Refer to Part 2 of this series. "Psst. Come on over Lennar, cuz we have a good deal for you." "Build the Mall" was supposed to be the corrected, improved, and honest version of the secret antics that City Bureaucrats engaged in ten years prior, regarding the same plot of Agricultural land, known as the Strawberry Fields. These acres abut Interstate 5, and paying customers, usually families, can be easily seen having enjoyable times picking pumpkins, picking strawberries, having parties, and more. Although we acknowledge that it is normal for property owners to sell their assets at a profit, Carlsbad has elected prissy, snobbish people to city council, who despise undeveloped land/dirt in such a public setting. For these people, nothing is better than newly built cement structures and improvements, with their names added on bronze plaques at a cost to Taxpayers of $35,000 per plaque. TWO such plaques are located on the Sea Wall, only about 400 feet apart from each other. We suspect that part of the deal with Developer Caruso was to make Caruso promise to add their names to his privately-funded project with their "standard" $35,000 bronze plaque.
It is legitimate to think of the Grinch as we imagine that councilwoman, and others, getting angry and red-in-the-face when passing by the families who are having a great time in the sunshine and in the dirt.
All parties were blocked by the Zoning Laws that City Hall had arbitrarily imposed on that acreage years ago. For the sale to take place to any developer, a vote would be needed to change the zoning designation. Either the public would vote on the zoning change, or only the five members of the city council would vote. A script was devised, rigidly adhered to, with a smug and egotistical citizen put in charge who had no idea how to honestly and effectively market/promote anything. The most diabolical item in the script was to threaten the citizens with the high cost of a Special Election. BUT, at the least possible moment, AS SCRIPTED, the city council HEROICALLY arrived, Lone Ranger style, to successfully and unanimously vote on the zoning change themselves. Ta-Dah!
These powerful people of Carlsbad assured the developer that, "if you will pay for our advertising plan, you will build your outdoor mall." But their plan stunk even though the developer spent $9 million to motivate voters to cooperate with the script prepared by the amateurs. Prop A was then created by an electorate that hated the promise of a vote that was only a marketing gimmick. Prop A was successful in overturning what the bad council did, and families can still be seen, FROM THE FREEWAY, having enjoyable times in the Strawberry Fields. We believe that the landowner is a good person who enjoys maintaining what is there. We hope he is profitable. Maybe the egotistical bullies will now leave him alone.
The honest people of Carlsbad herein apologize to Developer Rick Caruso for getting lured into this unpleasant situation. Many who voted against the mall would have voted FOR the mall if the plotters' advertising scheme had been honest, not insulting... and supervised by a different person. We wish Mister Caruso had been elected as mayor of Los Angeles during November 2022.
It is hard to believe that something like this could occur in unincorporated areas of any California county, San Diego County included. And considering other bad moments, such as $100 million for an unneeded municipal golf course, Carlsbad should have some post offices, but no city hall and no city council.
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