PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
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VOL. 38, N0. 7
Feb. 16, 2024
City .com weighs tax hike SAN MARCOS -NEWS
CROSSE
ROAD
THE VISTA NEWS
Encinitas resident Wes Berg, captain of the San Diego Seals pro lacrosse team, was holding a crosse (that’s the stick) before he could crawl. Now, the Canada native is one of the National Lacrosse League’s top offensive players. Story on 12.
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Survey: Voters in favor . increase of 1% sales tax By Erik P. Gabaldon
mum of 10% inclusionary housing. These units would be proportionate to the market-rate apartments and dispersed throughout the building. By reserving 10% of the units for affordable housing, the state’s density bonus law allows the de-
ENCINITAS — The city of Encinitas is considering a 1% sales tax measure for the November 2024 ballot, weighing the results of a recent survey to determine if aRANCHO sales tax increase of one cent on the dollar is feasible. In Encinitas, SFNEWS the combined sales tax rate is 7.75%, one of the lowest in California, and the city does not currently levy a municipal sales tax. The survey, conducted by True North Research, asked: “Shall the city Data: True North Research of Encinitas’ ordinance establishing a one-cent sales tax be adopted, providing 17 million dollars annually for general government use for 10 years, with citizen oversight, independent audits and all money locally controlled? If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this measure?” For the survey, the market research firm selected random clusters of potential voters throughout the city using age, gender, partisanship, household party type, and sub-geographies, helping ensure a “balanced, representative sample of likely voters.” The results of three sample ballots showed that approximately 60% of 1,242 survey participants would vote in favor of adopting a sales tax if the measure were on the November ballot, either voting definitely yes (27.2% to 30.5%) or probably yes (30.4% to 33.5%). The report states that the survey’s overall margin of error is roughly 2.7% at a 95% level of confidence. Mayor Tony Kranz acknowledged the difficulty of considering a potential tax hike when many families’ budgets are already stretched thin from inflation. “It’s always a politically challenging conversation to talk about raising revenue because everybody is feeling the pinch,” Kranz said. “That’s the question the council will consider asking voters: whether they spend another
TURN TO SEAGAZE ON 7
TURN TO SALES TAX ON 16
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Yes
Seagaze high-rise reworked Developer eyes swap of hotel rooms for studios By Samantha Nelson
San Marcos tenants plea for support The redevelopment of the Villa Serena apartment complex has elicited concerns from low-income residents facing displacement. 15
Del Mar frets over rail funds SANDAG decision to redirect funding could jeopardize bluff, rail project. 6
OCEANSIDE — The developer of a 90-foot high-rise slated for downtown Oceanside has asked the city’s permission to revise its previously approved plans by swapping out the hotel rooms for more studio apartments. The Seagaze project, an eight-story mixed-use development approved by the City Council in 2022, is set to take over an unused 15,589-square-foot parking lot at 712 Seagaze Drive. Currently, the Seagaze project plans to construct 115 studio apartments and 64 hotel rooms at the northwest corner of Seagaze and North Nevada Street. However, the developer has submitted requests to remove the hotel rooms and instead build a total of 179 studio apartments. As part of the proposed change, the project would include an additional 1,581 square feet of commercial space for retail, food, or personal services on the ground floor.
A RENDERING of the eight-story, mixed-use Seagaze apartment project in downtown Oceanside. The developer is looking to add more studio apartments by swapping out hotel rooms. Courtesy photo
The project would also provide 149 total parking spaces – 142 in the parking garage and seven on-street – which is 17 more spaces than required. Furthermore, the change would increase the number of affordable units throughout the project from 12 to 18, meeting the state’s density bonus law mini-