The Sandpiper Candidate Questionnaire - Questions 1-7 (Sept. 2006)

By Crystal Crawford

The Sandpiper, a local Del Mar newpaper, asked Candidates for the Del Mar City Council to respond to fourteen questions. Here are the questions and responses published in September.

Responses from Crystal Crawford

1. How do you envision ensuring the financial integrity of our City given the limited size of the Community and the restricted options that we have for raising revenues?

We should continue conservative budgeting while maximizing revenues from beach visitors, tourism, and fairgrounds activities. Our tight-fisted and creative management has ensured balanced budgets and thoughtful reserves despite state-takeaways, shrinking revenues, and increasing costs. For example, in 2004, I proposed the change to a self-insured Worker's Compensation plan, which now saves the City approximately $200,000/year in premiums.

2. What are your thoughts on the advantages and/or disadvantages of sharing more services with other Cities in the region or annexing ourselves to another City so that costs and services could be leveraged over a greater population?

Del Mar should remain independent. We must continue leveraging our resources and sharing costs whenever it makes sense. Sharing a Fire Chief and other staff with Solana Beach; having our building inspectors located in Encinitas; and collaborating with other cities to manage trash, wastewater, and other services saves us money, controls costs, and has expanded our political clout.

3. What is your position on the City's maintenance of the many public rights of way in the City and how should the City address the multiple encroachments that have occurred over time into these rights of way?

We must keep public rights of way (PROWs) under the City's management and control. The Community Plan wisely recognizes PROWs as community assets useful for utility easements, walking trails, and future undergrounding projects. The council's current policy is to work cooperatively with adjacent owners to protect PROWs and to persuade neighbors to voluntarily remove encroachments.

4. Traffic has been identified in the City's recent Citizen's survey as the number one problem facing the City. What are your thoughts on how the City should address this issue?

Safety must come first. In the short-term, we must work neighborhood by neighborhood to ensure that our streets are safe for residents and visitors. We successfully reduced traffic volumes and speed along Stratford Court, and now we are working with Crest Road to do the same. In the longer term, the Circulation Element must be updated, so we can better manage traffic on a citywide basis.

5. The State of California mandates that every city provide a certain amount of affordable housing units. How do you think the City of Del Mar should address its requirement for the provision of affordable housing?

We must create housing opportunities because it's economically infeasible for the City to actually build affordable units. Our rental assistance and shared housing programs are very successful, and we should increase the number of participating families. Our "granny flat" ordinance can be refined to encourage more housing opportunities for nannies, housekeepers, and gardeners, and we can create incentives for residential units that would allow storeowners and employees to both live and work in downtown Del Mar.

6. Del Mar has an active volunteer Village Association focusing on revitalizing our downtown. What role do you think the City of Del Mar should be [play] in the revitalization process?

We must continue supporting the DMVA with dollars and staff time. The DMVA "Main Street" effort has generated new energy and enthusiasm for revitalizing our commercial areas. As Mayor, I recently invited Fred Kent from the Project for Public Spaces, http://www.pps.org, to tour Del Mar and share his ideas for improving our community spaces. I look forward to discussing options for Del Mar.

7. Given the environmental, social and cost impacts of automotive traffic on our City what are your thoughts on how the North County Transit District and Amtrak should address train traffic through and/or around our City?

We have achieved regional agreement that, in the longer term, the tracks must be removed from the bluffs. At SANDAG, I am working on a plan to move freight traffic to an inland corridor, which will create more opportunities for commuter trains on I-5. In the shorter term, NCTD and Amtrak should consider using shuttles to nearby train stations, so area residents can leave their cars at home.