January won’t just mark the start of a new year for the city of Encinitas – it will bring a new City Council and likely a shift in the city’s legislative priorities, particularly the city’s stance on state housing laws.
So far this election season, two Democratic-backed incumbents lost their seats, and a third is trailing her opponent. That means, next year, residents will have a new mayor and two newly elected councilmembers. There will also be a vacant seat the Council will need to fill.
Mayor Tony Kranz lost his bid for reelection against Councilmember Bruce Ehlers, who represents District 4. Incumbent District 1 Councilmember and current Deputy Mayor Allison Blackwell also lost her bid for reelection to newcomer Luke Shaffer, a veteran and high school lacrosse coach. Both Kranz and Blackwell have conceded to their opponents.
Ehlers’ win means the new council will need to appoint a councilmember or hold a special election to fill his vacated District 4 seat.
And for the District 2 City Council seat, left vacant by Councilmember Kellie Hinze, who is not seeking reelection, business owner Jim O’Hara has maintained an early lead over Destiny Preston, an assistant deputy director of planning for the California Transportation Commission.
Preston has not conceded to O’Hara, but she’s trailing by about 10 percentage points and 764 votes as of Thursday evening.
The new faces have already made one thing clear. They are ready to restart the city’s oldest fight: challenging state housing laws.
To Comply or Not to Comply with State Housing Mandates
Encinitas has had a complicated history with state housing laws. Voice of San Diego has previously reported that, for decades, much of the city’s leadership and a large part of the city’s population were hostile to new development.
In the past, city leaders have tried multiple times to get around the state’s density bonus law, which allows developers to increase the size of their developments if they include affordable housing units. Encinitas was also six years late in approving its previous Housing Element, a state-required housing plan.
This earned the small coastal city a few lawsuits from developers and threats of legal action from state officials, though some have argued that the state’s density bonus law had some ambiguities that left aspects of it up to interpretation. Plus, the city’s efforts to get a Housing Element approved back then were made more difficult by the city’s Proposition A, a growth-control initiative that requires a vote by Encinitas residents for any major zoning and density changes.
In the past few years, it seemed like Encinitas’ council was starting to change its tune when it came to complying with state housing mandates. Mayor Kranz, who was a councilmember when the city was dealing with those lawsuits, told Voice back in September that it’s “a waste of time and money” to fight the state on housing laws.
But now, Kranz is out, and Ehlers is in.
Ehlers previously told Voice that he’s prepared to challenge state housing mandates that he thinks are impeding on local control, and he doesn’t think the current council has been doing nearly enough to preserve that local control.
He’s part of multiple grassroots coalitions with other elected officials in cities across California that are collectively working to challenge some of the state’s housing mandates.
Similarly, the incoming District 1 councilmember, Shaffer, previously told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the current City Council “isn’t fighting at all” when it comes to state mandates.
Shaffer’s website says he is “a fierce advocate for preserving the character of Encinitas,” and he’s “not afraid to stand up to Sacramento and push back against irresponsible development that threatens our community’s safety and identity.” He could not be reached for comment.
Conversely, Blackwell, the outgoing councilmember that Shaffer has now unseated, was an advocate for more affordable housing and was committed to implementing the city’s state-approved housing plan.
In the District 2 race, O’Hara, who is currently leading his opponent, has also said he’s dissatisfied with how the current city leadership handles state housing mandates, but he’s more willing to explore a “give and take,” he told Voice.
“I do share the perspective that some of these mandates are overreaching, but the reality is that we have to deal with those mandates whether they are overreaching or not,” O’Hara said. “But just because we don’t have to necessarily fight it, doesn’t mean we have to just roll over. There’s a lot of space in the middle and a lot of different ways we can work with developers and stand up for our residents that are currently not being explored.”
He added that overdevelopment can lead to traffic issues, overcrowded schools and other resource strains that the state doesn’t help mitigate.
Preston, who is trailing O’Hara in the race to represent District 2, told Voice via email that, while she empathizes with the frustration that can come with one-size-fits-all housing policies, she does think these policies are intended to make way for housing for all income levels, which she believes is important and necessary.
“It is a reckless and fiscally irresponsible use of taxpayer money to not comply with the law,” Preston said in an email. “Change is hard, but if we don’t take the housing crisis seriously, Encinitas will turn into a community of millionaires and aging individuals holding on for dear life to a mythic perception of the past.”
She added that she supports advocating to the state to help mitigate some of the challenges that come with more housing development. Read her full statement here.
The only Encinitas councilmember who isn’t up for reelection is District 3 Councilmember Joy Lyndes, who often advocates for more affordable and workforce housing options. If O’Hara goes on to take the District 2 seat, the council will mostly be made up of members who either oppose, or are open to challenging, state housing mandates. The council will then be tasked with filling the council seat vacated by Ehlers.
Allison Blackwell was appointed. Not the incumbent. Change that please!!