Under this permit, the city is responsible for ensuring that there are no pollutants in the storm water it releases into local water bodies.

This duty coincides with the city’s work of monitoring water quality within local lagoons and creeks as one of several agencies within the Carlsbad Watershed Management Area.

Lukey noted in her presentation that the new permit allows the city to manage its water bodies differently than previously allowed under earlier permits. Notably, the city is now able to set priorities between the water bodies it manages.

“Under the previous permit, we were expected to do everything, everywhere,” she said.

Currently, there are five bodies of water within the Carlsbad Watershed that are considered to be impaired under state water quality standards due to levels of specific pollutants, according to Lukey. The water bodies, which are Buena Vista Lagoon, Buena Vista Creek, Agua Hedionda Creek, San Marcos Creek and Encinitas Creek, in spite of this, still have healthy ecosystems operating within them and are not considered toxic.

The city will identify where it will focus its main water quality improvement efforts through its Water Quality Improvement Plan, said Lukey.

Carlsbad will hire a private company to help develop its plan and has already released a request for proposals for the project.

The plan will be developed over the next two years as the city and other Carlsbad Watershed agencies continue to monitor the water quality of local water bodies.

As summer approaches, beachgoers begin erecting tents, screens and canopies that tend to hinder the ability of lifeguards to scan the area. Staff has also noticed an increase in the use of camping tents and large canopies at Powerhouse and Seagrove parks that conceal illegal activity, such as alcohol consumption.

Current law only prohibits tents on beaches, but not in parks or on the bluffs. Once the proposed new ordinances take effect, the devices won’t be allowed in those areas either.

All canopies will be limited to 10 feet by 10 feet and will not be allowed on beaches or bluffs or in parks and preserves. This will include cabanas and sun shades.

Current law also prohibits fires on the beach but not in parks or preserves or on the coastal bluffs. According to the staff report, there have been several complaints about fires in those areas during the past few years.

“People realize they can’t have a fire on the beach so they have it in the park and there’s no law to prevent that,” Park Ranger Adam Chase said.

Residents have also voiced concerns regarding charcoal barbecues on city beaches. The main issue is that there is no safe place to dispose of the used coals, Chase said.

The city looked into placing hot coal disposal containers on the beaches more than a decade ago, but they were considered an eyesore and the smoke affected beachfront homeowners.

Beachgoers use trash cans to get rid of hot coals, but that can be dangerous, according to the staff report.

Every year about a dozen trash cans catch fire. Park patrons have also dumped hot coals in the bushes surrounding the parks and several children have been burned.

To address the problem, charcoal briquettes will be prohibited. Only liquid propane will be allowed, and only for cooking and not as a heat source.

Existing laws also prohibit access to the bluffs west of the railroad tracks between Eighth and 11th streets. But there has been an increase in cliff rescues elsewhere along the coastline.

City staff requested limiting access at other sections and at the Scripps Bluff Preserve above Dog Beach.

The proposed changes will come back to council for adoption at a second reading, likely at the June 3 meeting and take effect 30 days after that.

The board’s decision came after a two-month hiring process managed by Leadership Associates, an outside search firm the board hired for $26,500.

Noah, who was not involved in the selection of the new superintendent, said he was thrilled that the board chose Schmitt.

“I think Mr. Schmitt really is a visionary leader on the one hand, but he also is a person who knows how to organize people and organize the work to see that vision fulfilled,” Noah said.

The district will pay Schmitt an annual salary of $220,000. His contract provides 24 vacation days and 12 days of earned sick leave each year. The district will also spend up to $10,000 to hire a professional career coach for the first year of Schmitt’s employment.

Schmitt worked as a middle school principal in the San Francisco Bay area before moving to San Diego in 1999 to take a job as principal of Coronado High School. In 2003 he joined SDUHSD as principal of Torrey Pines High School. The district hired Schmitt as associate superintendent of educational services in 2006, and he was promoted to the newly created position of deputy superintendent in January 2013.

In his new job, Schmitt will lead the district as it begins to spend the $449 million in bond revenue for facility upgrades approved by voters last fall through Proposition AA.

“The good news is we passed a bond, but the bad news is we passed a bond,” joked SDUHSD board President Barbara Groth.

Proposition AA construction will likely disrupt the normal flow of operations at some schools, temporarily displacing athletic teams or science labs, for example.

It will be up to Schmitt, as the “face of the district,” to help parents, students and staff understand and cope with any changes in the status quo, Groth said.

Schmitt’s experience as principal at a school that had to deal with construction made him an appealing candidate for the superintendent position, Groth said.

“He has sat in on planning meetings with architects … and he has been in the trenches and has seen when things don’t work,” Groth said.

While acknowledging that there will be some disruption, Schmitt sounded optimistic in an interview.

“I believe in the end people will see the value in a little disruption, with the big payoff of the best facilities in the region,” Schmitt said.

Another enormous challenge Schmitt will face as superintendent is implementing the new Common Core educational standards in math and language arts classes across the district. Much of the curriculum will have to change to meet those standards.

“It’s gonna be rocky, because any time you have change, you also have fear and misunderstanding,” Groth said.

Schmitt does not seem intimidated by the prospect of overhauling the way key subjects are taught in the classroom.

“I think for us the vision is every step of the way to work with our teachers and let them help us shape it,” Schmitt said.

Finally, Schmitt may have to contend with a fluctuating budget.

Schmitt said he was proud of the way SDUHSD performed through “the lean years” of the recession, with student test scores rising despite budget cutbacks.

With a history of fiscally conservative budgeting, the district was able to avoid some of the more traumatic cuts other districts faced, Schmitt said.

“We planned for the rainy day, and when it came we were ready,” Schmitt said.

Rebuilding that reserve will be a priority, as will maintaining strong relationships and a high level of trust with employee groups, he said.

Schmitt’s first day on the job will be July 1.

His contract expires June 30, 2016.

On Saturday the team announced the signing of 33-year-old Dwight Freeney to a two-year deal with the idea that he can help fill the void left behind when second-year linebacker Melvin Ingram tore his ACL during workouts last week. McCoy said he wouldn’t go into details as to how the injury happened, except that it was “one of those injuries that happen in practice, rushing the passer, an inside pass rush movement, put his foot down and the rest is history.”

McCoy said Freeney was an experienced veteran and “one of the great pass rushers of all time.”

Freeney wasn’t at Chargers Park Monday due to a prior obligation, according to McCoy.

Defensive coordinator John Pagano said he was excited with the addition of Freeney. Despite not being present for the OTAs and not having much experience in the 3-4 defensive scheme, Pagano said the difference between a 3-4 and a 4-3 is so minimal. “He’s such a great player, I think you make him fit wherever he can fit in. The things that he does and what he’s done over the years…it gives us the ability now to do a lot more things that we as a defensive unit want to do,” he said.

Freeney, a seven-time Pro Bowler with the Indianapolis Colts, became a free agent at the end of last season when the Colts didn’t re-sign him. A high ankle injury may have reduced his effectiveness last season, including switching positions from defensive end to linebacker.

And just when Freeney joins the team is still up in the air, but McCoy said he’d be here “when he’s ready to go.”

As for any leadership role he may have on defense, Pagano said it would take some time.

“Just from hearing how he was at Indy and how he’s going to be (here) I think the number one thing will be his work ethic. How he does it out on the field. It’s going to take time for us to get to know him being a vocal leader….

“When he gets here and gets his opportunity going, I think that work ethic alone on the field is going to be what drives him,” Pagano said.

In other news, the Chargers released tackle Kevin Haslam and announced the signing of former Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle 31-year-old Max Starks.

“The games have always been very tight,” Becker said. “Usually it’s a 2-1 or a 1-0 win. So, we didn’t go in taking it lightly by any means,” she said, adding that she didn’t think that it was necessarily their best game ever. “But obviously the result is the result and I’m happy with it.”

With college terms ending, the SeaLions are expecting the return of Rachel Locke, their second-string goalie back to the roster and the possible addition of one or two players from SDSU that Becker said head coach Jen Lalor-Nielsen saw making a good fit to the squad.

In the WPSL teams can have an unlimited amount of players on their roster, though only 20 players are eligible to suit up on game day.

Becker said that on average she usually keeps 25-30 players on the roster depending on the season.

Since practices began several weeks ago, the team, Becker said, seems to be a very tight-knit group.

“We have a core group that’s been around for the past couple of years and they’ve been very welcoming as far as bringing the new players in and they’ve all been gelling very well together… and they’re showing great maturity on the field,” Becker said.

On Wednesday the team announced that starting outside defender Michele Ramirez has agreed to play professionally overseas. She signed a contract to join the Östersund DFF in Sweden.

Ramirez joined the SeaLions last season and is a graduate of Cal State San Marcos where she was a starter all four years.

She is the first player out of CSUSM to sign a professional contract.

Backers say that power was ripe for abuse and could have led to development that didn’t sit well with the community.

Council unanimously agreed to strike the four-fifths exception by passing a resolution at the meeting.

While in support of the resolution, councilmembers have come out against Prop A.

“Although I have expressed opposition to Prop A for other reasons, I have not wavered in my support for eliminating this provision,” said Deputy Mayor Lisa Shaffer, referring to the four-fifths power.

Councilman Tony Kranz said the resolution approved by council fulfills “the spirit of Prop A.”

But as the resolution currently stands, a future council could theoretically overturn the action. That’s why council plans to put the resolution, as part of an update to the city’s General Plan, to a public vote in 2014, Kranz said. If passed, council wouldn’t be able to undo the elimination of the four-fifths power.

After council’s vote, Bruce Ehlers, a spokesman for the initiative, said there’s no guarantee the resolution will go on the 2014 ballot.

“A lot can happen between now and then,” Ehlers said.

Besides, Prop A would immediately take the four-fifths exception out of council’s hands, he said.

“Let’s reduce the amount of work that has to be done and just pass Prop A,” Ehlers said.

While in favor of striking the four-fifths exception, councilmembers have stated Prop A could negate “specific plans” on the Coast Highway 101 corridor — one of their reasons for opposing the initiative. Some of the buildings in the specific plans, approved after years of community input, are taller than normally allowed under the city’s 30-foot height limit. Should Prop A pass, proposed buildings greater than 30 feet within the specific plans would trigger a public vote.

As for putting the General Plan to a public vote in 2014, Mayor Teresa Barth acknowledged that it would be difficult to keep residents engaged with the complex land-use document.

“Our challenge as we work through the General Plan Update is that we communicate with the community,” Barth said.

At least 5,700 residents signed Prop A last year, qualifying the initiative for a special election.

Make no mistake; they do not represent the average resident or taxpayer of Encinitas. The flier also claims that the entire City Council endorsed the false innuendos made in this hit piece.

Since then, Mayor Teresa Barth, Deputy Mayor Lisa Shaffer, and Councilman Tony Kranz have publicly denied that they endorsed this flier. I leave it to the reader to figure out who was behind this. Nevertheless, we find it disconcerting that our mayor, deputy mayor and Councilman Kranz, have chosen to align themselves with the deceptive arguments made in so-called independent studies by so-called experts, while entirely ignoring the well thought-out statements in Prop A made by the citizen’s land use Attorney Everett Delano, who drew up the Initiative, and by former Planning Commissioner Bruce Ehlers. Both are respectable and knowledgeable gentlemen who have studied the City’s General Plan and Zoning Codes for decades and know them inside out.

The “independent legal analysis” made by the pro-development legal firm, Rutan & Tucker was full of distortions and full of “unintended probable consequences,” and was anything but independent. Their unintended consequences of Prop A are highly hypothetical and mostly fictitious. They have nothing to do with Prop A, and they could occur through misinterpretations of the present codes as well. Similarly, the so-called “impartial analysis of Prop A” by the Council’s Attorney Glenn Sabine is anything but impartial.

Sadly, the two new council members and the mayor, who had not been bought by development interests, swallowed the distorted truths and hypothetical “unintended consequences” in the biased analyses hook, line and sinker. Many of our citizens who voted the two into office view this as a betrayal.

Here are a few of the erroneous statements made in the flier and by Council members (CM), followed by factual counter arguments:

CM Lisa Shaffer: “I think the initiative could lead to more development.” “The harder we make it for property owners to build…, the more likely they are to use density bonus law to circumvent our constraints.”

Counter: Developers always ask for the maximum to maximize their profits. Without Prop A in place, Council can approve a density zoning increase of 1,000 percent, and the developer will still insist on an additional density bonus. Even if the developer does not choose to take advantage of the density bonus, he has made out like a bandit. With Prop A, he will have to ask the public for the up-zoning, who may not grant it to him.

So he stays within his zoning rights and asks for a 40 percent increase in density bonus. Would you rather let the Council give him a 300 percent to 1,000 percent increase in density or would you prefer to grant him a 40 percent density bonus? CM Shaffer’s argument is not logical.

CM Gaspar: “Prop A could prevent you from improving or restoring your home.”

Counter: Prop A does not interfere with the Zoning Code that gives a home owner the right to improve or rebuild his home, as long as he stays within present zoning codes. Even if the home is presently non-conforming, he can rebuild within the previous non-conforming envelope. And he can measure new building height from a previously approved reference level.

Flier: “Prop A redefines how building height is measured, leading to taller structures.”

Counter: This is a fabricated lie. Language in Prop A regarding maximum building height is identical to the language in the General Plan. It also does not change other specific building height limitations in the Zoning Code which, e.g. limit maximum residential building heights to 21 plus 4 feet, or lower if on steep slopes.

Flier and CM Muir: “Prop A could cost taxpayers millions of dollars for expensive citywide elections (and possible law suits) impacting police, fire and emergency services.”

Counter: Under Prop A, a citywide election will only be triggered if developers do not want to follow the law and instead ask for the moon. The developer, not the taxpayer and not the city, will have to pay for the election. More developers will stay within the law, keeping community character intact.

There is no credible analysis in the independent reports that predict more lawsuits under Prop A than under present rules. The latter are largely kept untouched by Prop A.

Our City Council and staff are opposed to Prop A because they do not want to relinquish even a small amount of control over urban development and associated payoffs.

Take control over your community back. Vote Yes on A!

Dietmar Rothe is a Cardiff-by-the-Sea resident.

The way she explains it, hearing Coley speak at that City Council meeting changed her life.

“Hearing Ida Lou speak at my first City Council meeting, my first municipal meeting of any kind — I was terrified, and Ida Lou luckily got up to speak first. And when I heard her say that it was a historic creek — I just thought it was a little patch of green. I just saw it as I flew past in my car out of the corner of my eye. And something just snapped,” Renaker said.

“And I read this story in the paper that said that it was going to be developed and something just snapped inside me and I knew I had to go to the City Council and to speak out to oppose it. But when Ida Lou got up and said in her gentle, little way that it was a historic creek that she had gathered wild flowers at as a child, I was just completely captured. And the more I learned about the creek, the more captured I became.”

Renaker said that Ida Lou would talk about how people would share the creek for water wells, even washing their laundry down there.

The two women began doing the research that would eventually lead to establishing the creek as a historical point of interest, and forming the Cottonwood Creek Conservancy in the process. The year was 1989 when they started.

A plaque at the overlook site of Cottonwood Creek Park in Encinitas identifies the spot as a designated historical point of interest. The plaque was unveiled at a ceremony last week. Photo by Tony Cagala

Since then the Cottonwood Creek Conservancy has been caring for the habitat and last Friday, the site received an official plaque designating the location as a historical point of interest.

Coley passed away in 2005, but Renaker said she would be so happy to see all of the people who had worked so hard and so long to preserve the site, and the work that continues to re-establish the habitat.

Brad Roth is the project manager with the Conservancy and has volunteered his time with the group since 1993.

The historical importance of Cottonwood Creek begins with the railroads in the early 1880s when a water stop was put in, near where Vulcan Avenue is today, he explained.

“And it was the only water stop between Oceanside and National City, I believe,” he said. “All the other major streams had lagoons and they were brackish water, part salt water, so they couldn’t use that for the steam locomotives. So that meant that the train would stop here and establish commerce. So people started developing agriculture here, and that was really the beginning of the town of Encinitas.”

He added that around 1920, Cottonwood Creek was the source of water for the whole town.

With the site free from threats of development, future generations will be able to benefit from the Conservancy’s work.

“It’s part of our cultural heritage; the natural landscape that we have here,” Roth said. “It’s part of our history and if everything gets altered and paved over, we lose a real important part of our history and our natural history.”

As part of the ceremony, Roth and Renaker received proclamations from Encinitas Mayor Teresa Barth.

Located in Carlsbad and Oceanside, the 220-acre Buena Vista Lagoon is suffering from sedimentary and water quality issues as the result of natural and man-made events. These events include urban development and sewage spills, but one main cause of the lagoon’s issues stands out, according to SANDAG.

“The major problem with the lagoon right now is water circulation,” explained SANDAG Senior Regional Planner Keith Greer, the project manager.

Water circulation within the lagoon has been slowed by travel infrastructure and the lagoon’s weir, according to SANDAG data. The lagoon’s four basins are intersected by Interstate 5, railroad tracks and Coast Highway, which interrupt the lagoon’s natural water flow. Furthermore, the lagoon’s weir, a barrier at its mouth along the beach, blocks water flow from the Pacific Ocean.

Consequently, sediment has built up within the lagoon, lowering the water levels, said Greer. The lower water levels enable growth of invasive plant species, including cat tails, which further slow down the water movement within the lagoon.

These conditions put the Buena Vista Lagoon at risk to become a marsh or meadow over the next several decades, and could result in long-term consequences including decreased water quality, potential increase in mosquito-borne diseases, flooding, and reductions in the coastal habitat biodiversity, according to SANDAG. Currently the lagoon is home to over 100 bird, 18 mammal, as well as 14 amphibian and reptile species.

SANDAG’s reports will consider at least four alternatives to enhance the lagoon. The first is a fresh water alternative, which would replace the lagoon’s weir and dredge portions of the basins. The second option, the saltwater enhancement alternative, would remove the weir, dredge portions of the basins and convert vegetation to a salt marsh habitat mix. The third alternative is a hybrid saltwater-freshwater option that would remove the weir and create an ocean inlet, dredge portions of the basins to maintain saltwater in the two basins on the west side of the lagoon and freshwater in the two eastern basins, and construct a weir along the middle of the lagoon. The fourth option under consideration would result in no project being conducted and allowing the lagoon’s current conditions to remain.

SANDAG is concluding its notice of preparation period May 25, and will collect public comments about the project until that time. As part of this period, SANDAG held a public meeting on May 9 outlining the project before more than 100 community stakeholders at Buena Vista Elementary School.

Key among those stakeholders is the Buena Vista Lagoon Foundation, which has been involved in projects concerning the lagoon since its incorporation in 1981.

Ron Wootton, executive director of the Foundation, said, “The Foundation’s perspective is that any actual restoration is a good restoration.”

But he expressed hopes that SANDAG will incorporate the views of the public and the Foundation to a greater extent over the course of the project.

Wootton said he is concerned that SANDAG will select an extreme project alternative rather than an alternative that acts as a compromise for the desires of community stakeholder, a sentiment also expressed in the Foundation’s comments submitted to SANDAG.

Yet with the project extending for years and changing hands several times over its history, Wootton expressed that the foundation simply hopes that some type of enhancement to the lagoon will be carried out at all.

“What we want is for something to actually happen,” he said.

Once the notice of preparation period ends, SANDAG will complete its technical studies and produce a draft EIR from summer 2013 through spring 2014. After revisions are made and a final EIR is produced, SANDAG will conduct final public hearings on the project and identify a preferred alternative during winter 2015.

Should a project alternative be selected, implementation of this alternative could not start until fall 2016 at the earliest, and would be subject to local, state and federal permits, according to SANDAG associate regional planner Marc Cass, who is in charge of developing the project’s EIR.

SANDAG is utilizing $800,000 in funds from TransNet and $100,000 each from the cities of Carlsbad and Oceanside to conduct this process. If a project alternative is selected, funding could be obtained as part of a current North Coast Corridor program, state or federal grants, or other sources, according to SANDAG.

For more information and to submit public comments to SANDAG, visit KeepSanDiegoMoving.com/BVLagoon.

“The things that Inez and Marcial did to me have marked me for life. They took away my childhood,” stated the victim in a letter that was read during the court proceedings by Deputy District Attorney David Uyar. “I can sleep knowing that justice has been done.”

“Rarely do you see crimes as horrible as the crimes you see in this case,” said Judge Aaron Katz as he sentenced Hernandez at San Diego Superior Court’s North County branch. “You are going to pay dearly for your crimes as you are going to be behind bars for the rest of your life.”

The result of a plea agreement, Hernandez was sentenced to 23 years to life without probation and Garcia was sentenced to 20 years, also without probation. Both of them will have to register as sex offenders and pay numerous restitution and court fees.

Had it not been for the plea agreement, the two faced hundreds of years behind bars each, said Hernandez’s attorney Alan Spears.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, the victim was smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico, lured by the Garcia’s promise of a better life and education.

The case had been suspended for nearly 10 years because the victim had been living with her family in Mexico after being held by the Garcias. The investigation was reopened when the victim moved back to the U.S. and came forward to law enforcement.

“The victim is thankful that her aunt and uncle did plead guilty,” said Uyar after the proceedings. “It’s amazing how well she’s doing given everything that has happened to her.”

The victim was not present in court during the sentencing.

The Garcia’s three children, two of whom are minors, were present at the courthouse during the sentencing.