Inland edition, january 26, 2018

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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94

The Coast News

INLAND EDITION

.com

VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO

VOL. 4, N0. 2

JAN. 26, 2018

Country club owner charged

Residents decry housing development approval By Aaron Burgin

SAN MARCOS — A group of residents who have expressed frustration with the pace of development in San Marcos said the City Council’s recent approval a 220-home development on Twin Oaks Valley Road is the final straw. The group of residents plans to pursue a referendum to reverse the council’s 4-1 approval of Brookfield Residential Properties’ proposal, which would re-zone about 23 acres near the southwest corner of Twin Oaks Valley Road and Village Drive — just south of Cal State San Marcos — from commercial to residential to pave the way for the new homes. Residents packed council chambers on Jan. 23 to urge the council to vote against the second reading of the ordinance approving the project. The council had voted two weeks earlier to approve the first reading. They said that the city is approving residential development at a much faster pace than the infrastructure needed to support it, pointing to overcrowding at San Marcos’ schools and congestion on key roads and State Highway 78 as evidence. “It’s the next development on the docket and we are fed up,” said Kelly Shipley, one of the chief organizers of the opposition. “What we want to see is development with infrastructure to support it.”

Their message to the council was clear: slow down. “I get that growth is going to happen and that you’re going to experience growing pains,” said Jeffrey Gelt, a longtime city resident, at the Jan. 23 hearing. “You have a responsibility to grow the city slowly and take care of the citizens that are already here. There is a disconnect between the City Council and the citizens of the city. “We have thousands of new permits slated for new construction, but no new schools,” Gelt said. “If the council votes to adopt this resolution, you will receive formal notice that we are moving forward with a referendum.” Several residents did speak in favor of the project, as well as Brookfield Vice President Dave Bartlett, who said that the project had been vetted by staff and the Planning Commission. “Every legitimate development issue raised tonight has been thoroughly vetted by your professional staff,” Bartlett said. “We have worked with the community, including the Friends of Discovery, and we have put a substantial amount of time into this. We believe we got it right.” Mayor Jim Desmond and Councilwomen Rebecca Jones, Kristal Jabara and Sharon Jenkins voted for the project. They said that the TURN TO HOUSING ON 6

Developer accused of 12 misdemeanors By Steve Puterski

violations in a staff report as grounds to uphold the revocation, including that the business used a number of sexually suggestive advertisements to promote the business online, which the city prohibits. One found on the website www.backpage.com featured Asian women dressed in tops that showed cleavage and advertised “Gorgeous Asian Girls” and “Young Hot Girls, Un-

ESCONDIDO — The saga between the city and Michael Schlesinger went to a new level this month when the city filed 12 misdemeanor counts against the developer. The charges were filed in Vista Superior Court and Schlesinger, who is the owner of Stuck in the Rough, LLC, must appear March 1 to respond to the municipal code violation allegations. He does not face any jail time, but could face fines. Two of the charges are in relation to a Nov. 22, 2017, fire that destroyed the country club. The Escondido Fire Department also responded to calls of a fire at the club on Oct. 8 and 25, 2017, according to City Attorney Michael McGuinness. The city alleges on Dec. 7, 2017, and again on Jan. 10, about two weeks later, debris and rubbish still lay on the property along with a fire-damaged and collapsed building. The other charges accuse Schlesinger of not maintaining the property as he allegedly allowed broken windows and doors; broken, cracked or defective walls, fences, patios and driveways; graffiti and an unsecure gate on a property with a pool. “The City has repeatedly received complaints regarding the dilapidated, unsecured and vandalized buildings, trespassers, overgrown weeds, dead trees, graffiti, broken fences, broken windows, polluted ponds and similar property maintenance issues associated with the abandoned golf course,” McGuinness said. “Since April 2013, the city’s Fire and Police departments have responded to calls for service to the property at least 78 times. Twenty of

TURN TO MASSAGE ON 6

TURN TO COUNTRY CLUB ON 6

WOODS BACK AT TORREY PINES

Tiger Woods was among a 156-player field who competed in the Farmers Insurance Open Pro-Am at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla starting Jan. 25. Woods had not played in a PGA Tour event since last year’s Farmers Insurance Open, when he missed the cut, shooting a 4-over par 148 for two rounds. Woods then underwent a fourth back surgery that sidelined him for the next 10 months. He is shown here at the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open. Photo by Bill Reilly

City Council votes to uphold massage parlor license revocation By Aaron Burgin

SAN MARCOS — In racy ads featuring scantily clad models, San Marcos’ King Massage Parlor promised “most sweet and wonderful Asian girls will treat you like king.” The ads, among other things, were the reason the City Council this week took the rare step of upholding the revocation of the massage parlor’s license. The council voted 4-1 at a special meeting on Jan. 23 to deny King Massage’s

appeal of an administrative hearing officer’s decision to revoke the business’ license. The hearing spanned five hours over two special sessions on Jan. 9 and Jan. 23. “I thought that staff had made the case that the violations were valid and proven,” Councilman Chris Orlando said. “I think the totality of them really concerned me, and they showed a pattern of not abiding by the city’s rules, both the ones established

in 2017 and the rules established prior to that, and many state laws as well.” To Orlando’s knowledge, this was the first massage parlor license revocation that had reached the council. Mayor Jim Desmond voted against the revocation solely because of the finding dealing with the sexually explicit advertising, which he said is not clearly defined in the local ordinance or the state. “We were not given any

guidelines for sexually explicit advertising and it is usually left to the State to determine,” Desmond said in an email Thursday. “The State has it under investigation but has not yet ruled. I was in favor denying the appeal on the basis of all the other findings, but could not vote for it with the one yet to be determined finding by the State. If that finding has been removed I would have voted in favor of denying the appeal.” City staff listed eight

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