TS
Joined: Jun 28, 2008
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TS
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/encinitas/article_ff87c026-99eb-56bf-891d-80e084a95d9b.html
"A local artist got the go-ahead Wednesday to transform a stump of a Torrey pine at Swami's park into a huge human head, reminiscent of the massive stone statues on Easter Island.
But the City Council postponed a vote on an Encinitas environmental action plan that's been in production for several years, saying it needs more discussion and perhaps more work.
Work on the giant carving is expected to begin shortly.
Woodcarver Tim Richards, who divides his time between Encinitas and Utah, plans to create what he has called a "temporary" sculpture out of the tall stump.
"Wood is an organic material and degrades when exposed to the elements," Richards wrote in his project proposal to the city. "Although attempts will be made to preserve it, the life span of the sculpture is unknown."
Richard is donating his labor. The city's expense will be $117 for insurance to cover the artist while he is doing the carving, a city staff report states.
The tree, which city officials have estimated to be more than 80 years old, suffered a severe bark beetle infestation and was mostly removed in mid-January.
While the sculpture project was approved without comment Wednesday, council reaction to the draft environmental action plan was sharply divided.
The plan, which was produced by a council-appointed citizens' committee, contains recommendations of more than 100 changes Encinitas could make to benefit the planet. Items range from reworking the city's building codes to banning leaf-blower machines.
The council was scheduled to vote to accept the plan, but decided in a 4-0 vote with Mayor James Bond absent, to revisit the issue in a series of meetings. The first one is proposed to occur within the next 60 days.
Councilwomen Teresa Barth and Maggie Houlihan praised the committee's work Wednesday and said they would gladly support its recommendation that the city hire a full-time environmental coordinator. Houlihan said such a person could easily save the city enough money to pay for the extra salary cost, while Barth said she viewed the action plan as "long-term vision" for the city.
"I see this as a really broad vision of the future, and I support it," she said, adding that she didn't think that by accepting the document the city was committing to doing everything that was in it.
While Barth and Houlihan backed the plan, Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar and Councilman Jerome Stocks said there was no way they could accept it as proposed. Both of them told committee chairwoman Elizabeth Taylor that it needed to be drastically reworked.
"I think what we're missing here is some focus," Gaspar said, adding that she wanted the committee to come forward with a top-two list rather than a long list recommendations "My concern is because this action plan is so thorough, I'm concerned that it will be an in-action plan."
Stocks said he was worried about the financial aspects of some of the recommendations, particularly the proposed changes to the city's building codes related to new home construction.
"I'm sorry --- there are just some things in here I can't adopt," he said, mentioning home-size limits and requirements that "grey water," or wastewater used for laundry and dishwashing, be reused on the site where it was produced.
Call staff writer Barbara Henry at 760-901-4072."
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