PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
VOL. 27, NO. 11
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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
MARCH 15, 2013
Sage Creek will open in fall with freshman class By Rachel Stine
Scott Murray (left) holds up soil from an unoccupied piece of land in Encinitas that will soon be plowed to make way for a community farm and satellite campus for the Encinitas Union School District. Murray spearheaded the proposal for the organic farm, along with Jerry Miller, the farm’s architect. Photo by Jared Whitlock
Farming education center sprouts from dormant land By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — Scott Murray’s shovel plunged into the ground on a sunny afternoon.A small hole he dug out revealed soft soil beneath the hard surface. It was a sign of new beginnings f or a long v acant, 10acre plot of land across from the San Diego Botanic Garden. Murray will bulldoz e and plo w the land in the coming weeks,turning the hard ground fertile — for both crops and ideas. The land will soon host a one-acre community farm and one-acre satellite campus for the EUSD (Encinitas Union School District). Also in the works: an aquaponics lab that will let r esearchers experiment with the inno vative growing technique, greenhouses and more. Murray envisions a spot that’ s equal parts neighborhood hub and learning center of the future, bordered by seven acres of organic fruits and vegetables. “This is all about food bringing literacy to the comm unity — young and old,” Murray said. It’s been lik e navigating “through a large maze” to get to this point, Murray
TAKING TO THE SEA It’s more difficult than ever to smuggle cargo through terrestrial Ports of Entry, forcing cartels’ operations into the maritime domain. B1
said.But it appears light is at the end of the tunnel. After 18 months of planning and negotiations, EUSD and Murr ay Farms inked a one-year operating agreement last week.The agreement gave Murray the goahead to finally start planting. And if all goes as planned, the land should sprout produce for years to come. EUSD and Murray Farms are currently seeking approval from various state agencies for a 30-y ear, joint-occupancy agreement. The land was given to EUSD as part of a lar ger development deal a bout a decade ago. State law demanded that the district build a school or some other kind of educational facility on the pr operty — or face financial penalties next year if the land went unused.The district determined there aren’t enough students in the district to justify another school at this time. Yet a farm, the district decided, is an opportunity for students to spend more time playing with dirt. Currently, each school in the district has its own small garden. With the farm,
the aim is for students to get a more complete picture of food production. “Seed to table is the idea,” said the farm’s architect Jerry Miller. “They’ll understand the science and distribution of farming — it takes a hands-on experience to reinforce that.” EUSD Superintendent Tim Baird said it’s important students ha ve a better connection with the land. “We’re in a region with a lot of f arming, but we’ve forgotten where food comes from,” Baird said. “Students will learn a bout farming techniques,” Baird added. “Not only that, the farming techniques can be tied into larger lessons the y’re already learning about, like water conservation.” The pilot sc hool farm is tentati vely scheduled to de but in the f all with f our portable classrooms, trained instructors and farming equipment suitable for children, according to Baird. The curriculum and details ar e still
Two Sections, 48 pages Arts & Entertainment . A16 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . A12 Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A19 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A15
TURN TO FARMING ON A18
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CARLSBAD — Relief for the o vercrowded Carlsbad High School will be prolonged after the district staff and board members decided to open the new Sage Cr eek High School with fe wer students. At its Mar ch 6 meeting, CUSD (Carlsbad Unified School District) board members supported staff’s recommendation to open Sage Cr eek High School with onl y a ninth grade class for the 2013-14 school year after enr ollment for tenth g rade fell considerably short of student targets.
As a r esult, Carlsbad High School will pr ovide for all of ne xt year’s tenth grade students at its already congested campus. “Carlsbad High School is an impacted school as is. There is a critical mass of students there. It’s crowded,” said Dr. Robert Nye, CUSD assistant superintendent instructional services. “Our (CUSD staff) intent was hopefully to alle viate some of that with ne xt year.” CUSD staff had initially hoped to enr oll 400 ninth graders and 300 TURN TO SAGE CREEK ON A18
Initiative headed for special election By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — Council ordered a special election for the “right-to-vote” initiative to take place June 18, instead of adopting it outright at Tuesday night’s meeting. Under the initiative, increasing density or building heights beyond 30 feet would require a majority vote of the public. Additionally, changing the zoning type of a parcel in some circumstances would also need voter approval. The initiative aims to strip council of its power to increase height or density and change zoning type with a four-out-five council member vote. Council members agreed that they, and future councils, shouldn’t have the ability to “up-zone” with a four-fifths vote. But they also had some reservations with the initiative. Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar said she’s concerned that the initiati ve, if approved by voters, might also need the go-ahead from the California Coastal Commission. About 80 percent of the city falls under the coastal commission’ s
jurisdiction. Should the initiati ve pass with the voters and the coastal commission deny it, it would put most of the city on “one zoning track and the rest on another ,” Gaspar said. “What it sa ys to me is that the projects that incorporate more intense uses get shoved to the areas that have the more lenient z oning,” Gaspar said. Councilman Mark Muir said the initiative is a package deal. Council members can’t pick and choose what they like from it. “There’s some parts of the initiative that I like, and some not so good parts, ” Muir said. “Unfortunately, there’s this thing called unconditional acceptance — you can’t just accept part of it, you have to accept all of it.” The initiative will include an impartial description and an argument for and against it when it goes before voters. In sending the initiative to a special election, council had the option of writing the ar gument against it. Council agreed TURN TO INITIATIVE ON A18