Archive for the 'Carlsbad South' Category
“Old” Carlsbad positively leads the cities housing market
September 14th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Business Community, Carlsbad City, Carlsbad Real Estate, Carlsbad South, Carlsbad Village, Carlsbad schools
CARLSBAD-Of Carlsbad’s four zip codes, 92008, 92009, 92010 and92011, the best real estate data are coming from the “old” area of the city.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported on data from DataQuick this weekend that approximately two-thirds of sellers lost money when selling their home.
For Carlsbad, the 92008 “village” zip code had the lowest rate of homes sold for a loss in the city and was in the top 6 for the entire county. From June 22 through August 22, there was a total of 40 transactions of which 10 were for a loss. Additionally, when looking at detached homes, 92008 has the second best affordabilty of 15% which is double from its last year mark of 7%.
Turning our attention towards 92010, in the same data used revealed that the 92010 had the lowest difference on median price from previous sale of 6.9%. This is also the fifth lowest for the entire county. To put this number in perspective, the area hardest hit, Golden Hills, had a median loss of 55% which translates to a return of only $45,000 for every $100,000 in initial purchase price. The other areas of Carlsbad saw approximately twice as much loss at approximately 13.7%.
In more good news for the area, 92010 maintains its position as the most affordable area of the city at 16% for detached homes and just over 26% 
when combined with attached homes.
The 92011 zip code was not included in the article. The study was done on zip codes wth 10 or more transactions during this two month period and with 60 closed transactions, 92011 should have been included. I have contacted the author to see if I could get an explanation.
Contact me any time, I am here to help.
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Carlsbad’s Sammy’s WoodFire pizza burns
July 29th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Business Community, Carlsbad South
CARLSBAD– About 8:00 this morning, firefighters were called to Sammy’s WoodFire pizza in Carlsbad after a police officer heard some type of explosion and saw smoke. It took approximately 46 firefighters from Carlsbad, Vista, Oceanside and Encinitas to help extinguish the blaze which was put out by 9:45. There were three employees in the restaurant at the time but everyone was able to get out of the building without incident. To read more go here.
I spent about two years at Bellefleur Restaurant as executive Sous Chef 
and we had an oak grill and pizza oven. In the couple years I was there we had the fire department out three or four times as the creosote build up from burning so much wood would overwhelm the vent system. When the restaurant was sold, the wood grill was replaced with gas and while not capable to produce such flavorful food it is a much safer alternative.
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3 of 4 areas of Carlsbad see home price increases
July 10th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Beaches, Carlsbad Real Estate, Carlsbad South, Carlsbad Village
CARLSBAD– 92009,92011 and 92010 all saw home price increases from May to June with 92010 remaining the most affordable area of the city for detached homes while 92009 stays on top for attached. For May’s numbers you can go here.
Here are Junes attached homes numbers.
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Tamarack beach parking fees approved by Coastal Commission
May 9th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad 'best of', Carlsbad Beaches, Carlsbad Business Community, Carlsbad City, Carlsbad Community Events, Carlsbad Outdoor Events, Carlsbad South
CARLSBAD– The California Coastal commission voted 11–1 approving converting the Tamarack State Beach parking lot from a free lot to a pay to park. The proposed fee is $8 for the day or one could buy an annual pass for $125. With the state budget deficit, it was a no brainer that this would pass. However the approval does not mean the change is happening right away. See in the past the state had approval to do this but the city paid an annual fee to keep the machine from going up. So while the public perception was that it was a free lot, it was not. That situation ended when the states conditional use permit expired and here lies the surprise.
When the latest proposal first surfaced, the state said converting the lot would generate about $200,000 in fees. The city, surprised that the state was looking into this again, mentioned the possibility of picking up the tab again. The state was amiable to this and during yesterday’s hearing attended by Carlsbad council members, stated the expected revenue to 
be… $350,000 to $560,000. Huh?
A topic of discussion as to why the city SHOULD pay the fee to keep the lot open was apparently not that it served a better public good, but that Carlsbad could afford it.
Commission Chairman Patrick Kruer of La Jolla called Carlsbad a financial “success story” and quizzed city officials on their reluctance to pay.
“I was surprised to hear you don’t subsidize (parking) anymore,” Kruer said. “If there’s any city in the state of California or county of San Diego that could help out, it would be the city of Carlsbad.”
And Commissioner Ben Hueso, a San Diego councilman, said nearly all of Carlsbad’s beaches are in the state parks system, thereby relieving the city of the burden of paying lifeguards.
“That’s a big contribution to the city of Carlsbad,” Hueso said. “I agree with (Kruer) that the city could do a lot to solve this problem.” – San Diego Union Tribune, 5/9/2008
Mayor was quoted later as saying that, “it was the first time I’ve been bashed for being economically sound”. North County Times 5/9/2008
Now the topic of lifeguards is not new to Carlsbad either. Mayor Bud Lewis has always held that they are the state’s beaches making them the state’s responsibility. This has prompted other cities to complain that Carlsbad, like Encinitas, should pay to patrol them because even though they are the property of the state, the city benefits from the tourism appeal. I tend to agree with the Mayor as the state charges the city an access fee for events such as the Carlsbad Triathlon sponsored by yours truly. If you want the city to fund the 
services, turn over control.
Will the state implement the pay to park? Yes. Will parking on the residential streets get worse? Yes. Will the city take this in to account and cough up the money? Most likely. Will Vigiluccis lose their overflow parking?
Lastly, a phone call to new Carlsbad city manager’s office Lisa Hildabrand revealed an inaccuracy in the Union’s article. The city and state have not yet scheduled a meeting. I will try to find out when this happens and will post it here.
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Encinas Creek bridge repair to start
May 8th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Beaches, Carlsbad City, Carlsbad South
CARLSBAD-In August of 2007 the U/T reported on 87 bridges rated deficient by CALTRANS inspectors. One of these bridges was the western portion of the Encinas Creek crossing in between Palomar Airport Road and Island Way. In response to this Carlsbad slated the bridge for replacement.
The first sign of activity was the closure of the western most lane of the two lane bridge in February of 2008. Upon inspection by myself of the bridge it is amazing how much more damaged 
the windward side of the bridge was versus the protected eastern side.
Next week the city will start the realignment of south bound Carlsbad Boulevard in order to create a new second lane. The bridge replacement is expected to take approximately 2 years according to city engineer Bob Johnson at a cost of approximately one million dollars. Congressman Bilbray has submitted this project for Federal Funding which may help offset some of this cost. The completion of the 
second lane should be completed by the end of May.
A question I had for Bob Johnson related to the realignment of Carlsbad Boulevard through this area. There has been discussion of bringing the ow separated road together meeting on the eastern side. It seemed odd to spend the funds now to rebuild the bridge if this realignment were to happen. I was told that if the realignment did take place the city is looking at using the abandoned western side as bike and pedestrian pathways.
Lastly another traffic impact due to the construction and realignment is a reduction in the speed limit starting from just south of Palomar Airport Road to Island Way. The city council on at Tuesday’s meeting voted on reducing the speed from 50 mph to 35 mph. This reduction will effect the south bound lanes only through the construction zone.
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Carlsbad couple suing Realtor lose case
April 11th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Business Community, Carlsbad Real Estate, Carlsbad South
CARLSBAD– The Carlsbad couple suing their REALTOR for paying too much 
for their home in the Aviara area, lost their case. I originally wrote about it here.
After about a week of testimony and only two hours of deliberations the woman led jury dismissed the case.
“Mike Little did what he was suppose to do”, jury forewomen Wendi Brick said. “The bottomline is that you(as the buyer)are responsible when you sign a contract and purchase something”. North County Times 4–11–2008
Wonder if they’ll go after their attorney?
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