Issues and Pleasures of Cardiff By The Sea

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Not A Community Park Anymore / CPP Meeting, photos / Photos of homes that will Lose Ocean Views / Story Poles

  new updates 7/5
IMPORTANT
This could reduce your property values
Both July Planning Commission meetings have been canceled. A SPECIAL MEETING COULD BE CALLED for the changes in the city General Plan FOR ANY THURSDAY. 
SEND YOUR COMMENTS AND CONCERNS
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 COMMENTS WILL BE FILED PUT ON RECORD FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AND COASTAL COMMISSION

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MEETING NOTES

on the back it was referred to as Hall Property Community Park
This is Not a COMMUNITY PARK !
The EIR states, "...the proposed project is designated as a Special Use Park.
The presentation did not clear this confusion for, those present, and used the term Hall Property.

(from city web site)
(NOTE THE LEGEND ON THE MAP, THE BUFFER ZONE)
North County Times article 6/25
feel free to offer comments
The meeting was a Musco Lighting presentation
They are leaders in the industry.
They did the lighting at the World Cup.
Stadium Lighting proposal at Hall Sports Park 


Their advanced systems reduce light spill by 50%
They acknowledged, responding to a citizens comment, that the spillage would be equal to 80 full moons. 
All of the examples of the sports fields were from high above the lights. Residents will not be looking down.


This was presented as the effect of:

The athletic field lighting component of this project is comprised of installation of (3) 40’, (13) 60’, (4) 70’, (10) 80’ and (4) 90’ steel galvanized poles with pole top luminary assemblies to support lighting  equipment for nighttime athletic field lighting.
(From city web site)
(not clear on how many light on each pole)
Many questions, not about lights, were not allowed to be asked.
Questions like, "What are the specific changes to the General Plan Amendment, Local Plan Amendment, Major use Plan Amendment, Design Review Modification Coastal Development Permit and Zoning Changes", went unanswered.
The audience was told we were "here to discuss lights only."

This process, it was stated, was directed by Council.
When asked, "How far away would you have to be to see stars?" the answer was, "I don't know.
Musco has never done a lighting project this close to the ocean.

Pine Avenue Park, in Carlsbad, has 80 foot lights and is much smaller. The poles can accommodate cell towers and loud speakers.

                     

Current sunset view from the Mackinnon Bridge that will be lost forever.

It is difficult to comprehend what 90 foot sport field lights would look like in front of this ocean view corridor that has ALWAYS been there. Every family with a home east of Hwy 5 that has enjoyed this view corridor will lose it, forever. For every pedestrians, dog walkers, kids walking to school, bikers and cars have always traveled on The MacKinnon Bridge and looked or stopped to enjoy the ocean view, the horizon view, a sunset, a dusk sky on the water or the sky at night,
this will end.

From the approved EIR. 

"Policy 4.6 states: "The city will maintain and enhance the scenic highway/visual corridor view sheds" 
Coastal Act/30251
Policy 9.5 states: "Discourage development that would infringe upon scenic views and vistas within the I-5 Corridor.

It has not been city policy to erect story poles.
The telephone poles on the Hall property are 40 feet.
The tallest poles proposed, with up to ten sports field lights each will be 50 feet higher.
                       
STORY POLE SIMULATION
 CLICK TO ENLARGE
STORY POLE SIMULATION (dusk)
Each of these 34 poles can hold up to ten sports field light.
There is no remedy for the further effect of coastal fog.
   They  may require STROBE LIGHTS ON TOP  for aviation safety
and can  accommodate loud speakers and cell towers.

At all of the General Plan workshops throughout the city, currently being conducted by the city, many want a dark sky ordinance, like the Olivenhain area of the city.

The soccer league have about 18 fields at locations listed on their web site.
With the Hall Special Use/Sports Fields they will have about 23 fields. The YMCA,  Lake Drive and SD Academy  are the only fields with Athletic Light poles. Three of these lighted fields are within a half a mile from each other, in Cardiff. This unwelcome proposal would result in eight fields with sports field light poles within one half mile radius, in Cardiff. Cardiff now has 14 fields, (with the 5 Hall Special Use Park fields),  in a one mile radius. The two latest built city fields, at Leo Mullins Sports Fields have no sports lighting poles and is located in a mainly business district and obstructs no ocean or sunset views. The local residents did not want them and the council complied.

To accommodate the need for a few extra hours of  play, in Cardiff, everyone walking or driving in this part of town and all of these homes below will lose their ocean  and sunset views.
FOREVER

click to enlarge




Let them know.

If you feel this proposal will obstruct your historic ocean, sunset or horizon view, or will adversely affect you and have not been notified by the city, feel free to let them know.
planning@cityofencinitas.org
case # 10-068
attention Michael Stauffer
Senior Management Analyst
The presenter said that this proposal is not a forgone conclusion.
There was not one comment supporting any lights on The Hall Property.
NO LIGHTS


SEE BELOW FOR MORE FACTS AND PHOTOS

Click on comments, below, to offer comments.
It is easier to just post as anonymous but please leave your name.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was frustrating that a share of the questions last night were not answered. I felt sorry for the light representitive. He wanted to tell everyone how great his lights were and no one wanted them.

Bob Rathmans

Anonymous said...

I heard that the city paid $25,000.00 of our tax money to pay for lobbyists to get the E.I.R. of the sports park approved at the coastal commission, does the city plan to hire lobbyist to get this through the Coastal Commission?

Anonymous said...

Can we start a petition for a Dark Skies ballot initiative for the November election? The people in Olivenhain would support that otherwise they might get lights like this too.

Anonymous said...

The only way we can stop this is to re-elect Teresa and vote out Dan. Who's the other one running? Is his name Tony Kratz? Does anyone know his stance on the lights?

Anonymous said...

I know Tony Krantz is our hope.
And Teresa.

Anonymous said...

My family lives on Freda. We were not notified of this.
We will lose our ocean view. We Are in this fight.
We are afraid it will do any good. The three guys on council rejected the recomendations of the planning commission before.
We are going to fight this anyway we can.
This sucks.
Thanks for letting us know about this.

Anonymous said...

So when did council approve this $25k? Sounds like a lot of dough for a lobbyist.

Residents of said...

This money was paid to a lobbyist prior to the city presenting the Special Use Park plan to the Coastal Commission. They used your money to thwart the community's wishes of a Community Park. We hope that the Council will not put out $25.000.00 of our money to get the thirty foot height restriction changed to nine story height, 90 feet, in Cardiff.