During the interactive “speed dating” portion of the Pacific View Collaboration Workshop, Garth Murphy of the Encinitas Art, Culture and Ecology Alliance (left) confers with Encinitas Arts Administrator Jim Gilliam. In the foreground, Encinitas Foodie Fest organizer Jolee Pink shares info with college ceramics instructor David Pearl.

Only one potential Pacific View Operating Partner organization offered a presentation at the city’s Collaboration Workshop on Monday, July 20. But far from being a disappointment, it indicated an encouraging level of cooperation as many of the key interested parties have joined forces under the banner of the Encinitas Art, Culture and Ecology Alliance.

Approximately 40 people attended the hour-and-45-minute morning event at City Hall, which was ably conducted by Director of Public Works and Acting City Manager Glenn Pruim. The meeting began with Pruim offering background information about the site, its 2014 purchase by the city from the Encinitas Union School District, and the process of selecting an Operating Partner for the site.

Longtime resident, surfer, ecologist and building restorer Garth Murphy is the de facto spokesperson for the Art, Culture and Ecology Alliance, created by Murphy and Steve Barilotti to advance an arts center at Pacific View. He gave a short presentation about his organization’s intentions for the site, beginning with a history of the property, its inhabitants and its natural state over the years. Murphy’s group wants to incorporate Encinitas’ past and ecology into the new arts center, noting that “good art comes from a culture, and culture is a product of this local setting.”

The Alliance proposes that the existing mid-century buildings be preserved and improved, turning the classrooms into “arts showcases.” “Our plan is to absorb, or be absorbed by, all the other operating partners,” Murphy explained, “because we believe that this is a project that requires the support of the entire community. And we invite the participation of everybody in Encinitas.”

According to Murphy, the Encinitas Art, Culture and Ecology Alliance includes representatives from the Arts Alive Foundation, Community Parks Alliance, Ecology Center, Encinitas 101, Encinitas Historical Society, Hubbell and Hubbell Architects, Ilan-Lael Foundation, Life For Benefit Encinitas, Paint Encinitas, Switchfoot Bro Am Foundation and the Synergy Art Foundation. He said that five new organizations joined the Alliance as a result of the Collaboration Workshop.

Pruim then asked each of the attendees to introduce themselves and explain why they were there. The group was diverse, and a spirit of cooperation and optimism about Pacific View’s future prevailed.

After a short break, the participants began the “speed dating” part of the meeting, which resulted in dozens of lively exchanges between the potential operating partners and tenants. Several new connections appeared to have been made, and Murphy likened it to “a cocktail party that didn’t need alcohol.”

As the meeting ended, Pruim fielded questions and reminded the crowd that mandatory Letters of Interest from potential Operating Partners are due to the city by August 3, 2015.

Video of the meeting can be seen here.

Several Pacific View Collaboration Workshop participants gather around a banner from an earlier attempt to rescue Pacific View from development. Danny Salzhandler of the 101 Artists’ Colony and the Arts Alive Foundation has triumphantly added a “DONE” label to the banner.

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

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