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. 20
AUG. 2, 2013
After back and forth, Proposition A is in effect for entire city By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — The cloud of uncertainty looks to have passed. City officials recently clarified that Proposition A is on the books for all of Encinitas. Prop A was victorious at the polls more than a month ago. Immediately after, one question loomed: Will the California Coastal Commission need to approve the growth-control initiative for it to take effect in all of Encinitas? Initially, the answer seemed to be “yes.” A letter from coastal commission staff on July 1 stated it had review power over Prop A’s changes. And that meant the city would have to file an amendment to its local coastal program, which could take more than a year. The letter went on to say that until the amendment was completed, Prop A would only go in effect outside of the coastal zone — the northeastern portion of the city. However, a follow-up let-
ter from the coastal commission on July 10 said the city had discretion whether an amendment was necessary. Given the reversal, city staff met with the coastal commission legal counsel to see if an amendment is actually required, according to city Planning Director Jeff Murphy. “It was a confusing process and we were trying to get at the true answer,” Murphy said. In the end, the city reached the conclusion that an amendment for Prop A isn’t necessary to satisfy the coastal commission. As a result, the initiative is effective as of July 21, 2013 throughout the entire city. “We are implementing Prop A both inside and outside the coastal zone,” Murphy said on Monday afternoon. On Monday morning, the city issued a letter to the coastal commission stating that it’s going to “clean up” some of its local coastal proTURN TO PROP A ON A25
Top Team
AVERY THE BRAVE North County communities united on Saturday to help raise funds for Avery Lynn Hanel, a 2-year-old battling a rare form of cancer. See full story on page A7. Photo by Michael Weller Photography
Fire fees to blaze through San Diego again By Rachel Stine
REGION — The State Board of Equalization has resumed billing about 800,000 California property owners, thousands of which live in San Diego, for a fire prevention fee that some legal and legislative groups consider illegal.
Two Sections, 52 pages
Nero, a 3-year-old Belgian Malanois and his partner Oceanside Officer James Smith take top honors at canine competition. B6
Arts & Entertainment . A21 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . A12
Yoga Grant EUSD accepts a $1.4 million grant to further expand its yoga program in the school district. A6
Columnist Jay Paris makes his debut in The Coast News this week. He’s talking Chargers and changing the status quo. B12
Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A19 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B12
The fire prevention fee charges Californians $150 annually for each habitable structure standing in the State’s Responsibility Area (SRA), which is rural areas where the state is responsible for paying for wildfire prevention and suppression. Fees for structures in
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the SRA that are covered by a local fire protection agency are reduced to $115. The fee is intended to finance fire prevention services carried out by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. These services include brush clearing and forest health activities. With the fee passed in 2011 by Assembly Bill X1 29, the State Board of Equalization first billed property owners for fiscal year 2011-12 starting in August 2012. But the State Board of Equalization halted the billing process for fiscal year 2012-13 in March 2013 due to legislative and legal challenges to the fire pre-
vention fee’s legality and the thousands of appeals submitted by property owners charged with the fee. With the legislative and legal efforts failing to modify or repeal the fee thus far, Cal Fire ordered the Board to resume the collection of the fees, according to a press release from the State Board of Equalization on July 2. “We are required to (collect the fee) by law. So nothing has changed since the initial implementation of the fee,” said Cal Fire spokesperson Dennis Mathisen. About 66,000 property owners in San Diego County will be billed for the fee this year, according to TURN TO FIRE FEES ON A25