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Carlsbad council approves budget tweaks, routine contract changes and several rezoning requests; one rezoning denied and one tabled
Summary
The council approved third-quarter budget adjustments and routine contract amendments, adopted a land transfer for a State Veterans Cemetery, approved several rezoning requests and ordinances (with one denial and one item tabled), and adopted a golf-course employee-fee waiver policy.
At its regular meeting the Carlsbad City Council approved a package of third-quarter budget adjustments, adopted routine contract changes, accepted a land-transfer resolution for a veterans cemetery, and acted on a series of rezoning requests.
Budget adjustments: Finance staff (Miss Salcedo) reviewed third-quarter changes for FY25–26. Key items included a capital increase of $80,000 to resurface the Smith Park basketball court; a $40,000 operating increase for Water Park maintenance; a $33,045.41 labor reclassification in Planning and Engineering; an increase of $1,400,000 in general-fund revenues to reflect actuals; and a $1,000,000 transfer from the general fund to the health insurance fund to address timing of stop-loss reimbursements. The council moved to approve the resolution and adopted the adjustments by roll call.
Routine contract amendment: The council approved an amendment to the contract with Alpha Pure Services to reimburse the contractor for opening and scheduling youth practice sessions at the Will Merchant Sports Complex (a per-session reimbursement with a monthly cap) through the remainder of the current contract term; staff said the amendment will be evaluated in the next RFP cycle.
Golf-course fee policy: Council approved an ordinance clarifying that active city employees, retired city employees with at least 10 years of service, and current elected officials may receive waived green fees and driving-range ball fees at Lake Carlsbad Golf Course; the waiver excludes cart fees and does not extend to family members.
Zoning actions: The council approved ordinance 2026-13 (rezoning 208 N. 6th Street to R-2) and ordinance 2026-14 (rezoning 606–608 W. Pierce to C-2 for a counseling clinic). The council denied ordinance 2026-15 (rezoning 1604 E. Green Street from I to C-2) after planning staff noted the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended denial. Council voted to table ordinance 2026-16 (rezoning 2809/2811 San Jose Boulevard) for 30 days so the applicant can appear and answer questions. The city-owned property rezoning at 2814 San Jose Boulevard (ordinance 2026-17) was approved. The rezoning request for property near 1500 West Blodgett (ordinance 2026-18) was denied following public testimony from school and church representatives who opposed commercial uses adjacent to an elementary school.
Votes at a glance: For the items that required roll-call action the council approved the budget adjustments and the listed ordinances and resolutions (roll-call recordings show majority votes in favor on adopted items), with one member (Mister Chavez) recorded as not present for roll calls on several items.
Public comment and other business: Public comments included a detailed account on bee removals and public-safety concerns from Christina Mann. Carlsbad Municipal Schools superintendent Gary Washburn returned to announce a 14% growth in the 2025 graduation cohort and a 90.3% graduation rate for Carlsbad High School. Council heard committee reports and recognized River Blitz volunteers.
