Don’t give Del Mar council more power

Why should we give the five members of the Del Mar City Council more power over our lives? If the proposed Village Specific Plan

is voted

into effect in November, the result will be just that! And the Council will be able to make any future amendments to the Plan

without our being able to vote again

, except for increasing the FAR (floor area ratio), the building heights, or adding a new use, neither of which is likely.

Recent examples below show that the Council has a proclivity for doing whatever they want, knowing that, in most cases, legal challenges will not be affordable!

•Adoption of the Sidewalk Café ordinance, setting forth the usual regs classified as Zoning Regs by State Law, as a subdivision of the Building Construction Title rather than the Zoning Title. This eliminated the State Law requirement for public hearing before, and recommendation of the Planning Commission

prior to council adoption. Less public input!

• The recent approval of “Valet Parking Plans” for the addition of two new restaurant/bars, in spite of such plans not being provided for in the adopted Municipal Code.

Developers under the existing codes have more choices in what their development will be and look like than under the inflexible Specific Plan. All it takes for action is to increase the FAR to a reasonable amount!

Ralph Peck

Del Mar