PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com SERVING NORTH COUNTY SINCE 1987
VOL. 32, N0. 42
SAN Coastal Commission MARCOS -NEWS approves Streetscape
Bluff fencing gets local blowback
By Aaron Burgin
By Lexy Brodt
DEL MAR — The North County Transit District is pursuing a plan to install fencing along the Del Mar bluffs, with no small resistance from Del Mar residents. NCTD has received a grant from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to erect a continuous, 1.4-mile-long fence along the Del Mar Bluffs, as well as separate fences on bluffs in Encinitas and Oceanside. The cost estimate for all three portions is estimated at $1.68 million, which will be covered fully by the grant, according to NCTD media representative Kimberly Wall. The fencing is intended to “support re-vegetation and reduction in the occurrence of trespasser events,” according to an NCTD press release published in early September. Details of the project have not been finalized, and NCTD has not determined a timeline for when construction of the fence will begin. “It is our hope that the project will be completed by the end of 2019,” said Wall, in an email to The Coast News. A handful of Del Mar residents have responded by starting a petition to oppose the fencing. The petition was started on change.org by active fouryear resident Frank Stonebanks, and City Council candidates Dan Quirk and Terry Gaasterland. The TURN TO FENCING ON A21
OCT. 19, 2018
18TH ANNUAL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS, or Day of the Dead, will celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday on Oct. 28 at Mission San Luis Rey. The festival honors deceased loved ones with colorful chalk cemetaries, floral arrangements, face painting, traditional dancing, car shows and more. See full story on page A11. Artwork by James Horvath
SAN DIEGO — A proposed overhaul of Leucadia’s stretch of Coast Highway 101 received the California Coastal Commission’s unanimous blessing. The commission’s board, which hosted its monthly roving three-day meeting in downtown San Diego on Oct. 11, rendered its decision after two hours of testimony on a project that has polarized the community for more than a decade. The commission also denied an appeal of the city’s approval of the project filed by a group known as the Encinitas Residents Coalition. The project will dramatically transform the stretch of 101 into a bicycle-, pedestrian- and transit-friendly enclave complete with six roundabout intersections. Only one commissioner spoke following testimony, siding with the city and the state agency staff’s recommendation.
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“I am convinced taken as a whole that this is an appropriate project for this road,” Commissioner Steve Padilla said. “It is a good repurposing of THE the use there and allows a more VISTA multi-modal approach to NEWS mobility.” The decision elicited opposite reactions from the divided audience inside the Wyndham San Diego Bayside ballroom. Supporters applauded after the board’s vote, while opponents booed. Streetscape plans call for six roundabouts RANCHO between A Street and La Costa SFNEWS Avenue, bike lanes, pedestrian paths, wider sidewalks and crosswalks, bus facilities, on- and offstreet parking, and the planting of more than 1,000 trees to restore the street’s famed tree canopy. City officials estimate the project will cost $30 million and are weighing options on how to pay it. The commission’s approval included an amend-
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TURN TO STREETSCAPE ON A18
Neighbor clashes with city official over complaints By Aaron Burgin and Jordan Ingram
OCEANSIDE — Sometimes being neighbors and being neighborly are two very different things. A Carlsbad-based attorney has alleged that her neighbor, Oceanside Deputy Mayor Chuck Lowery, has illegitimately used his position in local office to expedite a bevy of personal complaints against his neighbors which has crossed the line into harassment. Lowery spoke exclusively to The Coast News, saying that the attacks on him are politically motivated, and that he, through his
complaints, is conveying concerns of not only his own, but of other neighbors around the vacation rental property. This story was first reported on Aug. 31 by Lowery Adam Racusin for ABC 10News. Alexandra McIntosh told 10News that she purchased a home located on Wisconsin Avenue in
2012 as part of her retirement plan. McIntosh said she purchased the home as a full-time, short-term vacation rental to help “offset the house payments and help the city of Oceanside make money,” according to her interview with 10News. The North County resident added that she plans to move in to the house as a resident upon retirement. Since then, McIntosh has been thrust into a constant battle with the city over a variety of complaints filed by Lowery, who lives directly behind McIntosh on Alberta Avenue.
The Coast News has obtained copies of 15 city code violation complaints dating back to 2015 with Lowery listed as the complainant. Lowery’s complaints range from graffiti and overwatered flowerbeds to “washing an abundance of cars” and an at-large rooster. The series of complaints were directed at a number of individuals, including McIntosh, who live in the area surrounding Lowery’s home. In May, McIntosh received a letter from Airbnb regarding her TURN TO LOWERY ON A22
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