ABOUT THE LEUCADIA-ENCINITAS TOWN COUNCIL AND WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO:

Over the years, records have been lost so no one is really sure when the Leucadia Town Council was formed. Originally the Board members were appointed by the County of San Diego Commissioners to advise them on developments and events affected the area. There were similar Town Councils in the communities of Olivenhain, Old Encinitas (now called Historic Encinitas) and Cardiff-by-the-Sea.

For many reasons, not the least of which that the County was receiving many more tax dollars (to the tune of 2M per year) from this area than it was spending on the area AND they tended not to listen to the advice offered by their own, appointed Town Council’s…the citizens of Encinitas incorporated their 5 communities into one City in 1986.

Now, Leucadians have always been considered independent types and there is very little in our history that would lead you to think anything else. When Leucadia became part of the City of Encinitas, some folks thought we should maintain an independent voice to whatever governing body we had, so they re-created the LEUCADIA TOWN COUNCIL as a non-profit organization. We can especially thank the late and very dear, Tony Kauflin for preserving the LTC.

Our PURPOSE is to ‘speak on behalf of the citizens of Leucadia and Coastal Encinitas to protect, preserve and enhance our eclectic beach community’.

Our MISSION STATEMENT is ‘To inform and unite Leucadians and Coastal Encinitas citizens, preserve the character of our community, and promote prosperity and quality of life.’

In 1997, the City of Encinitas adopted a Specific Plan that covers the Pacific Coast Highway corridor, from La Costa Blvd to Encinitas Blvd. The southern portion of that area was identified as ‘Coastal Encinitas’ so our name was changed to the LEUCADIA-ENCINITAS TOWN COUNCIL.

We have a 10 member Board of Directors. Currently Patricia Bell is the President, Gene Chapo is Vice-President, Keith Harold is Treasurer, Fred Caldwell is V-P of Design and Publications and Rachelle Collier and Kathleen Lees share the responsibilities of Secretary.

See our list of ACCOMPLISHEMENTS for details but, in general, our efforts focus on preserving the community character of this priceless little beach community. We participate in community events and both grassroots and/or City sponsored efforts toward that goal.

An ongoing focus is restoring what used to be our beautiful PCH/Railroad corridor. The canopy of trees that covered PCH as you drove through Leucadia was famous and the trains used to stop here so travelers could get out and enjoy the wildflowers. We are also supporting finding a way to build at-grade, pedestrian crossings over the railroad tracks so the residential and business communities can have safe and convenient access to each other.

Maintaining the atmosphere and quality of life we all either moved, or stayed here for is another focus of our attentions. We are a community with a history and close ties to each other. Our community may not be as ‘old’ as some can claim but it is every bit as precious to us.