Encinitas has decided to settle its second lawsuit with developers over how the coastal North County city approves denser development and affordable housing.
Encinitas is the only city in San Diego County that does not have an approved housing element — a plan for where more dense and affordable housing can be built for a growing population.
Encinitas Councilwoman Catherine Blakespear said the latest legal settlement with DCM Properties acknowledges the city is out of compliance with state law.
The settlement agrees to use a “rounding up” formula, rather than a "rounding down" formula to decide how many extra homes a developer can build on a lot, in return for building affordable housing.
The city will cap its taxpayer spending on the lawsuit by paying $125,000 in legal fees to the developer.
Last year, Encinitas paid $200,000 in legal fees to settle a similar suit by the Building Industry Association.
Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar issued a statement on this week's settlement:
"The Council evaluated the costly expense of pursuing this case with taxpayer dollars at risk compared to the chance of prevailing in court based on more than one legal opinion. Under the settlement the City has minimized its legal exposure and preserved its right to move forward with the planned November election on the Housing Element as promised to the voters," the statement read.
November initiative
The settlement allows the city to put a new housing plan before voters this fall, something the developer's suit challenged.
Encinitas residents approved Proposition A in 2013 to require any planning changes allowing more height or density to go to a vote of the people.
But, Blakespear said, if voters don’t accept the new housing plan approved this month by the City Council, Encinitas would still have to comply with state law.
“We’re not going to be able to wiggle out of an approved housing element,” she said. “There’s no future scenario where the voters say, ‘No — we’re going to close the door on future growth in our city.’ It’s not an option legally."
“We’ll either get there through the voters approving this, or we’ll get there through a court approving it, or having it be decided in Sacramento — so we have to get there," she said.
Blakespear said she was in Sacramento last week, lobbying lawmakers to make state housing laws more flexible to meet individual cities’ needs.
Encinitas needs to find space for more than 1,000 additional affordable homes. California law requires cities to have a housing element that specifies where those houses could be built, but not to actually construct them.
