Attorney Felix Tinkov (l.) addresses the City Council on February 24 about the changes he and his client Don McPherson would like to see in the Right of Entry agreement between the city and the Encinitas Arts, Culture and Ecology Alliance.

After hearing two speakers and considering suggested modifications, the Encinitas City Council voted unanimously to authorize City Attorney Glenn Sabine to conclude a Right of Entry agreement with the Encinitas Arts, Culture and Ecology Alliance. The approval came on February 24, about an hour and 20 minutes into what became a six-and-a-half-hour marathon meeting.

The Alliance consists of many local artists and community leaders who have joined together and were chosen by the council to administer the site as an arts-related facility.

The Right of Entry agreement will allow the Alliance and its supervised volunteers on the property to more completely assess its current condition, stop the deterioration of the buildings and improve the site at no expense or risk to the city.

Nearby property owner Don McPherson and his attorney Felix Tinkov told the council about their “minor” concerns with the wording of the agreement, which were addressed by Sabine, who noted that “attorneys often disagree.” One of their concerns was that they couldn’t find evidence that the Alliance was an official non-profit 501c3 organization. Mayor Kristen Gaspar encouraged Sabine to adopt as many of McPherson and Tinkov’s ideas as possible in the spirit of cooperation, as long as Sabine didn’t believe they weakened the final agreement.

[The morning after the February 24 City Council meeting, McPherson wrote the council members an email in which he noted that Sabine’s clarification had “completely resolved the issues we had raised.”]

Insurance and liability issues, including the idea of on-site volunteers signing waivers, were discussed by council members and addressed by Risk Department Manager Jace Schwarm.

Public Works Director Glenn Pruim told the council that, as requested by the Alliance, certain cleanup measures and other preparations will be conducted at Pacific View prior to the Alliance’s access.

Alliance President Garth Murphy and Vice-President Jon Humphrey didn’t speak at the meeting, but both signed in as supporting the agreement. After the vote, they told SavePacificView.org that they’re eager to get the agreement signed and start work on to the property as soon as possible.

Council Member Lisa Shaffer, who teamed with Council Member Tony Kranz to form the Pacific View Activation Subcommittee, expressed relief in her weekly newsletter. “After a lot of posturing and negotiating, we are finally ready to allow the […] Alliance to get on the property legally and begin to clean it up. […] Now we need to get the long-term lease agreement finished!”

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