When our family moved to Encinitas more than four decades ago, it was a charming but rather dingy beach town.
Moonlight Beach was usually covered in rocks and seaweed; there were few family parks; and a night out was a burger at Boll Weevil.
Times have changed and our little town is now one of the jewels in San Diego’s crown, thanks to the vision of our progressive City Council.
Led by Mayor Catherine Blakespear and Council members Joy Lyndes, Tony Kranz, Kelly Shay Hinze and Joe Mosca, Encinitas has become a vibrant, welcoming destination where even the residents feel they are “on vacation.”
Moonlight Beach, and the new Marine Safety Center, are showplaces, along with our wonderful new community parks, outstanding Coastal Rail biking/walking trail (enjoyed by hundreds of families), expanding choice of restaurants, new pedestrian-safe rail crossings, excellent schools, and dedicated public safety teams in the sheriff and fire Departments.
Plus we are now a 100% renewable energy city, thanks to the City Council. Still to come are a new arts center and enhanced streetscape in Leucadia.
Sure, we have more traffic, but we also have the revenue-generating Home Depot and Target shopping centers.
And home prices are high, so more affordable housing needs to be a priority.
Maybe our kids will be able to live in the town they grew up in.
It’s time to give credit where it’s due: to our forward-thinking and hard-working City Council!
Nancy Hardwick
Encinitas
