Our view: Ecke Ranch redevelopment a better deal for the city

A deal is a deal —— except when both sides agree to renegotiate in search of a better deal. Encinitas voters have just such a better deal before them in the Nov. 8 special election. For the good of the city more than Paul Ecke III's bottom line, Encinitans should vote "yes" on Proposition A.

Ecke is asking voters to support another subdivision of the once-vast and still-valuable land on which his namesake grandfather pioneered the poinsettia market. Squeezed by big-box-store competition and rising energy prices, Ecke says he needs the proceeds of the land sale to stay in business, vowing to pump about $15 million into modernizing his poinsettia processing plant.

On the 67 acres of mostly dilapidated greenhouses between Saxony Road and Quail Gardens Drive, Ecke would keep just 20 acres for his Ecke Ranch poinsettia business. On the remainder he would build 101 homes on 38 acres, a 10-acre city park along Saxony, an extension of Union Street to link Saxony and Quail Gardens Drive and other road improvements, and, if a related land swap goes through, a public-works yard for the city.

The public's unusual chance to directly vote on a development plan stems from the Ecke family's last major subdivision and development. A 1994 deal codified in the Encinitas Ranch Specific Plan brought the city a golf course, a shopping center, 1,000 houses and the family's promise to keep their remaining 67 acres in agriculture "in perpetuity."

That last promise led us to argue in February that "a deal is a deal," which has become a rallying cry of Prop. A's opposition. But neither the city nor Paul Ecke III has defaulted on the 1994 deal; instead, voters have a new deal before them to weigh on its own merits.

Make no mistake: Rezoning the Ecke Ranch land will immediately increase Paul Ecke III's net worth by many millions. But the deal stands to enrich Encinitas even more.

Many Encinitans want the red carpet rolled up, but their numbers are dwarfed by those hoping to become their neighbors. While 101 new houses would drive more cars onto Encinitas and Leucadia boulevards, the new road, roundabouts and sidewalks may offset the traffic impact. The 10 acres of parkland could become another of the city's many fine fields of green; Ecke also offered to leave untouched a historical swath of red poinsettias. The land swap, though not part of the deal before voters, would help the city find a much-needed home for its heavy machinery.

Paul Ecke III has promised to invest his profits in a new high-tech facility for his plants; we believe he will. He and his family certainly have invested in Encinitas, as the YMCA, elementary school and nature preserve bearing the Ecke name make clear. What's more, Paul Ecke III has offered the most skeptical Encinitans proof of his commitment: a legally binding contract to forfeit his last 20 acres to the city should the Ecke Ranch stop using it for agriculture.

What's more, Prop. A merely sets a minimum for what the City Council can seek from Ecke in negotiations that would follow the measure's approval. Already the city has convinced Ecke to halve the number of proposed houses, triple the parkland and sweeten the package of traffic improvements offered.

The family business that put Encinitas on the map and has greatly contributed to its civic life deserves a show of faith from its neighbors. Encinitas voters should vote "yes" on Prop. A. And then the City Council should honor the outcome by seeking the best deal it can get from Paul Ecke III.