Plans to relocate the Leucadia Farmers Market to Oak Crest Middle School can move forward, but with some new conditions, the Encinitas City Council decided Wednesday.
Read more Canister in vehicle with Nazi flag investigated near Clairemont mosque deemed not dangerous
In a unanimous vote, the council denied an appeal filed by Oak Crest neighbors, who oppose a city staff decision granting the project the permit paperwork it needs to proceed.
“So far, I have nothing that makes me … support the appeal,” Mayor Bruce Ehlers said after closing Wednesday’s public hearing on the issue.
Councilmember Joy Lyndes, who lives somewhat near Oak Crest and met with the neighbors to discuss their concerns before Wednesday’s meeting, said she thought the market’s managers were proposing some good measures to reduce potential issues. Among other things, the new location will have a much better parking situation than the current site at Paul Ecke-Central Elementary, where it has operated on Sundays for the past 21 years, she said.
And, she stressed, allowing the market to relocate will provide a big community benefit.
“We are a community that loves farms and loves farmers’ markets,” she said.
Sponsored by the Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association, the farmers market has become a hugely popular Sunday shopping destination, with people even driving from neighboring towns to buy from its food and craft vendors. It’s being forced to leave Paul Ecke-Central due to a major school renovation project that started this month and will last until fall 2027.
The new city permit paperwork will allow it to permanently stay at Oak Crest even after the Paul Ecke-Central renovation project concludes, city staff members said.
Read more USD student fatally hit by San Diego police car believed to be suicide
While they supported the proposed relocation plan, council members said some additional adjustments should be made. They unanimously agreed to add several new conditions, including:
- A requirement that any future expansion beyond the initial 135 permitted vendors needs city’s Planning Commission approval, rather than just city staff approval
- A noise assessment needs to be done before the market relocates to see what the current noise level is at the middle school on Sundays
- Signage needs to be added, both to 200-foot buffer area in the school’s upper field and along nearby streets, warning people not to enter the buffer area or park or in the surrounding neighborhoods
- Market organizers must look into setting up off-site parking for vendors and their employees to free up onsite spots for customers
- City code enforcement officers will inspect the market during its first four Sundays at its new location, and may come again later if needed
Councilmember Jim O’Hara had sought a larger group of conditions, including reducing the initial number of permitted vendors from 135 to 120. He said that establishing more conditions now would set the market “on the right foot with the residents” and mentioned that there have been complaints over the years about its operations at Paul Ecke-Central. His proposed, longer condition list was supported by Councilmember Marco San Antonio, but opposed by the rest of the council.
During Wednesday’s public hearing, Leucadia MainStreet Association board members Peter Curry and Kevin Doyle told the council that the market will make every effort possible to ease the neighbors’ concerns and be successful in the new location. Doyle said the market has “a fantastic management staff,” while Curry said, “We don’t want to have a negative impact over there.”
The neighbors who filed the appeal remained unconvinced Wednesday.
John Bjorneby, who lives on Island View Way, and his attorney Anna Luedtke told the council they thought the sheer size of the market wasn’t a good fit for the neighborhood. They said the steady stream of shoppers would have significant traffic impacts and much more research needed to be done.
The market, which has booths with a wide range of products including crafts, is more like a street fair, Bjorneby argued, saying that he felt the relocation plans would “move a nightmare problem from one neighborhood to another.”
Read more JetBlue to launch a new nonstop route out of San Diego airport
