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FEB. 3, 2012
Council reviews rental tax
Del Mar considers train use
By Christina Macone-Greene
CARLSBAD — A recent City Council agenda item has moved the topic of vacation rentals into the spotlight. Although the coastal town of Carlsbad does not have an official zoning for these types of rentals, there appear to be some vacation rentals that do exist from a transient occupancy tax activity, otherwise known as a hotel tax. “Vacation rentals are not currently allowed through our zoning,” said Don Neu, city planner for Carlsbad. “The City Council is expected to consider that in the coming months as to what policy they would like to pursue with vacation rentals in the future.” And that decision could include whether or not to have vacation rentals. Neu said recent records from the city finance department indicated there were 15 submissions of a transient occupancy tax that were not from official businesses, such as hotels in the area. Staff suspects these are vacation rentals and there might be more out there. By definition, Neu said, vacation rentals are furnished properties that are rented for less than 30 days and are subject to this special tax. Regardless of these tax monies, single-family dwelling, townhome or condominium vacation rentals are not authorized by the city. “If you look at our city zoning today, in none of our residential zones is there a permitted use or anything that would be similar to a vacation rental,” he said. “We have something, we think, coming up in the next couple months where the City Council is going to consider the issue of vacation rentals.” Neu said even if someone wanted to officially have a vacation rental in way of a permit, for example, they’d be unable to do so because it’s not accepted by the city. TURN TO TAX ON A21
By Bianca Kaplanek
The Arts Alive banners bearing the image of late Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan are said to be in violation of Encinitas city’s banner ordinance. Photo by Adrienne Kutner
Banner rejection clarified By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — To honor the late Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan, organizers behind the annual Arts Alive program intended to display 100 banners with Houlihan’s image on the backside. Houlihan was known for supporting the arts in Encinitas. As part of a 13-year tradition, the banners also feature various artists’ paintings. In a controversial move, the banners were rejected by City Manager Gus Vina late last fall. According to Vina, the banners violate the city’s banner ordinance. Vina ruled the backside of the banners were “political” because of a section in the city’s banner ordinance that states: “Said banners are for civic and nonprofit city-wide recognized special events.” According to Vina, Houlihan is a political figure and therefore shouldn’t appear on the back of banners that are for a city event.
This is not me versus anybody. The banners were simply against the city’s municipal code.” Jerome Stocks Mayor of Encinitas
“She was about more than the arts,” Vina said. There’s an inconsistency in the content of the banners.” It’s no different than MLK or JFK appearing on banners.” Mayor Jerome Stocks, who often disagreed with Houlihan when she served on the City Council, agrees with Vina’s interpretation. But he insists he had no hand in dismissing the banners. “This is not me versus anybody,” Stocks said. “The
banners were simply against the city’s municipal code.” The 101 Artists Colony, Cardiff 101 Mainstreet, Leucadia Mainstreet and the Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association collaborated on the Arts Alive banners. The banners ran into early trouble when DEMA voted to withdraw its permit to display the banners. “What was originally described to us in the application for the permit was drastically different than what was submitted,” DEMA President Treggon Owens said. In order to display a modified version of the banners and block out Houlihan’s likeness, organizers from Arts Alive spent $800 on vinyl material to cover the backside of the posters, according to Danny Salzhandler, who coordinated the project. Arts Alive will display the artists’ paintings at 2 TURN TO BANNERS ON A21
DEL MAR — Motivated by a desire to decrease traffic, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase revenue, City Council agreed unanimously to explore the possibility of bringing restricted train service back to Del Mar. “There’s been interest expressed by North County Transit to have certain limited stops at the existing train station,” Councilman Mark Filanc said. “It’s just allowing people to come visit Del Mar during the weekends and then go. “Nothing’s cast in concrete,” he said. “This is to see if it’s viable.” “This is something the elected officials in Del Mar asked us to explore,” Matt Tucker, executive director of North County Transit District, said. “It’s a reasonable request because it could potentially increase ridership and take cars off the streets.” Tucker said it’s not a top priority for NCTD and he won’t “push it as an agency.” “I don’t want to create any public controversy over this,” he said. “We will sit down and discuss it with Del Mar.” Under the proposal, only the Coaster would be allowed to stop at the existing platform on weekends and during special events, such as the annual Taste and Art Stroll. Tickets will not be sold at the Del Mar station so travel cannot originate in the city, which means the service will not bring more cars to the area. Passengers will have to board a train outside of Del Mar. Amtrak would not be permitted to use the station. Local trains stopped in Del Mar from 1911 to 1995, Mayor Carl Hilliard said. But the station closed following requests to increase Coaster service and open the platform to Amtrak because of insufficient parkTURN TO TRAINS ON A21