Carlsbad rejects local control housing initiative

Despite growing regional support, a 3-2 vote keeps Carlsbad off the Our Neighborhood Voices endorsement list — for now

A grassroots movement known as Our Neighborhood Voices is attempting to put a measure on the ballot to revert “local control” back to cities and counties over housing, land use and zoning policies. File photo

CARLSBAD — A growing grassroots movement to return local land use, zoning and housing decisions is picking up steam, but the Carlsbad City Council formally rejected the city joining the cause during Tuesday’s meeting.

The item, known as Our Neighborhood Voices, was brought forward by Councilwoman Melanie Burkholder. She and Mayor Keith Blackburn supported the item, although they lost in a 3-2 vote to bring back a formal resolution, although the majority said they may support the measure once more questions are answered.

Other cities and elected officials in North County and across the state have engaged in bipartisan support for ONV. Those include Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez, Solana Beach Mayor and San Diego Association of Governments Chairwoman Lesa Heebner, San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones and Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland, to name a few.

Councilwoman Teresa Acosta, who represents Carlsbad as the second vice president of the California League of Cities, said it would be best for the CLC to take the lead.

The CLC’s mission statement says its goal is “to expand and protect local control for cities through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians,” while one of the organization’s core beliefs is “local self-governance is the cornerstone of democracy.”

“I’m still not ready to support it,” Acosta explained. “I think the League of California Cities is the organization that is most successfully and productively advocating. There is no silver bullet and no single way to fix the issue.”

Several weeks ago, the Encinitas City Council endorsed ONV in a 4-1 vote with Councilwoman Joy Lyndes opposed. Mayor Bruce Ehlers said his support is drawn from what appears to be an “unfunded mandate” from the State Legislature and unattainable and unrealistic housing goals under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), among other issues.

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He represents Encinitas on the San Diego County Division of the CLC and said at a recent meeting, CLC Executive Director Carolyn Coleman said the organization’s current goal is “local revenue” and not local control over land use, zoning and housing development. Ehlers said he was stunned at the policy direction, noting the reason for the CLC’s existence is to protect the rights of cities and for those municipalities and their residents to dictate how they manage growth and development.

Additionally, Coleman told the representatives the ONV issue has been sent to the CLC’s Policy Committee for discussion and analysis.

“We’ve gone from what wasn’t a mandate to what looks like an unfunded mandate,” Ehlers added. “Unfunded mandates are not allowed under our state constitution.”