Citizens' Committee to Study the Flower Fields and the Strawberry Fields Area

The Mayor and City Council created a 25-member citizens' committee to study the area east of I-5 along Cannon Road including and surrounding the existing Flower Fields and Strawberry Fields on April 18, 2006. On May 2, 2006 the City Council adopted a Resolution expanding the Committee to 31 members. The Citizens' Committee is to have a report to the City Council no later than July 18, 2006.

Two initiatives relating to this area are being circulated with the intent to place them on the November, 2006 ballot and the City Council is also considering sponsoring its own ballot measure for the area. Given the fact that there may be alternative initiatives on the ballot in November, the City Council determined that it would be prudent to have an Ad Hoc Citizens' Committee study the area, analyze the alternative initiatives and make any recommendations it deems appropriate to the City Council.

The specific tasks of the Citizens' Committee, as determined by the City Council, are as follows:

• Review all pertinent background information regarding this area of the city including all existing land use documents (General Plan, Growth Management Plan, Zoning, Local Coastal Plan, South Carlsbad Coastal Redevelopment Area, Specific Plan, etc.), historical information and recent land use visioning efforts;
• Review the three proposed ballot measures relating to the area;
• Receive public input on the area and on the ballot measures including presentations from the ballot measure proponents;
• Prepare an independent and objective comparison of the three measures including, but not limited to, a summary and major provisions of the measures, allowable and restricted land uses, and follow-up implementation requirements (this comparison could then potentially be used as educational material to inform the voters concerning the measures); and
• Make any other recommendations as deemed appropriate by the Committee regarding the measures or the future of the area.

The group will meet for six weeks beginning May 16. An outside, independent facilitator was contracted to run the meetings to ensure the impartiality of the process.

The meetings are governed by the Brown Act, and are open to the public. The final report will be presented to the Council, and will be available for the public to review.

Although the area is near the famous Carlsbad Flower Fields, the area that has become an international tourist attraction is not in jeopardy.

In 1993, the Carlsbad City Council placed a condition on 53.42 acres now known as the Flower Fields®. The property owner agreed to preserve the land for flower-growing activities. This agreement can only be modified by a five-year advance notice, and a public hearing must be held. The City retains the first rights to purchase the property, should the property owner decide to stop growing flowers there.

While much of the property surrounding the fields is privately owned and will eventually be developed, the Flower Fields® will provide spectacular color and remain a Carlsbad landmark and gateway to the City.

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	September 7, 2006 Agenda [11 kb]
	July 11, 2006 Agenda [11 kb]
	June 27, 2006 Agenda [11 kb]
	June 20, 2006 Agenda [11 kb]
	June 15, 2006 Agenda [11 kb]
	June 6, 2006 Agenda [12 kb]
	May 30, 2006 Agenda [20 kb]
	May 16, 2006 Agenda [20 kb]

	Election Code Section 9212 Report on Citizen Initiative Scheduled for November 2006 Ballot [6389 kb] *
	Report of the Citizens' Committee to Study the Flower Fields and Strawberry Fields Area [30795 kb] *
	Report of the Citizens' Committee to Study the Flower Fields and Strawberry Fields Area Presentation [471 kb]
	Agenda Bill for Legal and Fiscal Impacts of Proposition D [1654 kb] *
	Agenda Bill Accepting Comparative Analysis of September 7, 2006 [441 kb]

	Preserve the Flower and Strawberry Fields and Save Carlsbad Taxpayers’ Money - Proposition D [523 kb] *
	Save the Strawberry and Flower Growing Fields Act of 2006 - Proposition E [4101 kb] *

* This is a large document and may take several minutes to download.