SOLANA BEACH — Happy 25th, Solana Beach.
On July 1, 1986, Solana Beach became a city. This Friday it will hold a quarter-century birthday party at the newly renovated Fletcher Cove Community Center
Before 1986, Solana Beach was part of unincorporated San Diego County, with residents and leaders constantly feeling ignored by the board of supervisors. Moneys that could have stayed in Solana Beach, such as revenue from sales tax, were being directed to other parts of the county. And there was a constant threat of development without local decision makers.
“What really fueled the campaign for incorporation was to have some say over land use,” said Margaret Schlesinger, the city’s first mayor. “This is a wonderful place to live and we’ve just done so many improvements.”
Indeed. Solana Beach has become a draw to people across the county over the past quarter century. The Cedros Avenue Design District has become a regional draw. A large train station is now a transit center in North County. The city built Fletcher Cove park above its coastal bluffs. And the lush Coastal Rail Trail walkway traverses Highway 101.
One move was ideologic. In 2003, the city became the first in America to ban smoking on beaches.
A lot of this may not have happened if Solana Beach didn’t have local authority.
“Oh my gosh it’s been phenomenal,” said Councilman Joe Kellejian, first elected in 1992. “It’s gone by so fast. We’ve accomplished great things….We have a wonderful place that we call Solana Beach.”
The citizens of Solana Beach voted to incorporate by a 64 percent majority in June 1986. Solana Beach became a city at 7 a.m. July 1 of that year. The first order of action? Stop all county-issued development permits in Solana Beach.
“We all got sued immediately,” Schlesinger said. “We won them all. We just wanted to stop everything to take a look at what was happening.”
Solana Beach’s first attempt to incorporate was unsuccessful. A ballot measure for it to become a city in 1981 failed by 200 votes, Schlesinger said. But five years later, Solana Beach residents successfully drove the effort for cityhood. A group of roughly 75 made it happen with a campaign called Citizens Intending to Incorporate, or CITI.
Encinitas also incorporated in 1986. The two areas had been considering forming one city as the San Dieguito region, but Encinitas would incorporate on its own in October of that year.
One of Solana Beach’s next big projects will be revitalizing its downtown stretch of the Coast Highway. The city will borrow up to $6 million from the San Diego Association of Governments for the first phase of a project that could ultimately create a pedestrian and bicyclist friendly shopping district, with roundabouts instead of traffic lights and a reduced number of lanes for cars. Construction could begin in the fall.
Solana Beach 25th Anniversary Celebration
Where: Fletcher Cove Community Center, 111 S. Sierra Ave.
When: Friday, July 1
Admission: Free
Schedule:
• 5:30 p.m. Grand Reopening Celebration at Fletcher Cove Community Center
• 6 p.m. Celebration moves to Fletcher Cove Park with a 1980s tribute band
• 6:45 p.m. Magician, arts and crafts
• 7:45 p.m. Presentations and recognition of dignitaries
• 8:45 p.m. Laser light show
