Encinitas is leaning electric — again. The city has introduced a modified version of an ordinance it passed in 2021 (and later suspended) that required new buildings to be all electric.This time the focus is …
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Stories by Sheila Pell
Signals, Lights, Cams. Encinitas will keep tabs on even more drivers under a proposal to install 17 new automated license-plate readers at locations from Manchester Avenue to Leucadia Boulevard.These are in addition to seven cameras …
It's a blip in the budget, but lake users say a $59,000 proposed funding cut could have a big impact on fishing and other recreation at the city's nine reservoirs. The lakes are part of the …
Escondido officials are scrambling to avert a catastrophic failure of a section of the city’s 14-mile land outfall pipeline near the San Elijo Lagoon, a protected marine reserve.The city was alerted on April 16 that …
Of the five port cities, only National City has no access to the bayfront.That issue, along with ethics reform, are part of a bill introduced in February by Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego. Assembly bill …
In San Diego, Gen Z-ers, those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, are better off renting. But they aren't exactly well off renting, either."Felt like I was living in a vacation place and …
San Diego's ban on camping on public property, which went into effect last summer, may have pushed more unsheltered people into National City. While the evidence is mostly anecdotal, National City officials have used it to …
Flat top palm trees aren't a new species; they're the leftovers of a non-native weevil feeding frenzy. And they're all over Encinitas.The scraggly remnants of once-lush Canary Island date palms are the visible signs that …
Many uptown inhabitants feel left out of community planning, which is now represented by Uptown Planners, a group whose voting members are mostly homeowners. The San Diego City Council’s land use and housing committee last week …
An East Village house given historic designation in 2021 won't be saved, even though supporters say there are very few Victorian era buildings left in San Diego.The city council on Monday unanimously overturned the Historical …
The county's 60-day ban on evictions and rent increases after historic flooding in January ends this month, while uncertainty lingers.National City officials voted 3-2 last week to continue to rely on the existing county ordinance, …
A fear of Palomar Airport turning into a noisy “John Wayne South” has kept a group of Carlsbad residents fighting for local control of the county-run airport three miles southeast of the city. Last week the …
A street known for accidents is being redesigned to make it safer, while also being eyed as the new path for the rapid bus between Otay Mesa and Imperial Beach.City officials see the five-month-old rapid …
An attempt to rebuild a fire-ravaged home in Encinitas on the very same bluff edge that gave way has ended, though neighbors say the fallout of the 2019 blaze goes on."The home is a huge …
Oceanside's newly certified Coast Highway Incentive District paves the way for big changes along the corridor, including housing. It comes after a long struggle to address the Coastal Commission's concerns that threatened to undo the …
Powerful winter storms and a recent landslide that stopped the trains in San Clemente are reminders of the urgency of moving the rail line off the Del Mar bluffs.But where to put the massive 1.6-mile …
National City on Monday declared a state of emergency following rains so severe, water and mud surged into apartments on Highland Ave., forcing tenants into hotels.It began with a storm on January 22 that dropped …
The new rapid electric buses seem to check all the boxes when it comes to transit: no long wait times to get a ride, limited stops, lots of elbow room.But to many Imperial Beach inhabitants, …
The Solana Beach city council has approved emergency repairs to a large section of a failing seawall below the Del Mar Beach Club condominium complex.Upper bluff – currentSitting at the edge of a bluff above …
A Del Mar homeowner whose lush greenery has overtaken an unimproved alley can continue. Such public streets are shown on maps but remain unimproved — or are intended to.The city council on Monday voted 3-2 …
Oceanside has approved a moratorium on new short term rentals in all residential zoning districts outside the city's coastal zone.It's only the start, as the city tries to tame what has in some cases morphed …
Sweetwater Authority officials and Loveland lake users are discussing what to do with a $750,000 state grant the agency has received for trail improvements. In the first workshop this month, which a late change of …
The city of Del Mar is still trying to figure out where to build the 113 affordable units it needs to meet state housing requirements, and it's gotten more complicated.Many locals say a large complex …
The city council on Monday voted unanimously to pass the Complete Streets policy, a plan for revamping streets to make them safer for all modes of travel. The plan emphasizes features such as the buffered bike …
The battle continues over a plan to build 19,000 new homes in Hillcrest, which hasn't seen any boost in residential densities in more than three decades.It has, however, seen such an increase in homelessness, a …
San Diegans have logged 458 pothole repair requests to the city in the last two weeks. And they're not all in Mira Mesa, which has the most pothole reports in 2023.According to a study released in …
An affordable housing project in City Heights is facing pushback from an environmental group for its use of natural gas systems, which the city plans to phase out in new buildings.Last week, the planning commission unanimously approved …
A program deemed cutting edge when it began in 2000 is still around — and so is a name some consider outdated: the Serial Inebriate Program. Serving mainly the unhoused whose alcohol-related issues land them repeatedly …
Solana BeachWhat makes Solana Beach interesting for me is not only the Hispanic history, which infuses the area with words of Spanish origin: Rios, Cedros, and Granados (rivers, cedars, and pomegranate trees), but that the …
As the city considers allowing more than 38 cannabis outlets, a fight is on for a coveted spot in Linda Vista, a low-income neighborhood, which is just where officials want to see the numbers grow.San …
Having to give up a pet to find housing is one reason many people stay on the street. El Cajon is looking to remove that barrier, city officials said in a meeting last week."A lot …
Original Artists Work to Restore Chicano Park MuralsArmando Nuñez is touching up a skeleton. He and I are standing amid blue scaffolding beside the wall of an I-5 ramp to the San Diego–Coronado Bridge on …
Two appeals of a permit for a mixed-use high-rise in Banker's Hill were heard on Sept. 28 by the San Diego city's planning commission, which voted unanimously to approve the project.The Quince Apartments at 301 …
The city's efforts to regulate scooters and e-bikes have caused the number of rides to plunge from over three million when the rules were approved last year to 595,000.In the first year after the city …
It wasn't everything neighbors in Encinitas were asking for. The planning commission last week approved only five of the 14 trees on Melba Road for which they are seeking heritage status.But their efforts have brought …
For the first time, Del Mar is carving out rules that allow manufactured homes to mingle with mansions in single dwelling neighborhoods.Currently, there are no mobile homes in the city. The Del Mar City Council on September 5 …
More families. More first time homeless. More seniors. Encinitas, like other cities in the region, is grappling with a shifting population.While the 2023 WeAllCount count showed a slight decrease in the number of unhoused people …
Mobility improvements in Encinitas keep drawing more pedestrians and bicyclists to the Coast Highway. A cycle track completed in June brought narrower travel lanes, angled parking, and a protected two-way cycle track on the west …
Imperial Beach is ground zero in San Diego County for changes being made to the United States Postal Service delivery network, and the city plans to fight back.On August 16th, the city plans to adopt …
The co-producer of a failed $10 million horse show that left performers high and dry over a decade ago was arrested last week in Solana Beach for solicitation of murder.Tatyana Remley, 42, was out on …
South Carlsbad locals who have fought for years for a coastal park at Ponto Beach say this year will be a big one.The Growth Management Committee, Carlsbad City Council, and California Coastal Commission are holding …
The May-October sea lion pupping season closure at Point La Jolla may become year-round. Last week, the environment committee voted unanimously to send the recommendation to the full City Council. A history of humans harassing …
Where are most of the short-term rentals in Del Mar? Near the shoreline in the North Beach and in the South Bluff area – residential neighborhoods where vacation rentals aren't allowed. Yet the city doesn't …
It's not like moving trains or houses away from the edge of crumbling cliffs. But plans to move a small Leucadia parking lot and access trail have faced stiff opposition. Last week, the Encinitas City …
The undergrounding of unsightly wires around San Diego has resumed but not only has the number of projects been slashed in half, but costs have increased by over 100 percent. "This cost is insane, this …
On Wednesday, June 14 the city of San Diego's audit committee will have discussed a new 54-page report on infrastructure projects that affirms what some have said all along about the proposed Fairmount Fire Station. …
The planning commission for the city of San Diego last week voted unanimously to hold off on adopting a state housing law that would add a lot more homes around San Diego for people of …
After years of delays, Normal Street's pedestrian promenade, which began as a grassroots effort in Hillcrest in 2015, is moving forward. What was the holdup? A driveway. Hillcrest Village Square Partners, who have owned the …
El Cajon planning commissioners last week voted 4-0 to revoke the "deemed approved" status of a motel where adults had rented rooms for minors, and a teen was found shot in the head. The motel …
Housing-starved students in University City say they're fighting for elbow room with older, more established residents. "They're calling us transient - the new word is migratory now," said Aidan Lin at a city workshop last …