MARCH 9, 2012
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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 26, NO, 10
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THE COAST NEWS
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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
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THISWEEK SCRAPPED
Encinitas City Council scraps a major portion of the general plan update and the consultant who helped to create it. A2
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BALL La Costa resident Robin Anderson rolls her team to victory in the early rounds. Inset top: Del Mar resident Caroline Clark takes a shot for her team, Fidelity 3. Inset bottom, Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian (left) and Del Mar Mayor Carl Hilliard. Over 125 teams competed in the 16th annual Turf Bocce Ball Tournament March 4 hosted by the Del Mar/Solana Beach Rotary Club. The event helped raise funds for local charitable organizations. Photos by Daniel Knighton
Parking proposal draws muted response By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — A proposal for parking changes that would be part of the specific plan to revitalize downtown received a lukewarm reception from council members and residents when presented during a workshop at the March 5 meeting. Parking wasn’t considered a key element to the village in the 1976 community plan, Planning Director Kathy Garcia said. “However, it was definitely identified … that we have some parking issues associated with the corridor, primarily at the northern half of our downtown, and that we need to look at parking much more comprehensively,” she said. “We’ve taken this to heart as we move forward.” There are approximately 1,200 stalls in the specific plan area between Ninth and 15th streets, including public metered spaces under L’Auberge Del Mar, but excluding parking for L’Auberge and Del Mar Plaza. According to surveys con-
A lot of potential parking space is lost because of inconsistent configurations and inefficiencies. It changes from diagonal to parallel and is limited to 20 minutes in one spot and two hours a few stalls away. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
ducted in 2000 and 2012, most convenient on-street parking is used by visitors and some employees. Most off-street parking facilities, particularly south of 11th Street, are significantly underutilized. The analysis indicates
there are currently areas where the need for parking exceeds available capacity and areas where parking is readily available. “We have a parking problem because parking is not efficient,” Garcia said.
Parking lots are narrow. Private parking is not available for general public use. There is not a continuous stream of on-street parking. “It changes from parallel to diagonal and with curb cuts and interruptions … we’re los-
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ing a lot of space,” she said. “We heard very clearly that some of the business parking is impacting the local neighborhoods,” Garcia said. “Many of the businesses want additional front-door parking, as close to their business as they can. Some of the employees are parking off-site and this can have an impact in the residential areas. “Many people felt that the parking requirements were actually too stringent to see any commercial revitalization,” she said. “And there is the perception that there is the lack of parking stalls.” Garcia introduced a parkonce strategy, which allows public parking in private spaces. This would encourage users to park regardless of their destination and walk between establishments. Over time this would develop a pool of publicly available parking that can be shared. Garcia said a friend recently came to Del Mar and parked once to visit one store, TURN TO PARKING ON A19