Letter: Encinitas city manager outright wrong on Leichtag

Re: Encinitas council OKs homeless lot agreement amid heavy criticism, Oct. 14, 2021

“‘Leichtag was very kind to extend their agreement and allow us to remain, have the program remain, but they could no longer support it because of the threats and the disturbances that were caused by not the people in the program but people who were trying to ensure that it would not stay at Leichtag,’ (City Manager Pam Antil) said ahead of the City Council’s vote.”

This statement is blatantly untrue. The Leichtag Safe Lot is buried in the middle of their property and is inaccessible to anyone but Leichtag employees. You cannot see into the property or know who utilizes it because many people go in and out of their driveways at the hours the lot is in use. People live on the property. The property is under guard.

I would like to see the North Coast Current contact Charlene Seidel with Leichtag and ask her directly (investigating and fact finding used to be a part of good journalism) and correct this information.

City Manager Antil didn’t live or work in Encinitas when the Leichtag lot was opened. During a community meeting held there before the lot was approved in 2020, Seidel told the audience, which I was part of, the intent was to only keep the lot on the Leichtag property for a year and then the city could decide if it would move it or stop the program.

I would hope the paper would print the correction.

Cindy Cremona
Encinitas
Oct. 14, 2021

encinitas current, cardiff current