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I hope you stayed safe and dry during the recent storm, which kept city crews busy removing debris, clearing storm drains, dealing with power outages and directing traffic around localized flooding. If you did experience property damage, I’ll share some news from the county in today’s update, along with these other stories:



• Mix and match: 3 options for Robertson Ranch Park now ready for feedback
• Gathering data to reduce homelessness
• Finance Department wins budget award 18 years in a row
• Nominations open for Citizen of the Year
• Spotting imposters posing as utility workers
• Go behind the scenes at our new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit
• What’s on the agenda at the next City Council meeting
• Help Carlsbad reinvest in its agricultural heritage
• County collecting storm damage information

Share your feedback on Robertson Ranch Park design options

The city’s next park, known as Robertson Ranch Park, will be located on 11.2 acres near the intersection of El Camino Real and Cannon Road. 

Parks are an important part of Carlsbad’s excellent quality of life and help contribute to our community character, two of the goals in the City Council's 5-Year Strategic Plan.

Last year, city staff gathered input from the community to kick off the design process. Now, based on that input and the recently completed Parks & Recreation Department Master Plan, city staff are ready to present three different options for your review and feedback.

Mixing and matching encouraged

You don’t have to pick your favorite design (but you can). Instead, you can tell us what you like and don’t like about all three. Usually, during a park planning process, the final design ends up being a combination of the most popular features of all the design concepts. Here are some specific things you can share that would help our team narrow down the options:

• How well do each of the options reflect the needs and priorities of the community? 
• Are the right mix of amenities included in the park design concepts? 
• Are the amenities in the best locations in the park design concepts? 
• What do you like about the park design concepts? 
• What concerns do you have about the park design concepts? 

What is being decided now 

We are still pretty early in the park design process. The final product of this phase is a conceptual design showing what amenities would be included and where they would be located within the park site.

What will be decided later 

After the City Council approves the conceptual design, the next step would be to create detailed designs. At this stage we will focus on:

• Specific plants for landscaping  
• Field surface 
• Specific equipment (like playgrounds) 
• Public art  
• Types of shade 
• Types of benches, trash cans, etc. 

3 ways to give input

Come to a meeting

Drop by anytime during this interactive session, designed as a "choose your own adventure" style walk-through with three information stations, each dedicated to one of the park concepts. Meet the park design team and share what resonates with you.

Saturday, Feb. 10, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

City of Carlsbad Faraday Administration Center

1635 Faraday Ave.

Join a virtual meeting

Join us online for group discussions about the park design concepts. This is your chance to ask questions, engage in conversations and provide valuable feedback from the comfort of your home.

Thursday, Feb. 15, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Register here to get the link

Provide feedback online

Next week I will share a link to an online feedback form you can fill out after reviewing the designs.

Finally, don’t forget to sign up for email updates if you want to be kept up to date on the park planning process.

2024 Point in Time count



Today was the annual Point in Time count, an organized, nationwide effort to collect data on homelessness on the same day over a four-hour period. For the West Coast, the count starts at 4 a.m.

• Locally, the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness coordinates the count.
• In Carlsbad, community members are invited to participate alongside members of the city’s Homeless Response Team.
• The data collected in Carlsbad is one of several metrics we use to gauge the success of our Homelessness Action Plan.
• It also helps us better understand the population experiencing homelessness and how we can best direct resources to address the problem and the effects on our community.

Read more about our efforts focused on reducing homelessness and its impacts on our community. If you’d like to get more information about our efforts, please sign up for email updates.

City recognized for budget presentation

As we plan for next fiscal year’s budget, we were pleased to find out that last year’s budget earned a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. This is the 18^th year in a row we have earned this recognition and the 23^rd time overall.

• This latest award is for the city’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget, which was prepared by city staff and approved by the City Council in June.
• To qualify for the award, a government agency must meet nationally recognized guidelines, including creating a budget that serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communication tool.

Over the past five years we have made some changes to how we present the annual budget, with the goal of going beyond the spreadsheets and government jargon to help the community understand where the money comes from, how it is being spent and the overall state of the city’s fiscal health.

It’s an important part of our commitment to transparency and community engagement, and I’m proud to see those efforts get noticed.

The preliminary budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 will be presented to the City Council in May, followed by a community budget workshop. I’ll share more details as those dates come up.

Nominations open for Citizen of the Year

The City of Carlsbad is accepting applications for Citizen of the Year, which honors community members who, on a volunteer basis, have given unselfishly of time, energy and means to the cause of civic improvement, beautification and betterment of the City of Carlsbad.

• The Citizens of the Year program is 57 years old.
• Nomination forms are available on the city’s website and at City Hall, at 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive.
• Up to two honorees are selected by a five-person committee of Carlsbad residents appointed by the Mayor. 
• Nominations will be accepted through April 5.

Beware of imposters posing as utility workers

The San Diego County Water Authority has received reports of people posing as water agency workers to gain access to homes. Door-to-door scams like this pop up from time to time across service sectors so it’s important to stay vigilant.

• We have not had reports of this specific activity in Carlsbad, however it’s always a good idea to err on the side of caution if a stranger approaches your home.
• Be wary of anyone who claims to be a utility worker or repair person and tries to gain access to your home, asks for payment information, tries to sell you a product or asks for a donation.

In general, if a stranger rings your doorbell, the first thing to remember is that you do not have to open the door. The safest course is to politely tell the person you are not available. If you do answer the door, our Police Department has the following advice:

• Verify identity: Ask for identification or a badge to confirm that the person is a legitimate representative of the organization they claim to be with.
• Contact the organization: Contact the organization directly using their official contact information. Do not use contact details provided by the person at your door.
• Be wary high-pressure tactics: Scammers often use high-pressure tactics to get you to act. If you feel rushed or uncomfortable, it's a red flag.
• Trust your instincts: If something feels off or if you have doubts, it's okay to close your door. Scammers often rely on exploiting people's emotions, so trust your instincts.

Remember that legitimate businesses, charities and other organizations respect your right to make an informed decision. If you have any concerns or doubts, it's always better to be cautious.

The Police Department’s website has more information about how to prevent crime around your home. And, as always, you can call the 24/7 police non-emergency line at 442-339-2197 anytime you have a concern (I suggest saving this number in your phone). If you feel you are in danger, call 9-1-1 immediately. 

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit now open at the Cannon Art Gallery

Last week I highlighted a bit about the legacy of Baron Wolman, the first chief photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine.

Wolman’s up-close-and-personal images of some of the most iconic performers in rock and roll history are now on display at the Cannon Art Gallery. This exhibit is like a time capsule of the late 1960s, as Wolman documented legends such as Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Tina Turner and the Grateful Dead.

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the process of setting up an exhibit like this. 

Here are the exhibit details:

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Images of an Era

The Photography of Baron Wolman

On view now - June 1, 2024

Cannon Art Gallery

1775 Dove Lane (part of the Dove Library complex)

Gallery hours

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday: noon to 5 p.m.

Wednesday: noon to 7 p.m.

Save the date

Free public reception Feb. 24, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. featuring live music

What’s on the agenda for the next City Council meeting

The next City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Jan. 30, starting at 5 p.m. in the City Council Chamber. Topics scheduled to be discussed include:

• Adopting an ordinance reflecting changes to elected officials’ compensation, following the annual review required by the Carlsbad Municipal Code
• Considering zoning changes on 18 properties across Carlsbad to meet state requirements that cities have planned housing capacity to meet projected needs across all income levels. (This item includes several actions related to the city’s overall land use plans. See the full agenda on Friday for details)
• Changing the zoning on two properties to open space: an undeveloped hillside area at the end of Aura Circle near Kelly Elementary School and Buena Vista Reservoir Park. Both were previously zoned for residential development and the properties have already been approved for use as open space and recreation. This item would just make the zoning change official so the properties are counted in the city’s overall open space inventory.

A link to the full agenda and staff reports will be available on the city’s website on Friday.

The City Council encourages your participation. You can get agendas and staff reports emailed to you directly, and if you want to provide input, you can email council@carlsbadca.gov before the meeting or come in person and fill out a request to speak.

If you want to watch from home, we have three options:

1.    Watch the meeting live on the website

2.    Watch a recording of the meeting afterwards

3.    Watch live or a replay throughout the week on the city’s cable TV channel, Spectrum channel 24 and AT&T U-verse channel 99

Boards and commission meetings are also livestreamed on the city’s website and available to watch afterward. You can see the meeting schedule on our city calendar.

Help Carlsbad reinvest in its agricultural heritage

Speaking of boards and commissions, if you’re looking for a simple way to serve our community, please consider applying for one of two open seats on a citizens advisory committee that helps the city reinvest in its agricultural heritage.

The Agricultural Mitigation Fee Committee makes recommendations to the City Council on how to spend grant money generated from fees the city collects when agricultural land is developed for other uses in the coastal zone. The grants support certain types of agricultural or coastal restoration projects that enhance quality of life in Carlsbad. 

The committee typically meets once a year, so it’s a great option for people who have always wanted to serve on a city board or commission but don’t have a lot of time available.

The application process is easy; just fill out and submit the application on the city’s website. Applications are due by noon Friday, Feb. 9.

Storm damage reporting

Finally, the County of San Diego declared a local emergency due to the record-breaking rain earlier this week. They are asking members of the public to report any storm-related damage through an online form.

• This doesn’t necessarily mean you would qualify for assistance.
• But it will assist the county with collecting damage information related to the storm.
• The survey will only be used to gather information to determine if the County should request state and/or federal assistance.

As I mentioned at the outset, our city crews have their work cut out for them any time we experience a significant storm. They start early, setting up sandbags and ensuring drainage infrastructure is clear. Then, during the storm, they are constantly surveying local streets and collecting reports from our Police and Fire Departments about any areas needing attention.

Their dedication along with our City Council’s steady investments in drainage infrastructure means that Carlsbad tends to fare better than other parts of the county when it comes to flooding and other storm damage.

I often talk about the importance of “being brilliant at the basics,” and this week we saw a stellar example.

With that, I hope everyone enjoys a warm and dry weekend, and I’ll be back next week with more updates.



Scott Chadwick

City Manager