The Encinitas City Council voted unanimously to award a design contract to Schmidt Design Group to advance the L7 Park development project, a roughly 9.5‑acre site the city has set aside for a community park. City senior engineer Carlos Baldenegro told the council the selection committee reviewed nine proposals and interviewed the top three before recommending Schmidt Design Group as the most qualified team.

The move follows public comment urging thorough environmental review and broad community outreach. Public speakers questioned whether the contract is ‘putting the cart before the horse’ because site constraints (wetlands, drainage, ownership boundaries) can limit what a park can ultimately be. “This all seems a little bit cart before the horse…we don’t know yet,” said a public commenter during testimony, urging early site assessment and major public engagement.

Council members pressed staff and the consultant on the contract scope, which includes site assessment, a series of community engagement steps, and design milestones that progress to 30%, 60%, 90% and full construction documents. City manager and former parks director referenced Olympus Park and argued design consultants are necessary to translate community input into feasible designs that account for soils, slopes and regulatory constraints.

Funding for design and future construction comes from park acquisition and development mitigation fees; staff said those resources are restricted to park acquisition and development, not routine maintenance. The council asked staff to ensure early environmental testing is conducted to determine wetlands or other constraints and to stage the contract phases if staff and council decide a phased approach would be more fiscally conservative.

After clarifying a potential perceived conflict of interest raised during public comment, Councilmember Lyons declined to recuse herself, stating she had been an at‑will employee of a former firm and had no ongoing financial ties; the council accepted her disclosure and proceeded. The motion to award the contract passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the contract execution, initiate the site assessments described in the scope, and schedule the community outreach included in the agreement. A separate procurement and construction phase will follow once 100% construction documents and funding are in place.