Encinitas Senior Civil Engineer Greg Shields (in hat) addresses architectural representatives at a March 5 Pacific View walkthrough to acquaint them with the property and buildings before they submit preliminary design reports to the city by noon on March 19. Coincidentally, the 19th is the one-year anniversary of the Encinitas City Council’s dramatic last-minute decision to buy Pacific View before it was slated to be auctioned off by the Encinitas Union School District. Photo by Jax Meyers.

If you or your group is interested in participating in the future of the former Pacific View Elementary School, you’ll have a rare opportunity to explore it from the inside this week.

A walkthrough of the historic property for those who’d like to become Operating Partners in the city’s proposed new museum/arts center will be held this Thursday, March 12 from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Pacific View is located at 608 Third Street in downtown Encinitas.

ACTIVATION SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING NEWS

The Pacific View Activation Subcommittee held its third public meeting on March 3. The topics generally mirrored a PowerPoint presentation prepared by committee members Tony Kranz and Lisa Shaffer.

Updates were presented on the progress of various activation activities, but the main purpose of the gathering was to get public input on the process of selecting an Operating Partner for the site’s interim use. Kranz and Shaffer plan to present final recommendations to the full council at its April 8 meeting.

The subcommittee offered several suggestions covering many aspects of the activation process, including the role and responsibilities of the Operating Partner, scheduling, finances, design, and evaluation criteria. Most in the audience appeared satisfied with the ideas presented, but the evaluation criteria inspired the most suggestions.

In random order, the proposed criteria for an Operating Partner were:

1. Financial viability of organization
2. Technical competence
3. Local involvement (Encinitas residents/organization)
4. Consistency with relevant zoning
5. Initial cost to the City
6. Serving diversity of users and types of uses
7. Design and innovation
8. Green/sustainability
9. Revenue-earning potential

Audience members asked that arts and ecology be specifically incorporated in the criteria to be presented for the City Council’s vote. It was also suggested that the amount of money a potential partner organization commits to the activation be considered in the final choice.

According to the subcommittee’s suggestions, both for-profit and non-profit organizations would be allowed to present proposals, an idea that made some audience members uncomfortable because they were concerned that a for-profit group might not be motivated to operate in the public’s best interests.

The subcommittee also suggested that the Operating Partner should “have a coalition of organizations involved” to run Pacific View in order to maximize strengths and reflect the community’s diversity.

It was proposed by the subcommittee that a section of the City of Encinitas website devoted to Pacific View could serve as a clearing house for people to post their interests and capabilities and find potential partners. Shaffer spoke of a public meeting that would be the organizational equivalent of speed dating, in which people could meet to form coalitions– an idea that the audience responded well to.

The term “interim use” was brought up as a possible obstacle in attracting quality applicants, which led to a discussion about offering fairly substantial lease durations of five-to-10 years to give applicants confidence that their investments will be lasting and worthwhile. Shaffer pointed out that if things go well, the interim use of the property could end up being its ultimate use– there’s no obligation to go beyond the interim state if everyone is pleased with how it’s going.

Once the Operating Partner is chosen and the interim projects are underway, it was asked how Pacific View would be overseen by the city. Shaffer mentioned that her preference is that City Council members not be directly involved after that point, but that the subcommittee does “serve at the pleasure of the City Council.” Others suggested that the Arts Commission be involved in supervising the Pacific View Operating Partner.

ARCHITECTS’ TOUR

Two days after the Activation meeting, a tour of the closed Pacific View campus was conducted by Senior Civil Engineer Greg Shields as a prerequisite for architectural consultants who plan to submit proposals for “a complete preliminary design report, and ultimately construction drawings, for the rehabilitation of the Pacific View site.”

According to Shields, 20 architects and one testing organization were in attendance. He told attendees that the top three to five proposals will be considered by the city, and later described the walkthrough as “excellent.”

Several current interior photos of Pacific View’s buildings can be seen here.

The third Pacific View Activation Subcommittee meeting was held at Encinitas City Hall the afternoon of Tuesday, March 3. Addressing the audience of about 35 were (top, l. to r.) Senior Planner Kerry Kusiak, Senior Civil Engineer Ed Deane, City Councilmembers and Activation Subcommittee members Tony Kranz and Lisa Shaffer, and Director of Public Works Glenn Pruim. Interim City Manager Larry Watt, Arts Administrator Jim Gilliam and former Mayor Teresa Barth were also in attendance.

SavePacificView.org will stay on top of developments and send email updates when new Pacific View events occur. You’re also invited to stay up-to-date on Pacific View news by joining the SavePacificView.org email list here. Your name and email address will only be used by SavePacificView.org. The SavePacificView story as told by local media can be read here.

What are your Pacific View ideas? Click here to Share Your View!

The historic Pacific View property as it appeared before the City of Encinitas purchased it in 2014.