Cityhood Battle Goes to High Court : Encinitas Foes in Last-Ditch Effort Before Incorporation

A citizens’ group fighting the impending unification of four communities into the new City of Encinitas has petitioned the California Supreme Court, seeking a ruling that would likely overturn the incorporation approved overwhelmingly by voters in June.

Attorneys representing Citizens for Informed Choice on San Dieguito (CICSD) said Friday they have asked for an expedited hearing on their request that the court block the remaining legal step to cityhood. They also conceded that the chances of winning a hearing before the state court are slim.

“Anybody who goes to the Supreme Court must accept the proposition that the likelihood of its considering their case is remote,” said David Mulliken of the San Diego law firm Latham & Watkins. “But that doesn’t deter you from pressing on if you’re convinced, as we are, that you are right.”

At issue is Proposition K, the June ballot measure that merged the communities of Encinitas, Cardiff, Leucadia and Olivenhain into a 26-square-mile city of about 44,000. The incorporation--the area’s third attempt to secede from the county in 12 years--was approved by 69% of the voters.

Mulliken and CICSD contend that the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), a county agency that must approve all incorporation bids, failed to comply with certain legal procedures before qualifying the measure for a test at the polls. That failure, they say, taints the vote.

More specifically, CICSD, a group consisting mostly of businessmen and large landowners, maintains that LAFCO should have prepared an environmental impact report on the effect the new city would have on neighboring jurisdictions and the county. In addition, they contend that several “sphere of influence” studies should have been completed before Encinitas and its sister communities were allowed to establish home rule.

Those arguments were rejected earlier this month by the 4th District Court of Appeal. In a 33-page opinion issued just a day after oral arguments were presented, the three-justice panel upheld a ruling by a San Diego Superior Court judge that had cleared the way for the June cityhood vote.

Undeterred, CICSD attorneys have turned to the state Supreme Court, asking that the justices hear the case via a “petition for transfer,” a process enabling an appellant to win a hearing more quickly. Mulliken said CICSD wants the court to extend a stay that currently bars LAFCO from signing a so-called “certificate of incorporation” for Encinitas before Sept. 4.

If the court agrees, CICSD has also requested a prompt hearing on the issues in the case in order to have a decision prior to Oct. 1, when Encinitas officially becomes a city.