My Philosophy of Government 

   

In these tough political times, I want to take a moment and share my basic philosophy of government. It has worked for me for 30 years as a lawyer practicing land use, environmental, and government law, and it grounds me as a Council member. 

My local government philosophy is guided by core values that I believe produce good government, having  practiced them for more than 30 years. 

*  Grass roots community engagement and transparency:  I believe in government from the roots up, and not top-down from Council and Manager to citizens. Transparency in government is key to effective community participation, and I view part of my mission to enhance transparency.

* Everyone is entitled to be listened to with respect and to have their viewpoints considered. Anyone who takes the time to show up at a meeting, to write an email, to make a call, or to study an issue has earned my attention. I will listen carefully to what you have to say. As noted in the police article above, I will not give weight to non-factual, ad hominem arguments or attacks, and believe they are a disservice to civil discourse and good decision-making.

*  Everyone is entitled to have access to the processes of city government -- the ins and outs that make it tick. I regularly meet with folks from all perspectives. I share with anyone who asks how city government works, how to get critical information, how to make your voice heard, and how to participate effectively. That process is for everyone, and it is at the core of successful participatory democracy. You, the citizen, decide what your positions are. Whether or not I agree with you on the merits, I view my role, in part, as a "mechanic of city government"--I understand it and how it works, and will share my advice with you on how to engage your government to make it responsive to your issues and concerns. 

* I believe in civility and our Del Mar Code of Civil Discourse. I listen to anyone with input to give and will respond politely. I'm most influenced, however, by input that is fact based and thoughtfully delivered, so if you want to persuade me, that's your best approach.

* I believe in, and stand in awe of, the talent and commitment in our community. It is evident on our advisory committees, our ad hoc committees and task forces, and we see it every day in community members volunteering and participating in their government and community organizations. The resumes of those who volunteer for Del Mar often reveal world-class careers and talent -- and yet, these citizens gladly add community work to their busy schedules. I have my own opinions on many things, but my job as council member is also to try and discern the community will. That's why I hold office hours, write this newsletter, do my best to answer every email and phone call I receive, and am always pestering you for input. Your insights are the fuel that runs my engine! Believe me, I regularly adjust my positions based on what I hear from you.

Del Mar's Council supports a two-pronged solution to the myriad of problems caused by the current rails on the bluff: 1) We want, in the near term, at least one safe and legal way for folks to cross the tracks between 15th St and the State Beach. 2) We want to accelerate the long-term plans (currently 2050 at best) for relocating the rails off the bluff.

Achieving these goals is neither easy nor cheap, but I think we are making some progress. Mayor Sinnott (who serves as SANDAG vice-chair and Del Mar rep) and I are working as a team to engage SANDAG on this issue, since it is the primary planning and funding source for rail projects. We are currently hip deep in dialog with SANDAG staff and in review of key rail documents. 

I can report that there are five alternate alignments, all of which include a tunnel (one under Camino Del Mar, one by the I-5, one roughly under Crest Canyon, and two alternates in the same general area) identified in a preliminary study by SANDAG about 10 years ago. See the map and summary chart of those alternatives here.

SANDAG staff, at our urging, will now be recommending a budget item this year to update these studies. If approved by the SANDAG Board, we will have current feasibility information on these options. Obtaining this information is the first step in an advocacy program to move up the schedule for actually relocating the rails. 

Additionally, Mayor Sinnott and I will be undertaking an outreach to the other north coastal cities crossed by the railroad. Carlsbad is studying the feasibility of lowering the rails into a trench through its town, and Encinitas is starting to look at its options. We  hope to be able to fashion a recommended north coast solution for the rail line from Oceanside to Del Mar. We believe that will be a better strategy than if each city pursues its own solution, will be better received by SANDAG, and will have a better chance of obtaining funding. 

SANDAG's long-term goals for the rail line is to double current rail traffic from 50+ trains per day to over 100 trains per day, to eliminate current safety problems (roughly a dozen deaths occur per year of people hit by trains between Oceanside and San Diego, and that's before the rail traffic doubles), to increase train speed and shorten travel times, and to reduce service interruptions. None of these goals can be achieved leaving the rails on the bluffs. If this is reality, why wait until 2050, spending millions in the interim to put band aids on the eroding bluffs?

Meanwhile, Councilmember Dave Druker, Del Mar's NCTD rep, is working closely with NCTD to solicit its help to address our need for a near-term crossing. You can watch our council meetings for our update reports on all these rail-related activities. 

Del Mar is currently going though a two-step process to address short-term rentals. In Step One, the Council will be formally interpreting the existing code--does it allow STRs or not? The City Code has a process for rendering such interpretations where the code is unclear, which begins with the Planning Commission. On Feb. 14, the PC made a determination that they could not find language in the code allowing STRs and therefore could not render an interpretation. That decision was appealed to the City Council. Council is set to conduct a de novo hearing on April 17. 

Once the City Council interprets the Code with respect to this issue, we will have a baseline -- clarity as to what is allowed by current City law -- and can then go to Step Two: are there revisions to the current code that should be considered?  It is only in the second step that we can address what the rules should be, and start to identify any code revisions that we, as a community deem appropriate.

Rights to develop the roughly 16 acres of private property on top of the bluff running from Border (the extension of Via De La Valle) to the City's North Bluff Preserve above dog beach, bounded by CDM and the ocean, have been acquired by developers. The buyers say they plan to pursue a high-end resort hotel, to include public amenities. They pledge to integrate the project with the Del Mar community, and to engage the community in its review and design.  This project is just starting, so stay tuned for more!