My fellow Encinitians,
Do you often find yourself yearning for the Encinitas of your youth? Perhaps the 90s when you were ripping around on your skateboard or bike? Cue the chorus of, “back in my day we didn’t have no e-bikes!” Hell yeah, brother. Same. Anyways, Lous Records, the smoking patio at The Saloon, and Olyo’s Pizza? Yeah, those were your spots. Traffic wasn’t something you shook your fist in the air at and Taylor Steele was filming skits on every corner; yeah… I’m looking at you, San Dieguito High School classes of ’92-’98; who’ve undeniably became the stalwarts of crotchety old Encinitas. Here’s the thing: I GET IT. I’m younger than you but I’m kind of crotchety, too. I’m not afraid to say it: I miss when Encinitas was core.
Sure, Lazy Acres is one of my happy places and I eat at Nectarine Grove more than I, or my bank account, would like to admit. Also, see: Birdseye Kitchen. But change happens. It’s inevitable, and sometimes as much as we hate to admit it, it’s good. For example, I love that I can feel safe enough to ride my bike from my dad’s in Cardiff to my mom’s in Leucadia; pedaling through a cornucopia of native plants; safely riding by my favorite restaurants, beaches, and people I went to high school with and/or have made out with at The Saloon. I blame the popularity of Fireball during the summer of 2012 for the latter.
Yes, I am in full support of policies that have made Encinitas more bike-friendly. You lose nothing, as a car-owning person, by making our streets safer for *all* people. In fact, if you count yourself in the group of residents who miss the quieter days of our town, it’s actually in your best interest to get people out of cars and into bike lanes and sidewalks. Because as you know, Highway 101 can, at times, resemble a freeway, which I don’t find very cute nor quaint nor core nor very Encinitas.
We can talk about how some people in this town have an aversion to equitable transportation at a later date, because this post is about something bigger and more pressing than that. This is about our triumphant return to core. And here’s the deal: it’s not too late to make it happen, but it’s up to us and who we vote into local office.
The integrity of our town is on the line. In the past ten — and especially five — years, Encinitas has become, how to put this… rich as fuck. We’ve already lived through not only the opening of a Whole Foods but the CLOSING of a Whole Foods. A plot of land that, up until recently, housed three family homes was just sold; and according to building plans will soon house one of the largest single family homes in all of North County. Where three families once lived, will now be occupied by only three people.
Duplexes and funky tiny homes are what have made this town so charming. My mom successfully kept all three of her children and two step daughters a mere 20 feet away by converting her garage into a one bedroom studio. So pay attention moms, this is how you keep us! In fact, biking through Leucadia and seeing the creative ways in which people have added more living space to their lots is one of my favorite activities. Turns out you don’t need much else when you live in one of the best towns in the world. Big ups to the current city council who have voted in favor of state legislation to legalize these ADUs (accessory dwelling units) — or ‘granny flats’ as they are more lovingly referred to. With their leadership, we’re on our way to fully legalizing these cutie pies — and getting more.
Sixty years ago, the people who lived in this town were largely blue collar. Teachers, plumbers, surfboard shapers. What working class family could afford to buy here now? Now is the time to ask yourself: What kind of town do we want to be? What kind of people do we want to attract? Do we want to attract developers and solely the 1%? What kind of community does that build? What would the community look like if it drew in people of all different means and socioeconomic standing? Wouldn’t it be rad if your kid could bump into their teacher at the farmer’s market on Sunday because their teacher could afford to live in the same community that they teach in? What if the people who owned houses here actually lived here, as opposed to people from LA buying and renting out to the exceedingly higher and higher bidder? Again, who do we want to be?
And I’m not anti-rich people. In fact, I would love it if I could be friends with a generous bajillionaire. Like, that sounds super cool for me. But while we’re adding houses for the 1%, isn’t it logical that we would also add housing for the teachers, firefighters, librarians, non-profit workers and janitors that fulfill the roles in a harmonious, equitable society?
We all lamented the closing of El Torito Market. But raise your hand if you spent your money there and supported their business. I know I didn’t go there enough — and I regret that. Let’s dig deeper. Did you actually love El Torito or did you just love that it was a reminder, a symbol, that your town was still cool and kind of crusty? A sign that your town hadn’t been fully gentrified yet. It was there and that was enough to make you feel cool. Let’s take Keno’s for example — which as anyone can attest to, I have proudly supported throughout the years. How would you feel if it was gone tomorrow and a True Foods Kitchen was put in its place? We’re talking overpriced gluten free, organic cardboard masquerading as food. You’d probably feel like a fucking dweeb for living in a town that would let an institution such as Keno’s be lost. Correct? I repeat: who do we want to be?
Change suuuucks, I get it. But we have the opportunity to be the ones in charge of what that change looks like. It’s going to happen, as much as we dig our heels in, so we should be hyper-active in helping decide how those changes materialize. And to me, the biggest factor in creating positive change is housing — namely affordable housing. I do bristle at the thought of high-density housing, but the fact is, track homes from the 80s and now mega-mansions have taken up a lot of space that could have been used to house a lot of people, comfortably. Just a bunch of empty five-bedroom clone homes filled with Costco shit. But at the end of the day, I would much rather live around more people of lesser means, enriching our town with diversity, than live with a handful of rich white kids driving golf carts. (Trust me on this, I lived in San Clemente where the average 12-year-old makes $100k a year from surf industry endorsements and it is not. the. vibe).
We have to act quick (like this November-quick!) to enact policies and vote in candidates who will go to bat for affordable, equitable housing. I think it’s the best bet we have if we want to live with longtime locals, young people, working-class artists, our kids’ teachers, surfboard shapers, non Tesla owners, etc. Also: now would probably be a good time for me to mention that we are legally bound by the state to figure out a housing plan, so you know, there’s that, too.
There’s a slippery slope between where we are now and a very Orange County-esque future. And as someone who lived there for six godforsaken years, PLEASE do not let us become south Orange County.