PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 28, N0. 39
SEPT. 26, 2014
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
.com THE VISTA The Coral Tree Farms will be allowed to resume farming activities but NEWS would have to apply for a permit for other agricultural activies on the
. com Split decision made property. File photo
over Coral Tree Farm By Aaron Burgin
A Growing Community A scarecrow watches over the new Calavera Schoolhouse Community Garden, which opened five months ago in Carlsbad. The garden already has a waiting list of more than 100 eager gardeners. See story on page A7. Photo by Ellen Wright
Postmaster General says USPS issues ‘very fixable’ By Tony Cagala
ENCINITAS — In a late August visit to San Diego, The Postmaster General of the United States Patrick Donahoe described the situation the Postal Service is in as “very fixable,” but only through legislation. The financial situation that has seen the Postal Service lose billions due to flattening first class mail volume with the advent of online bill paying over the past 10 years. “We have lost about 60 percent of our single piece volume — mail in the blue mailboxes — in the past 10 years,” said Donahoe. “That equates to 30 billion pieces, and if you put it in terms of a 49-cent stamp, it’s $14.5 billion in yearly revenue that’s disappeared.” And then there was the 2006 government mandate that required the mail service to prefund $5.5 billion a year into a retirement health benefits fund for future retirees. The Postal Service has defaulted on making those payments in the past, and will default again this month, said Donahoe. Right now the Postal Service is on the hook for about
The Postmaster General of the United States Patrick Donahoe says that the problems plaguing the Postal Service are “very fixable” but only through government legislation. Photo by
Tony Cagala
$21 billion — with a default on this month’s payment that will make the amount they’ve defaulted on $26 billion. But Donahoe is certain that by changing the law in integrating Medicare and requiring office personnel management to provide a lower cost health care system for retirees, something not within the powers of the
Postmaster General, will fix the problems of the Postal Service. And when asked how quickly that problem would be fixed if those changes were implemented: “Immediately,” he said. “Our problem is a lack of legislation (that’s) left us standing there holding the bag. We need to address health care, we need to address six day to five day delivery, we need to address some pricing issues that need to be put to rest,” Donahoe said. In terms of what happens with any legislation passing, Donahoe, who said he was probably one of the more optimistic people you’d meet, didn’t express any optimism that that would get done. “I’ve been in this job for four years, I’ve been pressing both the House and the Senate and they don’t have anything to show for it.” While the Postal Service continues to lose money, the latest figures released show However, the Postal Service did see an increase in revenue during the TURN TO POSTMASTER ON A15
ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council rendered a split decision in the case of dueling appeals over whether an Encinitas farm surrounded by homes could continue its farming and ancillary operations. The Council unanimously voted to uphold an earlier staff decision that allows for the Coral Tree Farm to continue its farming operations without a permit, but requires farm owner Laurel Mehl to apply for a permit for other agricultural-related activities, such as community gardens and agricultural tours and classes. The staff decision upheld by council also prohibits other uses not related to the farming that occurred at the farm, such as painting classes, yoga instruction, Reiki healing and “Sunday Suppers on the Farm.” But the Council left the door open to revisit some of the agricultural related uses that require a permit, as a comprehensive overhaul on its existing rules related to agriculture — the framework of which is expected to make it the City Council by mid-October — might allow some of those activities to proceed without a permit. Council members came to the compromise after a charged discussion that spanned nearly four hours, during which supporters pleaded with the Council to stand up for one of the few remaining vestiges of the city’s agricultural heritage, while neighbors on Park Lane urged the Council to shut the operations down based on the fact that Mehl
was not using the land for farming for more than 20 years,RANCHO thus forfeiting her rights to resume farming. SFNEWS “We are in a point of transition in our community and we know it, but we have to apply today’s rules for what is happening today, and we can amend it should we change tomorrow,” Councilwoman Teresa Barth said. “We can’t presume what is happening in the future and apply it today. “We have come to a compromise for the moment and we are moving in the direction of really embracing urban agriculture … that it is a critical part not only of our tradition, but our future, but we have to respect the laws that exist at the moment and move forward with changing those,” Barth said. Coral Tree grows heirloom vegetables and tropical fruits off of Requeza Avenue and Park Lane. The owner has contended that farming on the land has occurred continuously since 1958. The Council was in the position of hearing a rare dual appeal of Planning Director Jeff Murphy’s decision, which stemmed from a neighbor’s complaint to code enforcement about the property in late 2013, when neighbors in the adjacent Park Lane Estates cited traffic and parking issues associated with the activities. On one side, Coral Tree, represented by attorney and City Council candidate Catherine Blakespear, implored the Council to allow all of the farm’s activities to
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TURN TO CORAL TREE ON A9