Pacific View Purchase an Affront to New Encinitas Residents Craving Public Spaces

Much has been said about the Encinitas City Council's $10 million (before taking into account bond financing costs) purchase of the decrepit Pacific View elementary school in downtown Encinitas during this election season. Most of the focus has been centered on the bottom line cost of the acquisition, the financing methods, the poor negotiation skills of the council and the fact that the parcel was bought with no specific usage in mind. The prevailing opinion has been that Pacific View will be converted into an arts center. What has been said very little is that the city has had a parcel available for use as an arts center for well over a decade now sitting in forgotten New Encinitas. When the Encinitas Ranch Town Center was built on the former flower fields along El Camino Real, a parcel was set-aside to be available for an arts center. This parcel is the open space between what used to be a Blockbuster Video, now a Chase Bank, and the Aaron Brothers/Mattress store building. In the past, it has been stated that his would make for a beautiful open air theater, providing Encinitas residents with a pristine local arts center. Lisa Shaffer, during her original campaign for city council, stated:

"The City has rights to a parcel in the Encinitas Ranch Town Center for a theater and other community uses, as defined in the Encinitas Ranch Specific Plan. Council expressed interest in looking for ways to put that space (now vacant and weed-filled) to use as soon as possible, and to explore concepts such as an open-air theater shell and a farmer’s market. I agree with the observation by Mayor Barth that New Encinitas deserves more public spaces and that this vacant lot should be used for the community."

Apparently, during her two years in office since then, Lisa has forgotten that "New Encinitas deserves more public spaces" and decided instead to mortgage the city's future on an asbestos laden elementary school in an effort to beholden herself to the nearby wealthy homeowners who do not want the parcel developed. On top of that, those residents get more city [debt financed] investment into an arts center that they can walk to, all at the expense of the other 61,000 Encinitas residents. GLAD TO CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE!

As a New Encinitas resident, it would have been fantastic to have an open air arts center that my family could walk to. It certainly beats having the vacant lot (that I'm certain would not have cost $10 million to develop) that is sitting in Encinitas Ranch now.