Council gives direction at goal setting meeting

ENCINITAS — Residents joined City Council in brainstorming ideas for the direction of the city at the second goal setting workshop Jan. 27. Topics ranged from sustainable operations practices at the government level to the development of a community garden to infrastructure upgrades.
Cardiff-by-the-Sea resident Billy Stern urged the council to adopt a zero waste policy. He suggested that the newly created environmental committee research and develop the parameters of the plan. The idea encompasses not only recycling, reducing and reusing, but also purchasing items that have less packaging and involving vendors in simplifying the supply chain.
Seattle, Wash., was one of the first cities in the United States to adopt such a policy in 1998 according to Stern. Since then, cities across the world have implemented similar policies.
Councilwoman Teresa Barth requested the
Parks and Recreation Department, along with gathering input from the community, research a plan for the development of a community garden. “It’s time has come,” she said.
“There are 10,000 community gardens in the United States,” Joan Woodland, a local resident, told the council. Citing food safety concerns and the energy required to transport food, Woodland said a local community garden would be a valuable addition to the city.
Woodland said Carlsbad currently has a waiting list of three to four years to join the city’s community garden. “Think globally and eat locally,” she said.
“I have no problem with the folks in the environmental committee doing something with it,” Councilman James Bond said. However, he said he wanted a more “objective” view from a staff perspective.
Councilman Jerome Stocks said the location and management of the garden of the garden were primary concerns. “I’d need some more specifics before I could move forward on any of it,” Stocks said.
Business groups were also represented at the goal setting workshop. Dody Tucker, executive director of the Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association, encouraged the council to work with the Self-Realization Fellowship to create a garden at the “Bermuda Triangle” area at South Coast Highway 101 and K Street where a bench at a bus stop sits precariously in the middle of two streets.
Paula Kirpalani represented the Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association in asking the council that the North Coast Highway 101 Streetscape Project remain high on the list of capital improvement projects. It is currently second on the list.
Richard Phelps from the city manager’s office said that a summary of the list of goals and suggestions would be available on the city’s Web site.