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Speak Up, Del Mar Some articles in our last issue provoked spirited responses from readers (see the Readers' Page). We editors find satisfaction in these kinds of exchanges. This gets to the heart of our mission to get citizens to focus on our Community Plan and to preserve our small town quality of life. The history of Del Mar has been characterized by a number of vigorous debates and disagreements about how we want to develop or not develop. Our view is that these exchanges have produced a community of which we are proud. Frankly, we worry that today our town seems to be a little too laid back at a time when there are dramatic changes in the works. We would like to see the Sandpiper used as a forum for citizens to express varying points of view about what is happening or not happening to shape our future. On the street we hear voices of concern, expectation, approval, disapproval, bewilderment, suspicion, and satisfaction. But these voices are not entering public spaces where they can be heard and considered. A small sample of voices heard on the street:
We would like to see such views surface in public discussion. Our community needs to consider such issues and the varying points of view about each one. Three minutes at a public hearing is not a satisfying way to have a community conversation. The Sandpiper provides an opportunity for constructive discussion of important issues. Each month we reach out to a few writers who are willing to speak up. Please consider this an invitation for more of you to contribute your thoughts in the form of letters or articles. The easiest way to do this is to make contact with any one of the editors listed below.
Quality
Control Needed Why
are our citizen-committees
being passed over by
the decision makers
at City Hall? Is the
zeal to jumpstart
efficiencies promised
by a new Form-Based
planning code spawning
decisions that are
poorly thought out — lacking
the quality control
normally provided
by the Design Review
Board (DRB) and Planning
Commission (PC)? Two
recent examples: The
outdoor cafes on 15th
Street were allowances
for businesses to use
public space. And no
one would object to
improvements in our
City’s
ambiance and economic
base. But the structures
as built are regarded
by many in the community,
and even some Council
members, as sub-optimum,
having unintended consequences.
The sidewalk became
too narrow, the pedestrians’ view
of Powerhouse Park was
obstructed, etc.. That’s
where the DRB would
have added needed quality
control. The committee
is all about helping
the developer and the
community anticipate
and deal with the real
consequences of projects.
The DRB has a long history
of ensuring quality,
community-sensitive
development by dealing
with unintended consequences.
The DRB is arguably
the single most important
institution in this
City. It has made it
a beautiful place to
live, with high property
values and an aesthetically
pleasing ambiance. The
DRB should have reviewed
the café designs. Then, July 27, the City Council approved a 4,400 sq. ft. increase in restaurant use of the Plaza’s outdoor patio. However, on the sticky issue of the Plaza having too few parking spaces to meet requirements for the added restaurant areas, the Council hemmed and hawed, struggled to understand the planning implications, and related their very different impressions, as citizens, of any parking or valet problems at the Plaza. Councilmember Filanc, in the midst of the protracted head-scratching, pushed, although not successfully, to send the many questions to the PC. And that’s exactly who should review the Plaza’s plan! The PC informs the City Council and has the technical experience and the forum for resident input to do it right. How will intensification of use and increased mandatory valet parking impact easy use by residents of the remaining public spaces at the Plaza? This is the stuff of the PC. Skipping a step in our public process is a false efficiency if our community has to endure undesirable decisions.
Unintended
Consequences Those of us lucky enough to live in Del Mar are beneficiaries of the unintended consequences of Del Mar’s incorporation 50 years ago. Much of the contentious election for independent cityhood pivoted around arguments relating to the cost of public services. However, that independence gave the residents a sense of ownership and control over the way land-use policy was set. This has had, by far, the greatest impact on how our small city has evolved. Active citizen involvement produced the Community Plan in the 1970s, which enunciated Del Mar’s vision and the guidelines to sustain it. Today our attention is again drawn to the economic aspects of our public services and shared environment. The City Council justified its decision to shortcut the standard stringent and public design review process for the sidewalk cafés now lining 15th Street on the basis of the city’s economic viability. The impacts on public space received little attention. While DRB review and public input may have slowed the process, “The Del Mar Way” would certainly have resulted in a more community-oriented design for the cafés. If this is typical of a streamlined planning process, let us hope that the unintended consequence is to re-invigorate broad community effort in retaining Del Mar’s unique charm and character. Unless that happens, we may see the less beneficial unintended consequences of revitalization, form-based planning, and city staff streamlining measures. Retaining a sense of community ownership of our public space requires strong and committed citizen involvement.
Opinion:
Fear-Based
Planning
Note: This page includes material that did not appear in the print edition. more>>
Editorial:
Village Volunteers Human talent may be the most precious resource we have as a city. We enjoy a rich complex of advisory committees and non-profit organizations that provides vital services to the community and feeds the city’s policy and decision processes. At any given time, literally hundreds of Delmarians are actively engaged as volunteers with these bodies. Over time, the volunteer count has easily exceeded a thousand citizen volunteers. Recently the City Council hosted a reception for the current volunteer population. Council members lauded their creativity, diligence, and passion for the community. Council members acknowledged that government decision making flows directly from the serious, thoughtful work done by their advisory committees. Much of what we take pride in as a very special community is a direct result of the extraordinary level of citizen involvement in the affairs of the city. Fifty years ago citizens banded together to achieve incorporation as a city. Forty years ago, several hundred citizens worked in committees to develop a Community Plan that was approved by voters. That Plan has worked as a kind of constitution to guide our development becoming one of the most desirable small towns in all of California. This
tradition of citizen
participation continued
and intensified through
the years. What would
we be today without
the sustained effort
of the Lagoon Committee,
the Design Review
Board, Del Mar Community
Connections, to mention
only a few? (For volunteer opportunities see our community calendar in every issue and consult the city’s web site at www.delmar.ca.us
Editorial:
Have
Your $ay
May is a critical month for the citizens of Del Mar. Before long, the City Manager and staff will present the City Council with a proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal years 2009-2020 and 2010-2011. There are several opportunities in May for Del Mar residents to meet face-to-face with the designers of the budget and express their opinions regarding what is recommended. Do we support or object to some of the recommendations that the budgets reflect? Do we have suggested changes and recommendations regarding the allocation of funds, particularly those which support projects or programs that we deem critical, but are not included? In the past there have been indications that council members listen to residents who devote time and energy to reviewing the budget and participating in the hearings. Local groups such as Del Mar Community Connections have requested and received funds. Such was also the case of groups requesting financial support for open space acquisition. Nothing supports our ideas and recommendations more than being present and voicing our opinion. By
the end of June the
budgets will have moved
beyond the proposal
stage to become adopted
guides for financial
decision-making over
the next two years.
Editorial:
Let's Go Green! The tendency in tough economic times is to tighten up and pull back, hoping that the future will bring more promise of opportunity. For some, however this is a time to take stock and consider some fundamental changes in our way of doing business. Taking action instead of wallowing in our misery can often be therapeutic as well as uncovering opportunities. Perhaps some such opportunities exist for our community at this time. We suggest that the drought and energy crises may give us an opening to try to alter the way we operate as a community--helping to solve some problems now and improve the quality of our lives at the same time. Can we as individual families and as a community say that the way we currently use the natural resources of water, food, and energy is sustainable in the long run? Our answer is “no.” We are using resources well beyond this and future generations’ fair share. Cutting back may help in the short run, but what is needed are transformational changes. We suggest that the core values and creative capabilities of the citizens of Del Mar can be mobilized to make our community a model of sustainability for the future. We are offering these pages for you to submit your ideas on how we can use resources responsibly. The focus of your submissions should be local and individual, family and neighborhood, city-wide--someone else can work on the global. Perhaps we can create a local model which can become global.
Editorial:
Real Change by Real
Visionaries! Del
Mar has earned a reputation for
extraordinary levels
of citizen participation
in government and
community activism.
Our Lagoon Committee
set a very high standard
some time ago for
both participation
and activism. Their record of accomplishment over the years is almost beyond belief. These were not shrill voices lamely lamenting various assaults on nature. They went to work researching, informing, educating, persuading, and organizing. They devised practical solutions and strategies for protection, revitalization, and long term development processes. They built a broad base of community support to influence political decision makers. They overcame resistance from the Fair Board as well as other detractors. They became a powerful political force for good. A stroke of genius was to get millions of Southern California Edision funds dedicated to the present lagoon restoration project. Not
only has our lagoon
revived (see article
on fish revival, and
a bird revival article
due in next issue) but
their vision has mushroomed
into a 55 mile river
park that has been enthusiastically
embraced by the region
and is well along the
path to fruition. If
the measure of a life
well-lived is leaving
the earth a better place
than it was when you
arrived, these citizen
activists have set the
bar very high for all
of us.
Editorial:
Community Plan Vitality Downtown Del Mar has been a hot topic since the mid 70s when we passed the Community Plan clearly enunciating a goal of focusing “major retail and office activity into one economically viable, pedestrian oriented and attractive area that serves the needs of both Del Mar residents and visitors and is well integrated into the residential fabric of the community.” A companion goal is to “preserve the economic integrity of the community.” The Plan fortifies these goals with a series of very specific objectives and policies. Over the years efforts have been made to effectuate this vision including the Del Mar 2000 Plan in the 80s, the Streetscape Plan in the 90s, and the City Works process in 2004. These efforts often met with challenges, i.e. no funding for the Streetscape Plan, as well as political and special interest opposition. Now we have a City Council expressing firm determination to make something happen to fire up our commercial center. Their “form based zoning” process will begin soon with the intention to motivate a high level of involvement by residents, business operators, and commercial land owners. It
appears that many in
the community are already
expressing a variety
of views from outright
opposition, to concern
(see letter to editor
at right), to alternative
models for downtown.
Achieving consensus
within the community
will be a challenge.
The
Doctor is In: As a former oncologist, turned Public Health and Preventive Medicine physician, teaching and working on health care policy matters, and entrepreneur of 20 years, like many I believe than “one ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. That is even more true for financial and economic matters, and in these dreary times we have to apply preventive measures in an entrepreneurial and creative way…a new “Del Mar way” adapted to our times which most of us can subscribe to and deliver on. The
$3.8 million three-year
loan the City recently
secured to be able to
meet the purchasing
terms of the acquisition
of the Shores property
is simply buying the
City some time, at an
additional debt service
cost, to assume this
new multi-million debt. The
task at hand now is
not to add more debt
to our balance sheet,
but to raise more revenue
while monitoring and
cutting unnecessary
expenses. Simply put,
the charter of the time
for the new Council
and the Community at
large is to responsibly
take control of our
City’s
destiny with strict
fiscal discipline in
order to best weather
the severe economic
storm which is taking
the entire country.
Drastically falling
sales tax, weak TOT
revenue, more retail
stores closing in our
downtown require swift
reactive and preventive
action. Here are some
of the City’s
Finance Committee recommendations: On
the revenue side: Support
as quickly as possible
downtown redevelopment.
There is no time to
wait for a long 2-year-plus
Specific Plan process,
at a high tax payer
cost and which may not
allow individual property
owners to develop their
properties in an economically
feasible manner. We
all can and must come
to the necessary zoning
changes, to esthetically
revive our downtown
within months and not
years. On January 12,
a joint meeting of the
City Council and Finance
Committee (FC) will
present two concrete
approaches to get the
job done, and let’s
all rally behind the
most cost-effective
solution. With
the potential TOT increase
now allowed by the public
vote, let’s
apply any increase authorized
by the Council to mainly
pay for downtown revitalization. On
the expense side: Let’s
support and encourage
our staff and Council
for the City to be more
cost-effective in delivering
the public services
we need: streamlining
administrative processes,
cutting down on unnecessary/redundant
public meetings, and
using consultant services
parsimoniously. Let’s
periodically review,
prioritize and determine
the “just
price” of
large capital infrastructure
projects, whether it’s
the new lifeguard center
or a sidewalk project. With the economic crisis we are all living as a nation, let’s all rise to the occasion to seize a real opportunity to revive our City.
FAIR
SHARE
Creating
this kind of community
environment is not without
cost. Our City Councils
have done a remarkable
job over the decades
of managing our resources
prudently, but with
our appetite for continuous
improvement, our financial
challenges are greater
than ever. The
citizens of Del Mar
shoulder a disproportionate
share of this financial
burden. Our
many visitors enjoy
the benefits but pay
very little of the costs
associated with those
benefits. Visitors certainly
would not be attracted
to our town if we were
not paying for lifeguarding,
fire protection, traffic
control, law enforcement,
street repair, sewer
and water, beautification,
environmental protection,
and public works. One
of our main sources
of revenue is the Transit
Occupancy Tax (TOT)
which is paid by hotel
visitors for every night
they stay. Our current
rate is 10.5%. Most
other cities in the
region and state are
assessing TOT at 13%. Our
Council has placed a
proposition on the ballot
that would allow them
to raise the TOT rate
to 13%, comparable to
other cities. We think
this a reasonable way
to ask visitors to pay
their fair share of
our city costs. We urge you to consider Proposition H very carefully and see if you agree with our conclusion to support getting a fair share from visitors.
It’s
All About Process The process of public transparency and clarity of purpose expected of corporate executives and civic officials is recently a recurring theme in the news. Whether it is the transparency of operations within Wall Street firms or clarity of the political positions of our presidential candidates, the point is the same. As a nation or a community, as citizens or residents, we want to be involved in the process of the open discussion and decision-making that directly affect our lives. Two recent Del Mar issues, the Garden Del Mar project and the proposed increase in the TOT (both on the ballot for community voter approval in November) have brought to light how important that process is to Del Mar residents. In
the case of the Garden
project, the selection
of Exceptional Public
Benefits (EPB’s)
by the Council to allow
the developer to exceed
zoning floor area ratios
were negotiated by a
Council sub-committee.
That process nearly
killed the project.
The Council's decision
process on the EPB's
failed to involve its
own appointed citizen
committee. These citizens
had to pull the Council
back into reconsidering
the EPB's. The result
of more public involvement
was an increase in EPB’s.
The bottom line is that
more involvement probably
increases the chance
that the project will
win voter approval. Within these issues is the lesson that Del Mar, as a community, was founded on a process of resident involvement that requires transparency and clarity with all issues, small and large. When the City Council or the city management work in isolation and haste to meet compressed deadlines or in fear of financial loss, they risk circumventing the most important part of the Del Mar process - full resident input. They also risk unduly raising community anxieties that the City Council, as representative of the community, is compromising the Community Plan with approvals and ordinances that have crevices; crevices that would allow an opportunist to challenge the intent of these approvals and ordinances with actions that would negatively impact Del Mar for many years in the future, if not permanently. This is not acceptable. For Del Mar, in all areas of community planning and city management, full process of community input trumps the best intentions of decisions made in isolation and haste. The present City Council and future City Councils would be well served to keep this in mind if they want to avoid the risk of repeating the contentious resident reactions of this past summer.
Economic
Downturn Hits City
Revenue It was springtime when the City took the bold step of issuing a $3.5 million promissory note to allow the acquisition of the Shores property, when fundraising fell almost half way short of its goal. With Fall, reality is now before us when the City makes its first $500,000 monthly payment on that note. Because these payments are way beyond the means of our small community, the City had to secure a new multi-million dollar commercial line of credit. The City will also draw from that credit line to pay for the very large capital expenditures we are now facing with the needed replacement of an aging infrastructure. “Faced with this new and major financial risk occurring at a time of an economic downturn, our small and financially stressed community needs more than ever bold leadership and fiscal discipline from its Council, and with it, wide support from the community” These were my words in the Sandpiper in May), but the time is now beyond words and for immediate action, as facts and figures will hopefully convince the incredulous. Indeed, from the collapse of the nation’s financial system to the distress of the State budget, our small town is, by itself, posting more than ever weakening revenues. Here are the City latest estimates regarding our three largest revenue sources (final end of fiscal year revenues will not be available until mid-December):
Exercising our civic duties in the upcoming elections - and beyond - we all can indeed help reverse the trend by:
Now
is indeed the time to
act. Let’s
all seize today’s
crisis as the opportunity
of our time.
Race
Offers Unique Opportunity Three Council vacancies and three candidates could add up to an election season that gives us some relief from the campaign nastiness that has marked the last few local elections. We see this as an opportunity to re-tool the way we connect voters to our elected officials. We urge the three candidates to seize this unique opportunity by engaging in a series of mature conversations with voters about today's significant issues and strategic considerations about Del Mar's long-term future. Instead of campaign slogans and invidious comparisons among rivals, these three candidates should set a new standard of respectful exchange of ideas and proposals among themselves and with voters. Over the next two months, the Sandpiper will ask the candidates to respond to a series of questions about current and long-range issues. Beyond that, we urge the candidates to campaign actively on these issues with door-to-door visits and neighborhood coffees. Absent the rancor of previous campaigns, our new council members could enter office better prepared for undertaking their new roles and with a greater sense of what citizens expect of them. As citizens, we must also take the time to tune in to the issues and to the difficult choices that will shape our future as a community. If the election campaign unfolds as we envision it, the experience of engaging in a constructive process of focusing on issues could set a higher standard for future competitive election campaigns.
YES
= Clean Water + Balanced
Budget This week the City of Del Mar is distributing a ballot package by mail to all Del Mar property owners and water customers. On this ballot are two important questions. The first question asks for a yes or no vote to ratify the City's clean-water charge that appeared on all water bills beginning in 2004. The second question asks for a yes or no vote to increase the amount of the clean water charge, beginning July, 2009. We urge you to vote YES on both questions and to return the completed ballots by the September 15 deadline. Every vote will count in this election. A vote YES on both ballot questions is a vote for clean water and a balanced City budget. Why is this mailed ballot election necessary? Simply, the first ballot question arises because of uncertainty over procedural requirements for new or increased fees and charges under Proposition 218 approved by California voters in 1996. The City of Del Mar followed the widely held interpretation of these procedures in 2003 with its first clean-water charge. But a 2006 decision by the California Supreme Court overruled that interpretation, thus necessitating this mailed ballot election to ratify the City's earlier action. The second ballot question arises because of increasing requirements imposed by the State, acting under the federal Clean Water Act, on ALL local governments. Under these new requirements, local governments must take further steps to reduce pollution into our streams, lagoons and beaches from storm drain runoff. The City has no choice but to comply with the State's unfunded mandate. But doing so will substantially increase the program costs – by an estimated $100,000 annually – not including indirect overhead costs. Voting no on this question will not mean Del Mar can avoid these additional costs – the money will have to come from other thinly stretched programs and services. We believe the proposed 2009 increase in the clean-water charge is both reasonable and necessary. (The federal Clean Water Act, first approved by Congress in 1972, has succeeded in cleaning up our lakes, rivers and streams. Initially, the program required point source polluters – factories, businesses and sewer plants – to stop discharging polluting materials into the nation's waterways and to start using “best practices” to prevent further pollution. Additionally municipal storm drain systems carry storm water and irrigation runoff containing major pollutants from our streets and homes to our beaches and lagoons. In 1987, Congress mandated local governments to begin reducing storm drain pollution - but did not provide financial assistance.) The federal and State governments contend it is local government's responsibility to clean up its own (municipal storm drain) act. We believe Del Mar's clean-water charge is a fair price to pay for reducing pollution runoff from our streets and homes.
Out
of the Garden, Into
the Heat A hastily assembled special meeting of the Gas Station Site Steering Committee on July 24, following City Council's deliberations on the Garden Del Mar Project's Specific Plan, though heated at times, has hopefully brought a more reasoned perspective to the efforts to move the Plan to a November vote. The meeting was precipitated by the e-mail withdrawal of the project by Bryn Stroyke, the developer, who cast blame on remarks regarding the Exceptional Public Benefits (EPBs) made by individual members of the Steering Committee at the Council Meeting on 21 July. The purpose of the special meeting, according to Council sub-committee, Dave Druker and Richard Ernest, was to explain the differences between the EPBs they brought before the Council, and those recommended by the Steering Committee. It was those differences that prompted Deborah Groban, Brooke Eisenberg-Pike, and me to make our remarks at the council meeting. Discussion between the Council members and the Committee at the special meeting centered on the EPBs and ideas that could bring the Committee and Council closer to agreement on what might be appropriately proposed to the developers. With over 30 members of the community present there was no absence of public input, and, in my view, several misconceptions propagated through the discussion. All of the public comments at the meeting expressed strong support for the project, but most argued for formal endorsement from the Committee. Several implied that our comments at Monday's Council meeting were intended to derail the project and that we would be to blame if the project does not go forward. In fact, the Steering Committee was tasked to facilitate community input to the Specific Plan process as dictated by Measure B. We were not formed as a deliberative body, and were assured that indeed it was not our role as a Committee to endorse the final plan. In the 60 or so meetings that we conducted, it is on record that all of our discussions leading to our recommendations were motivated to create a Specific Plan that appeals to the largest cross-section of Del Mar voters. We operated knowing that it is the City Council's role to negotiate and decide the final form of the Specific Plan, including the EPBs. Also on record is the Committee's statement of our rights to express or withhold our individual opinions. By meeting's end, the Committee and Council liaisons agreed on revised EPBs that they felt would help put the Garden back on the path to a November vote: 1) The same $25/month condo fee designated for affordable housing program but instead of fee's in perpetuity, fees for 30 years. Designated use of fees reviewed at year 20. 2) A percentage of total revenue generated from the sales and other income from the property to the developers with both the percentage and a floor and ceiling amount negotiated between the City Council Subcommittee and the developers. The funds from this EPB would be designated for park improvements.
Limits
to Growth “What is the Water Authority's estimate on the limits to growth in our region?” Councilmember Henry Abarbanel asked this question at a recent city council meeting. He got no reply, but his inquiry cut to the heart of a fundamental regional issue, and it behooves us to ponder it further. First, we need to recognize that, with a few honorable exceptions, our neighboring communities have conspicuously failed even to entertain the idea that growth might, in fact, have limits outside of their control. For many years, most communities in the region have routinely approved large-scale development projects without questioning whether the infrastructure is adequate to support them. “Infrastructure” here means primarily the availability of water and power, but also provision of appropriate facilities for transportation, education, and sewage treatment. In principle, the latter issues are resolvable by taxpayers and their elected representatives having the guts to make budgetary decisions that are unpopular in the short term but that will reap long-term regional benefits. But satisfying our needs for water and power will require a whole different kind of community commitment, and a whole different degree of tax-payer angst. For both water and power, the financial and societal costs of adequately increasing supply are enormous, verging on prohibitive. Water supply to our area is controlled by climatic and geographical factors that do not favor us. It would be insane to assume that sometime soon they will change for the better. The limits on power supply are more subtle, dominated by its side effects, ranging from undesirable to lethal, but all of them expensive. These limits, natural, technical and political, are sufficiently complex and uncertain that only a fool would assume that by ignoring them they would disappear. Unfortunately, foolish decisions are not uncommon, and most of them have the effect of increasing demand without guaranteeing supply. This is a sure-fire formula for disaster. We will only avoid that disaster if communities throughout the region get together at a grass-roots level to apply unremitting pressure on elected bodies that otherwise are only too happy to dismiss the concerns of neighboring jurisdictions. But they must be made to face the fact that a development approval in one jurisdiction can negatively impact its neighbors' infrastructure as well as its own. We live in an era of limits. Ignoring them will not make them go away, but may well result in our departure from the scene. John Kerridge is Editor Emeritus of the Sandpiper.
A
Vision Challenge for
Del Mar Is the Del Mar community really coalesced around a unified vision? Do we share a vivid description of a desired outcome of our efforts in creating and governing our City? Are all of our efforts being expended towards the same mental picture of how we see our community's role in our village, and in the world? Certainly I can testify that many of us, as residents, become emotionally charged when we believe our individual visions of Del Mar are threatened. There is no shortage of stories and differences of opinion on many public-governance issues. However, are we emotionally charged with the substance of a vision or the details of its objectives? In fact, I do believe, Del Mar has a vision -- a vision that was crafted with words and action by its founders. However, I also believe this vision has blurred and lost its clarity in the years since incorporation and creation of the Community Plan. Certainly the original vision has been confronted by rapid growth in the surrounding area. Where once Del Mar stood as a small village surrounded by ocean to the west, a small town to the north and vast open space to the east and south, it now appears that only Torrey Pines State Reserve protects Del Mar from becoming just one in a continuous series of communities from the Mexican border to Camp Pendleton and from the ocean to Scripps Ranch. Perhaps it is time to reconnect with our beginning, to renew our vision and to bring that vision to reality. Perhaps we should dare to build upon our founders' vision with a renewed vision of something even better -- a vision that will inspire, and stimulate our creativity about how we participate together as a community, as a regional neighbor and in the world in general. If we set aside our fears as did the founders of Del Mar nearly 50 years ago, then perhaps we can honor them and ourselves by coalescing around a renewed vision -- one that stands as an example to ourselves and other communities of the extraordinary results that evolve from a clarity of vision, firmly set objectives and continuity of action. Let's explore this possibility together over a series of articles as we trace our founding vision to the challenges that vision faces today.
Change
is Seldom Comfortable It is that time of year again for the city as we take up the task of examining budget proposals and deciding how Del Mar will deliver services and capital improvements to the residents over the next two years. We will be doing this in a very different environment than the last several. The economic environment is much more tenuous. The state budget has a massive potential deficit and the appetite to tap local governments to alleviate their problems. The projects and ideas related to improving the quality of life in Del Mar are impressive, costly and growing. In addition, unfunded mandates from Sacramento such as the Clean Water requirements are growing and place additional demand on general fund capacity. It is within this set of conditions that your city council and staff must prioritize as never before. With your input, I am certain that we will successfully grapple with these challenges but hard choices will have to be made. Thanks to a lively, engaged and intelligent community, we all have our favorite project or cause. Not everyone will get their way. Projects will move up and down the priority chain depending on what is best for the community as a whole. Some things will have to be delayed. Some may be cancelled outright in favor of more critical needs. I am sure that not everyone will be happy with the outcome. New sources of revenue are going to be explored as well as additional ways to get more out of each dollar we collect. We are open to any suggestion or idea as to how to do things better. However, we can't have it all. At least we can't have it all right now. Del Mar is in better shape fiscally than many of our sister cities in the region. On the other hand we have some unique fiscal demands on our resources, such as our beaches, that don't exist elsewhere. I think that this council is committed to protecting the quality of life in Del Mar for the long term, in spite of the challenges we face. This will require different thinking and new ways of problem solving than we are familiar with. It won't be comfortable for some but change is seldom comfortable. We have a choice: We can manage the changes going on around us and how they affect our quality of life or we can be managed by them. Ignoring them is not an option. Richard Earnest is a city council member.
A
Guest Editorial I can't resist commenting about the many anxious voices responding to the assumed collapsing financial condition of Del Mar and the “call to arms” to save the village business area with new zoning, parking ordinance and the general rush to develop. So, I (and I suggest every resident do the same) read the recently published Revitalization Plan for the City of Del Mar by The Community Land Use and Economics Group. The study is rich with fresh facts about who lives in and visits Del Mar, how the residents and visitors feel about Del Mar and what they would like to see or not see Del Mar present to them. The richness of the facts is compelling. Del Mar is truly the gem that we protect with a passion. This gem often generates boisterous and contentious argument over how it should be cared for and protected. Yet as I read the CLUE report, I found the most compelling statements to be quotes lifted from already established City development guidance documents: 1976: Community Plan - “… Del Mar's business community should better serve local needs for goods and services and become a pedestrian-oriented compact center”; “…automobile traffic should not pose a hazard to life, should not intrude on the tranquility of the community life, nor should it interfere with walkers and bicycle riders”. 1982: Del Mar 2000 - “…The Del Mar 2000 program…represents a significant step forward into another area of environmental opportunity. This opportunity lies in the largely untapped potential of the Del Mar Commercial district and how it can be developed to create a functional and symbolic center for the entire community”; “ … to create an intimately scaled urban experience around an active, vital, and pedestrian oriented downtown”. The CLUE report does have lots of “voids” and “sales leakage” data. It is also comforting to read that not much has changed over the 35 years since I became a resident. People still come to Del Mar to walk on the beach and dine in the village restaurants; village residents still want a pharmacy and a hardware store; and, only a handful of people own most of the commercial property. The best sections of the Clue report are the recommended solutions for existing Del Mar businesses to think outside their own store-front box and the sections that list examples of unique businesses such as the custom musical-instrument shop, the quill pen shop that ships quills to the US Congress, the do-it-yourself dog wash or the restaurant that also houses a bookstore. While we wring our hands over what to do next, I suggest we get busy doing what we know already needs to be done. Encourage residents and others to invest themselves and their resources to create the virtue of the village -- the honest expression of who we are as Del Mar residents and what we want people to experience when they visit. Done responsibly, the rest will follow suit. This virtue is in our village DNA, just read the Community Plan or Del Mar 2000.
Investing
in our Future Our generation's open space challenge is in a crunch time, but acquisition of the five-acre Shores school site for a community park is more than half way to its $8.5 million goal. Donors to date total 186 and ten pledges, many of these from the Winston School community. Now the entire community needs to join in. Consider some math to decide what level of giving is appropriate. If one's net worth, all your assets minus your debts, is $1 million, a one-half percent contribution is $5,000; a net worth of $5 million is a $25,000 donation. The open-space acquisitions of the past, Crest and Anderson Canyons, Seagrove and Powerhouse Parks, define our community and contribute to the values of our houses. The Shores site will surely have the same payoff. There are over 2,000 households in Del Mar. If only 100 gave $20,000 each, we will be halfway home; another 200 at $10,000 each, we will hit the goal. Consider how much we spend for cars, maybe as little as $20-25 thousand for a 3-5 year investment. The Shores park is a lifetime, generation-jumping investment. Consider the value of this gift to three and more generations of friends and relatives – it's way more than an automobile. Dig deep. We can do it, Del Mar. more>>
Del
Mar's Human Resources Our community lost an extraordinary leader when Jerry Finnell left us. Much has been said about Jerry's rich biography and there is even more to learn from Jerry and Kathy's model of civic patriotism. When they retired to Del Mar they hit the ground running with civic involvement. They chose Del Mar because they loved it and made a commitment to work to preserve the qualities that attracted them. No committee, no volunteer activity, no organizing work was beneath them. They dug in, worked tirelessly with good humor, and did not seek out the limelight—no big heads for them. Ironically, it was those self-effacing qualities that attracted others to their leadership capabilities and ultimately to leadership roles, including Jerry's mayoral election. In our view, Jerry's most enduring legacy to us all will be this model of civic activism. Del Mar has achieved its distinctive reputation, not because of its natural resources, but because of its human resources—hundreds of citizens who have worked to protect those natural resources and a quality of life that is very rare in today's world. Jerry was in the top tier of our community's human resources.
Unity
in the Community The Shores campaign is an opportunity for all of us to come together as a community to add to our wonderful legacy of generation-bridging assets. Previous generations of Del Marians have proven to be far-sighted and generous in preserving community assets. We now enjoy our parks, library, lagoon, canyons, and open space because they seized opportunities to shape the future. Del Mar's reputation as a desirable place to live is built upon our fine balance of man-made and natural resources. Adding five acres of recreation, education, and open space to our inventory will be a powerful message about our core values to our children and grandchildren. Our vision is that every single household will communicate its good-will involvement in this community-building endeavor. Contributions at all levels will be valued equally. This is our generation's opportunity to shape Del Mar's future. Time is short. Please add your voice to all of your neighbors with a generous contribution this month.
Balance
needed to Reduce Fire
Risk Del Mar can count itself lucky to have escaped, twice within four years, the ravages of burning canyons and homes. Next time (there will be a next time) we may not be so lucky. That's why Del Mar needs a determined and continuing effort to reduce wildfire threat to lives and property. Such an effort must also balance the needs of fire safety with preserving Del Mar's unique and irreplaceable natural beauty. With prudent and determined management, that balance can be achieved. Responding to citizen demands, the City Council appointed a committee of Dave Druker and Richard Earnest to study issues and submit recommendations. But the Council's initial focus seems fixed on establishing a fire-safety abatement district and asking voters to approve an assessment on the June ballot. Perhaps additional revenues are needed to support our fire department; that issue clearly deserves attention. But there are existing tools at hand the City can begin using now to reduce wildfire risks and improve urban forest management, without waiting for an election. Although it could use an update, the Municipal Code already provides ample authority under State law for inspection and removal of fire hazards on private property. Building on the Fire Department's current practice of conducting inspections at the owner's request, this ordinance can be used to begin a regular cycle of inspections that, given the availability of personnel, would cover the entire City every few years. Areas of highest risk should be covered first. Such a program should be included among the Fire Department's ongoing responsibilities, with progress monitored as part of the annual budget review. The City should provide residents with clear descriptions of common fire hazards and the means for removing them, along with an explanation of the inspection program. An ongoing fire-inspection program is only part of a well-balanced effort to reduce risks from wildfire. Another important element is the Urban Forest Management and Fire Safety Strategic Plan approved by the City Council in 1999. The Plan includes important recommendations for achieving carefully balanced goals of maintaining our existing tree forest in a safe and healthy condition and improving fire safety in our canyons and public open spaces. Only two of the Plan's recommendations have been implemented by the City. The water system along the edge of Crest Canyon has been upgraded to provide greater fire suppression capability, and the City undertook reduction of unsafe fuel loads in Crest Canyon with FEMA assistance. The City Council should conduct public workshops at an early date to educate the public and promote the Plan, review recommendations, set priorities and organize further action. All residents are encouraged to review the plan available in the Library and online at the City's website. ( City of Del Mar Home Page; Popular Sections; City Planning Documents, scroll to bottom.) For these programs to be successful they must be given high priority by the City Council. Those delegated the authority to carry them out must be accountable. The efforts must be on-going, not sporadic or seasonal. The greatest hurdle to overcome is not the lack of funds, nor the means and ability to implement these programs, but finding the political will and developing the community consensus needed to sustain these programs long after the lessons from this recent experience fade from memory.
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Fear
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