

Council approved the Planning Commission’s workplan—with two big edits:

• Prioritize reviewing city code to defend against high-density development

• Push affordable housing strategies to the lowest priority

Deputy Mayor Lyndes was the only “no” vote, warning that ignoring affordable housing could backfire. Mayor Ehlers argued housing policy is Council’s job, not the Commission’s.

• 🥣 Food For Thought (FFT): If the City wants to avoid density developments through muni code changes, shouldn’t we also explore ways to build small, affordable homes by design?

📈 Fee Freeze (For Now) and 💰 FY25-26 Budget Sails Through:

Parks & Rec fee hikes were punted to June 25 so Councilmember O’Hara could recuse himself (his biz, Race San Diego, pays these fees). Expect a split motion next week separating special event fee hikes from the rest.

• 🥣 FFT: Is this just bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake?

Council also reviewed…and approved…higher planning & engineering fees and after months of workshops and public input, passed the budget with zero debate.

🚫 No New Panhandling Ordinance:

Councilmember O’Hara backed off a proposed anti-panhandling law after learning the Sheriff already has enforcement tools. Instead, Council voted to create a public education campaign to promote donating to “accountable” nonprofits.

• 🥣 FFT: What counts as “accountable”—and who decides?

• 🥣 FFT: Couldn’t this have been solved with an email?

🎤 Councilmember’s Out-of-Turn Soapbox:

Councilmembers must report meetings they attend as elected officials. But O’Hara used his turn to recap a personal appearance at Carlsbad City Council to promote the Our Neighborhood Voices initiative—then slammed the League of California Cities and challenged Encinitas’ League reps (Ehlers & Lyndes) to push for transparency.

• 🥣 FFT: Is the Mayor now allowing campaign speeches from the dais? Is O’Hara auditioning for higher office with every mic drop?

🔥 Bottom Line:

Council passed the new budget and some fee hikes, revised the Planning Commission’s work plan but quietly deprioritized affordable housing—and yet again, the mic was hot for political theater 🎭.

Stay informed and let us know what you think!

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