Residential Customer Del Mar CA, 92014 ECRWSS
Volume XVI, Issue 20
www.delmartimes.net
May 17, 2012 Published Weekly
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May 18 release set for draft EIR on I-5/State Route 56 connectors project
■ Local man’s book details life with world’s best cyclists. Page 8
■ See top student productions at Canyon Crest Academy film festival. Page B3
BY KAREN BILLING The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Interstate 5/State Route 56 connectors project will be released on Friday, May 18. Public input is encouraged and must be sent in by July 2 on the alternatives to make the missing connections between westbound SR-56 and northbound I-5, and southbound I-5 and eastbound SR56. The EIR will be available for online viewing at keepsandiegomoving.com and a
hard copy will be available at the Carmel Valley Library. A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 13, at Del Mar Hills Academy from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Looking at the timeline, Caltrans I-5 Corridor Director Allan Kosup said Caltrans expects to make its decision on the preferred alternative by late 2012. The final EIR would be released in late 2013, with project construction targeted for 2020-2030 if any build option is selected. “I don’t see this moving
ahead until I-5 is widened in this stretch and right now it’s targeted for the 2020-2030 time frame,” Kosup said. Kosup said that this is the last chance to do the connections here because once the widening project occurs, it will be too costprohibitive and expensive to go back and retrofit for some kind of linkage of 5 and 56. “We’re trying to incorporate into the I-5 project, that’s really the urgency to make a decision on what (the connection) should look
Splash Mob
like,” Kosup said. The project’s steering committee met on Tuesday for a “Cliff’s Notes” version of the DEIR findings, the group’s first meeting in almost two years. Very little has changed about the five alternatives that are studied in the document: The nobuild option; a direct connector; the auxiliary lane alternative; the hybrid alternative; and the hybrid with flyover connecting east-bound Carmel Valley Road to eastbound SR-56 and the north-
bound portion of the direct connector. Kosup said the goal is to develop a project that is sensitive to the community and the environment while addressing local congestion, cut-through traffic and regional connections. “The DEIR helps us find if the benefit of the project is worth the cost and the impacts,” Kosup said. “There are no perfect alternatives, none perform the best in all
SEE CONNECTORS, PAGE 6
High school district hears positive poll results for bond
On Wednesday, May 9, Del Mar Hills second grade students filmed a segment that will air during their upcoming spring concert — and they received some technical help from a few San Diego firemen. The students performed “Singing in the Rain” on the school blacktop, and the firemen supplied a little “rain” as the students sang, danced and splashed. Courtesy photo
BY MARSHA SUTTON More than 64 percent of likely voters in the San Dieguito Union High School District would support a General Obligation bond in the November election to improve and upgrade the district’s facilities, SDUHSD board members learned at a workshop May 9. “This is a strong result,” said Timothy McLarney, president of True North Research, Inc., an Encinitas-based survey research firm. “Voters are seeing your performance and saying this is a good investment.” What makes these results impressive, McLarney said, is that high school districts typi-
cally receive less support than elementary and unified districts. Relying on three years of staff and committee research, investigation and planning, the SDUHSD school board authorized the district in March to survey local voters to gauge their reaction to a proposed tax that would address facility needs. The Irvine-based Dolinka Group, hired by the district in Feb. for bond-related financial advisory services, subcontracted with True North Research to conduct the poll. McLarney said the 17-minute telephone survey
SEE BOND, PAGE 19
SB plastic bag ban gets final go-ahead BY CLAIRE HARLIN EDITOR@DELMARTIMES.NET
■ Local father, daughter to appear on ‘Secret Millionaire.’ Page B1
As of May 9, Solana Beach is phasing out plastic bags. The Solana Beach City Council unanimously passed the second and final reading of an ordinance that will make the city the first in San Diego County to limit singleuse plastic bags and promote
reusable bags. The move follows numerous other cities statewide. It still allows plastic for uses such as produce, meats and dry cleaning. The ordinance, as approved, differs slightly from the law outlined in the first reading approved on April 25 in that it exempts restaurants. This change is due, in part, to the fact that the city has re-
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ceived three litigation threats from Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, which claims the antiplastic bag campaign is “based on myths, misinformation and exaggerations,” according to the organization’s website. The group, led by attorney Stephen Joseph, claims that plastic bag bans are preempted and prohibited by
the state California Retail Food Code, and is threatening to sue each and every city that attempts to implement a ban. The group contends that restaurants should not be subject to the ban for health, safety and practicality reasons, such as packaging hot or liquid food. Solana Beach City Attorney Johanna Canlas said her
office does not believe there is merit in the proposition that the ordinance is preempted by state law, however, she presented to the council the option of amending the ordinance to exempt restaurants. She pointed out that the issue is amid litigation in Northern California, and the amended SEE BAG, PAGE 6
SURE Real Estate Sets the record for highest price sale per square foot in Olde Del Mar
Record Sale. See Page: B24