PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 35, N0. 39
OCT. 1, 2021
Residents sue city, developers over home sales
DelMARCOS MarSAN -NEWS referendum withdrawn
Federal lawsuit alleges discrimination under Fair Housing Act
Joint agreement completes city’s 5th THE VISTA Housing Element
By Jordan P. Ingram
By Bill Slane
.com
.com
ENCINITAS — A group of Encinitas residents has filed a federal lawsuit this week against the City of Encinitas, developer Woodbridge Pacific Group and several “shell” companies alleging a coordinated effort to abuse the city’s
Coast Highway 101. GM started texting and messaging friends, even calling her ex-boyfriend, to notify them she wasn’t feeling well. “I was definitely drugged,” GM said. “I don’t remember much, but I remember being by the railroad tracks at one point and scrambling away from a man screaming. I remember thinking I need to get home, but I can’t get home.” During this time, GM said she was sexually assaulted by an unknown male by the railroad tracks near Vulcan Avenue. She remembered trying to get away and worrying her assailant might follow her home. “I don’t remember how I got home, no idea,” GM said. Just moments after arriving home, GM said she noticed her attacker enter the house through an un-
DEL MAR — Nearly a year after a citizen-led referendum petition was successfully filed against a city ordinance increasing housing density for parcels in the North Commerical Zone, members of the Del Mar City Council and a resident group have signed an RANCHO agreement to withdraw the SFNEWS referendum. The referendum's withdrawal means the City of Del Mar's previous Housing Element (5th Cycle) is now completed, setting up the city to submit its latest Housing Element (6th Cycle) to the state later this year. Ordinance 973 was passed last year and increased housing density to 20 housing units per acre for 16 parcels off Jimmy Durante Boulevard. The ordinance passed with a slim 3-2 vote. The up-zone would have allowed higher-density multifamily residential development — including lower-income units to meet state-mandated affordable housing targets — on land currently vacant or occupied by commercial buildings, as previously reported by The Coast News. Soon after, Del Mar resident Arnold Wiesel began a petition to overturn the ordinance and quickly gathered enough signatures to call a voter referendum. Mayor Terry Gaasterland, a referendum proponent, told The Coast News the petition gave the council time to find a way to implement the ordinance that would be agreeable to all Del Mar residents. “We were able to hit the pause button and say, is there a way we can restrict the impacts of the change and put guardrails in so that this zone change
TURN TO ASSAULT ON A14
TURN TO REFERENDUM ON A9
TURN TO LAWSUIT ON A3
.com
Meet Carlsbad’s Coconut! A13
PLUM JOB
DENNIS SHARMAHD, Encinitas Community Garden’s resident horticulturalist, shows off the interior of a sweetheart pomegranate, a rare variety during the annual fall garden plot cleanup on Sept. 25 in Encinitas. Photo gallery on Page A8. Photo by Carolyne Corelis
Encinitas woman recounts sexual assault Victim: ‘I was definitely drugged’ at downtown bar By Jordan P. Ingram
AN ENCINITAS woman reported she was drugged and sexually assaulted by the railroad tracks near Vulcan Avenue earlier this summer following a night out with friends at Shelter Bar. The assailant then allegedly followed the victim home and attempted to assault her again. Photo by Jordan P. Ingram
ticket to
a long line. After two drinks, GM, who lives within walking distance of the bar, told the group she wanted to go home at approximately 1 a.m. and two of her friends
HAPPY
accompanied her outside to leave. However, GM and her two friends left in opposite directions. “I started to feel really sick and dizzy,” GM said as she walked alone down
ALL NIGHT WEDNESDAYS
HOUR
EVERY DAY TILL 6PM
entrance, according to GM, but the group was able to bypass the line and enter the crowded club. GM said her friends were able to order drinks for the group quickly without waiting in
peabodysrocks.com
760-753-7575
ENCINITAS — A local woman who was reportedly drugged, stalked and sexually assaulted in July after drinking with friends at a downtown Encinitas bar is hoping her story will help others protect themselves in light of other recent reports of sexually motivated attacks in the city. The woman, “GM,” a resident of Encinitas who has asked to remain anonymous due to an ongoing criminal investigation, told The Coast News she was with a group of friends celebrating a birthday on July 24 at one of their residences before they went to Shelter Bar for drinks. The popular Encinitas nightspot was busy, with a line of people stretching down the sidewalk near the
NEWS