Encinitas zoning administrator hears public concerns as staff recommends approval for Glen Park ADA improvements

Katie Innes, sitting in as zoning administrator, opened the City of Encinitas administrative hearing on May 13, 2025, to consider case CDP-006892-2024, the Glen Park ADA Capital Improvement Project. City planning staff recommended approval of the coastal development permit for improvements intended to bring parking, walkways and restroom access into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The project’s probable construction cost estimate is $396,000, above the California Coastal Commission’s major public works threshold ($341,677), and staff said the approval therefore may be appealed to the California Coastal Commission. Staff also said the project is exempt from environmental review under CEQA Guideline section 15301 (repair, maintenance, or minor alteration) and that the work would comply with applicable standards for the Ecological Reserve/Open Space/Park (ER/OS/PK) zone.

The project scope described by planning staff includes updating accessible parking spaces and restriping the existing lot, improving the path of travel to existing restrooms, and constructing additional walkways through Glen Park to meet ADA slope requirements. Staff said the walkways would connect the parking area to the restrooms, picnic pavilion and playground and that playground equipment replacement to improve accessibility is part of a separate project.

Resident commenter Ellen Burr said she was not convinced drainage problems had been resolved and described deteriorating curb and sidewalk conditions near park entrances that, she said, create safety and access risks. “I’m not convinced that the drainage issues have been solved,” Burr told the hearing. She added that crumbling red curbs and parked vehicles near the Newport entrance block easy access and said, “That is not neighborhood friendly, much less ADA friendly, but I don’t wanna become disabled trying to get there.” Burr also questioned paving decisions in the lot and said existing playground surfacing and equipment lack accessible features.

Carlos Baldenegro, senior engineer with the city’s Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) group, responded that the project team will install a French drain to capture stormwater flowing off the street and carry it underground to reduce saturated ground near the picnic pavilion. “We’re installing a French drain to capture that drainage and put it underground so it doesn’t keep the ground wet,” Baldenegro said. He said the project scope includes repairing two accessible parking stalls and upgrading their paths of travel to meet ADA standards and that the broader parking lot repaving is not part of this scope. “So we are just fixing the 2 stalls that are accessible and their path of travel to the park,” Baldenegro said. He added that a separate playground replacement project will include more ADA-compliant equipment and engineered wood mulch to replace the current surfacing.

Planning staff’s written presentation noted a citizen participation meeting on June 6, 2023, attended by two members of the public, and that the public hearing notice was mailed May 1, 2025. The staff report placed the site within the ER/OS/PK zone and described surrounding uses, including single-family and multifamily residences, a convenience store, and the North County Transit District corridor to the west.

No formal land-use decision or vote is recorded in the hearing transcript. The staff recommendation to approve the coastal development permit was made on the record; the hearing was closed and city staff said public comments would be considered in the decision process. The transcript ends with the zoning administrator closing the administrative hearing at 5:11 p.m.

Clarifying details from the hearing: the project was described in the staff report as case number CDP-006892-2024 with a construction cost estimate of $396,000; the California Coastal Commission regulation cited in staff remarks defines a major public works project at the time as facilities with costs above $341,677; planning staff cited CEQA Guideline section 15301 for an exemption; the citizen participation meeting occurred June 6, 2023, with two attendees; public hearing notices were mailed May 1, 2025. The staff presentation did not provide a final construction schedule or a final construction start date in the portion of the record provided.

The hearing record shows the main outstanding issues raised by the public are drainage management, the condition of curb and sidewalks at park entrances, the loss of parking spaces near a large waste container in the lot, and the need for accessible playground equipment. City CIP staff described specific technical fixes (French drain, upgraded accessible stalls and compliant walkways) but said broader parking-lot repaving and curb reconstruction were outside the project scope. The transcript does not record any vote or final administrative determination on the permit during the hearing.

For the public: because staff noted the project may be appealed to the California Coastal Commission under the Coastal Act and Commission regulations, local parties concerned about the project’s scope or impacts may seek further information from city staff on the timeline for a decision and the appeals process.