Encinitas

For the time being, Encinitas City Hall will be located in a dilapidated shopping center on a downtown hilltop. The City Council voted, 4-1, Monday night to lease space in the aged Vulcan Square shopping center for three years.

The lease, which includes an option to renew, will cost the newly incorporated city $215,730 annually. The council chose the site over a more modern complex on Encinitas Boulevard known as North Coast Business Park, where a three-year lease was offered at $197,115.

Vulcan Square was once a bustling facility that housed a Mayfair Market and a cluster of smaller shops. But when the market closed several years ago, business dropped off and the center is now widely considered to be a run-down area.

Mayor Marjorie Gaines said the council’s action reflects a desire by the city to “improve the area and make it a benefit to the community rather than an eyesore.” She said the building’s owner has agreed to renovate the center and pay for landscaping to improve its appearance.

Still, the mayor voted against the Vulcan Square lease. Gaines said she likes the site but would prefer to see the city buy the property when it searches for land for a permanent city hall, a decision that is years away.

The city, which officially took over the reins of government from the county last week, will occupy 5,100 square feet in the center, at 511 N. Vulcan Ave.