PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 27, NO. 18
JULY 19, 2013
Sobering program ends By Promise Yee
ESCONDIDO — Interfaith Community Services’ sobering mat program will end July 15. This means adults who are intoxicated will no longer have a place to sleep it off until they become sober, but instead will be sent to hospitals or the county jail. The Escondido Community Sobering and Stabilization program has provided a safe place to sober up and a bridge to additional community services for 16 years. “It’s a controlled, closeddoor environment,” Craig Jones, Interfaith Community Services associate director, said. “It’s staffed 24/7.” At the facility 10 mats are laid out on the floor and
A sign denotes the border for the Swami’s Marine Protected Area. The California Coastal Commission cited the threat to marine protected reserves when it denied a 50-year Encinitas and Solana Beach sand replenishment project last week. The decision puts the plan in danger. Photo by Jared Whitlock
Commission ruling has 50-year sand plan ‘walking tight line’ By Jared Whitlock
CALL TO POST Temperatures were near perfect for Opening Day of races at the Del Mar Race Track. Along with the excitement of the races, familiar sights and sounds filled the stands, including Poway resident Les Kepics, who has been playing the “Call To Post” for the last 29 years. Photo by Daniel Knighton
TURN TO SOBERING ON A15
Bressi Ranch may gain two hotels By Rachel Stine
CARLSBAD — After obtaining the Planning Commission’s approval on Wednesday, two hotels with more than 100 rooms each may soon be constructed as part of Bressi Ranch. Local hotel developers Alps Innovation, LLC partnered up with international hotel operator Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) to propose building a 106-room, extended stay Staybridge Suites and a 133-room Holiday Inn at Palomar Airport Road and Innovation Way. Representatives from both Alps Innovation and IHG highlighted the The representation shows the proposed design of the Staybridge Suites and Holiday Inn that was TURN TO HOTELS ON A15
approved by the Planning Commission to be built along Palomar Airport Road. Image courtesy of Alps Innovation, LLC
Growing concerns
Two Sections, 44 pages
Residents in the Eden Valley community continue to raise concerns over housing development in the Elfin Forest. A3
Arts & Entertainment . . A8 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . A12
Enjoy the view A mermaid-themed bench and viewing binoculars will be installed at Solana Beach’s Fletcher Cove. B1
Citizen scientists now have a place to experiment, research and learn with the new community lab opening in Carlsbad. B5
Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A20 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3
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COAST CITIES — Officials have been working on a 50-year sand replenishment plan in Encinitas and Solana Beach for more than 13 years. But the project is stalled at a critical juncture. The California Coastal Commission voted 8-3 at its July 10 meeting in Ventura, Calif. to deny the joint beach nourishment plan, a project that’s been touted as a means of shoring up infrastructure and encouraging tourism. Coastal Commissioner Dayna Bochco said the influx of offshore sand on beaches, particularly early on in the project, could hurt the wave quality at surfing breaks.And new marine protected areas stand to be negatively impacted, too. “There was not enough evidence to convince me this is the best we could do in terms of protection of habitat,” Bochco said. Right before the vote, Coastal Commissioner Esther Sanchez, who also serves on Oceanside’s City Council, urged the board to back the replenishment. She argued the project’s wrinkles could be ironed out down the line if need be. Yet a “no” vote would likely kill it. “They’ve worked so many years on this and there’s no time for it to come back for this round of federal funding,” Sanchez said. The Army Corps of Engineers signed on to fund a
large chunk of the nourishment plan. Getting that money for the project requires approval from a federal bill known as WRDA (Water Resources Development Act). Josephine Axt, chief of planning for the Los Angeles Corps office, emphasized at the meeting that the WRDA only comes around periodically — the last bill was in 2006. To be considered as part of WRDA,Axt told the coastal commissioners they will need approval from the coastal commission and a civil works board by December. She added that meeting the deadline would be difficult, particularly if the coastal commission doesn’t back the project right away. If the plan weren’t attached to WRDA, the project would likely be dead in the water. On Wednesday, Heather Schlosser, the Corps’ lead planner of the project, said there’s a possibility the WRDA deadline will be extended, giving the project some breathing room. “We don’t know when it will be decided if the deadline is going to be pushed back,” Schlosser said. With the coastal commission’s denial, the Corps is weighing its options, Schlosser said. One path: it could resubmit an alternative plan, including one that places less sand on beaches, TURN TO SAND ON A23