Not In My Backyard...The Hall Property Debate

Before becoming a Cardiffian , I had lived in Olivenhain, both communities of Encinitas. Both with very different views on the proposed project consisting of 44 acres, located adjacent to I-5 on the west side of the highway and south of the Von’s shopping center off Santa Fe, commonly referred to as the Hall Property. My daughters have played on the Encinitas soccer teams since they were small and I have coached for that league for a number of years also. The Hall property issue has been circulating for almost as long as my family has been involved with Encinitas Soccer. I was one of those gung-ho parents that were signing petitions or standing in front of Henry’s having others sign. It was my opinion that The Hall Property was going to be the perfect place for my kids and their friends to ride their skateboards, Swim at the aquatic facilities, hang out at the teen center as well as having an amphitheatre, dog park, trails and gardens, toddler parks, all of this accompanying the 5 athletic fields for baseball and soccer.

I realize now that I had a very narrow utopian point of view. This was not going to affect my neighborhood, if this proposition was going to take place at the end of Lone Jack or Fortuna Ranch the people of Olivenhain would be against the magnitude that this proposed project is threatening also. A few of the major issues are; 1. Traffic, the parking on their streets from the spillover from the parking lots that accommodate 419 parking spaces and a projected 1500 cars per day, but up to 3000 per day for tournaments. 2. The proposed lights on the 5 sports fields will be over 90 feet tall and 60 feet tall on the swimming complex. These will be the tallest structures in Encinitas and will be visible from many parts of the city, especially when turned on. The lights are currently proposed to be on until midnight on weekends, with permits. The lights when coupled with coastal fog and low clouds will cause a cloud of light over Cardiff. 3. The noise levels, the competitive sports activities planned for the park will create noise for the neighbors. The intensity of activity planned for the park may create an intrusive level of noise for the neighborhood. This can go until midnight on the weekends. It appears as if everyone wants another sports park, Cardiff is merely asking for it to be scaled back. Cardiff already has a sports park within 1 mile of the Hall Property.

I would not be surprised of the negative response if the shoe was on the other foot so to speak. It is my opinion that a compromise has to be reached. If everyone will put down the signs and have a meeting of the minds, it is not that hard to figure out Cardiff doesn’t need any more traffic than necessary , and the amount of cars parking on the streets will bring trash and litter to our neighborhoods. All of which can have a negative impact on the property values for those who live in the immediate vicinity of the park.






Source: Hall Property Draft EIR
Traffic analysis by Smith Engineering Management, Traffic consultant
The entire draft environmental impact report of the Hall Park is available on the city’s Web site at:
http://www.ci.encinitas.ca.us/Government/publicD/Hall_Draft_Program_EIR/. For more information on Friends of the Hall Property, visit www.hallpropertypark.com