Open Space & Our Environment

“The benefits of open space reach far beyond humans… wildlife and native plants also need large parcels of undisturbed open land to foster pollination and allow for territory migration, scavenging for food, and raising their young. “
-Julie Thunder

I imagine we can all agree that living near land that’s left in its natural state is both desirable and good for our well-being.  It’s also good for the health of our native plants and wildlife, including bobcats, coyotes, birds, reptiles, and our diminishing bee colonies.

(L) Bobcats, photographed by Cardiff resident Jamie Shiller, outside her kitchen window on Crest Drive.

Open space isn’t just wide expanses of land. It can also be smaller corridors that connect larger parcels. The bobcats pictured here came up from a corridor situated between El Camino Real and Crest Drive.

In 2016, a survey of residents showed that 76% of Encinitans wanted more open space.  As a result, the City created the “Open Space Acquisition Fund” and gave it a strong start with a $500,000 cash infusion.

By 2019, aided by the collection of developer fees that are targeted for open space (titled “Open Space Acquisition Developer Fees”) the Open Space Fund had over $1 million dollars. Imagine where it would be today, three years later!  With matching funds we would have had some real firepower to protect and expand our open space inventory. 

But that didn’t happen. The money’s gone – and it wasn’t spent on Open Space.

In 2019, just 3 years after opening it, our council changed the name of the Open Space Fund to the “Opportunity Fund” and transferred $410,000 from Open Space to the new fund.

“As your Council representative, I’ll work to restore the Open Space Fund, replace as much of it as possible, and commit to protecting it as seriously as I believe our open space needs protecting.”
-Julie Thunder

This California King snake is over 5-feet long and it’s harmless. Photo taken in Cardiff’s Park Place HOA Open Space Canyon.

With that action, our savings account for Open Space land acquisition and protection was wiped out. 

I published commentary about these developments at the time, and I campaigned on restoring the Open Space Fund when I ran for mayor in 2020.

But here we are, two years later, and nothing’s changed. 

Recently, in February, the Council passed a resolution supporting Open Space. But they took no concrete action, nor did they commit any funds to the purpose. They merely tried to bolster their open space bona fides with pointless rhetoric. 

When elected to Council I will support serious, purposeful pursuit of the acquisition of Open Space. In the meantime, I ask you to join with me in calling for the Council to provide a public accounting of our Open Space funds:

  1. What happened to the $500,000 initial funding amount?
  2. What became of the Opportunity Fund, which is no longer listed in our City Budget?
  3. What has become of the Open Space Acquisition Fees collected in recent years?

(L) Blue heron in San Elijo Lagoon. Photo by Barbara Thunder, taken while hiking the perimeter.

In areas of District 3 (Cardiff and S. El Camino Real neighborhoods) we’re fortunate to be adjacent to the San Elijo Lagoon where the County’s ongoing lagoon restoration project has helped local wildlife populations soar. Next, we need to protect the Escondido Creek watershed from over development and illegal dumping.

A large bobcat recently seen in the yard of an Olivenhain couple that overlooks Escondido Creek.

Escondido creek is the main tributary feeding the San Elijo Lagoon. We must protect it for the sake of the future health of wildlife, plants, and humans. Let’s all try to be good stewards of our environment.

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