Raising a Stink : Environment: Some in Encinitas lobby for a park at site of former sewage plant, others fear hazards to children.

So, what do you do with a retired sinkhole?

You make it a golf driving range. Or a lawn bowling green. How about a video arcade? Or a family park? Or a sports batting cage?

That’s the quandary in which the city of Encinitas finds itself these days--what to do with the land that a generation ago was used as a sewage treatment plant.

This week, a task force set up by the local sanitation district asked the public what to do with the 18 acres just west of Interstate 5. The plans for the land vary, but many residents are lobbying City Hall to use the property for a public park.

Others, however, fear that toddlers might soon scamper about on reclaimed land that not long ago served as a settling pond where human waste was processed.

But community officials are quick to counter that, no matter how the land is used--whether it be mini-mall or hiking trail--the danger to local residents will be negligible, but much considered.

“There’s been a lot of talk about exactly what’s down there,” said David Wigginton, the city’s director of community services. “I mean, it’s been years and years since that site was used for sewage treatment. Have the rains cleaned it all out?

“Or are there sufficient amounts of materials to call for thousands upon thousands of dollars in an expensive cleanup? Those are the questions.”

For decades, residents of Encinitas, which incorporated in 1986, have tried in vain to have something done with the property, a wash of trees and rocks near Vulcan Avenue and Encinitas Boulevard that was recently home to scores of Guatemalan refugees--until their encampments were summarily flushed out by city officials.

Numerous voter initiatives have failed, including Proposition A in 1989 and the more recent Proposition X, in which 72% of Encinitans voted to give the Encinitas Sanitary District the go-ahead to offer the land outright to the city to use as it saw fit.

But city officials, on the advice of staff, voted against accepting the property for $1 a year.

Encinitas City Manager Warren Shafer explained why.

“We didn’t do any detailed study on the property,” he said. “We didn’t look at what might still be buried there. Another constant that I don’t think many people considered is that the city also would have to maintain that land. And, at the time, we had several other projects that were more important.”

But a vociferous group of parkland-lovers say their dreams got short-shrift.

“Those people at City Hall never even gave it serious attention,” said John Stubstad, a local parks activist who sits on the sewage center task force. “They were too busy hoarding away money for their little City Hall complex debacle.”

Soon, officials plan to open a $12-million, refurbished City Hall near downtown, a project that has run into millions of dollars in cost overruns after Encinitas learned that the 30-year-old building needed a new roof, as well as asbestos and fumigation repairs.

“They bought that new City Hall so they could just populate it with more overpaid, underused staff members,” Stubstad said. “Let me tell you, 95% of the people in this city would use a park, but less than 5% would ever visit their City Hall. They’re wrong-headed.”

On Monday, scores of residents spoke before the task force, offering their own ideas for the best use of the land.

The task force will report back to the sanitation district with recommendations for use of the land. The City Council eventually will decide what to do.

The old Encinitas sewage treatment plant went out of business in 1975, when the city began sending its effluent to the Encina plant in Carlsbad. Since then, the land has sat vacant and most recently has been used to store heavy construction equipment.

Many say the generation-old wastes are 40 feet or more below the surface, covered over by the landfill from the construction of the nearby Big Bear grocery store. Still, others are scared that little Johnny will one day pull something horrible from the ground--like the three-eyed fish Bart Simpson pulled from the waters near the nuclear power plant where his father works on “The Simpsons” TV show.

Several residents who attended the task force meeting said the land should have a commercial use. Others say it should be used for sports such as baseball or lawn bowling.

Still others said the use should be mixed--sort of a mini-mall and a park complex so the taxes from the mall can help pay for the upkeep of the park.

“No matter what happens,” said Heather Hazen, task force chairman, “there will be tests done on the site to make sure that it is totally safe.”

As Encinitans consider the future of the sewage site, officials are warning that they won’t spend the taxpayers’ nest egg finding any solution.

“How much money do they want us to spend to find out if this patch of ground is safe?” Wigginton asked. “After all, there are limited funds here. And, with the state playing havoc with our budget, there’s even less money than that.”

The task force will report back to the sanitation district with recommendations for use of the land. The City Council eventually will decide what to do.