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This week the City of Carlsbad officially welcomed our new Police Chief, Christie Calderwood, the 11th since Carlsbad became a city in 1952. Learn more about her in today’s update, along with these updates:

• City passes annual audit, gearing up for budget season
• Sustainable progress made on environmental goals
• Exploring renewable energy sources
• Get involved: Creek to Bay Cleanup
• Next steps for Veterans Memorial Park
• Understanding immigration enforcement laws
• What’s on the agenda for the next City Council meeting

A Q&A with Carlsbad’s new top cop

Chief Christie Calderwood may be the Carlsbad Police Department’s newest leader, but she is no stranger to the city. She steps into this new role after 18 years of service, most recently as second in command to former Police Chief Mickey Williams. 

Q. What led you to a career in law enforcement?

A. I was looking for a career that was different than the normal 9-5. I wanted an opportunity to give back to the community and be a part of something challenging, but also rewarding. I think playing sports as I was growing up also made me drawn to the camaraderie and teamwork that goes into policing.

Q. How has law enforcement changed since you first started your career?

A. There are the obvious things like the increased use of technology, but the biggest shift has been in the philosophy and culture of law enforcement. There is a greater priority placed on communication, crisis intervention and de-escalation. In Carlsbad, we have always had a strong focus on community collaboration, and this is now widely recognized as a critical component of effective law enforcement.

Q. What are some of the challenges you see on the horizon?

A. Carlsbad has always been a very safe city, but we are still affected by the same economic and societal forces you see in larger cities. Issues are always evolving, like cybercrime, ghost guns and the opioid epidemic. These are things that we hadn’t seen in previous decades of policing.

Our challenge is to be very nimble and use data to detect new trends and allocate our resources where they’re needed most. As our population increases, we need to ensure that we have the right quantity and quality of resources to continue to do the job at a very high level.

Ideally, we want to seize every opportunity to get out in front of issues before they become problems. As Police Chief, I want to carry the community’s voice back to the department, but also be the voice for the brave professionals who work for the Police Department, ensuring they have what they need to be successful in their jobs.

Q. You now have two chiefs in your household. How has that been?

A. Our careers have always been on more or less parallel paths, so it’s normal for us. We both have a calling for public service. My husband (Carlsbad Fire Chief Michael Calderwood) was a Battalion Chief when I was a Sergeant. I was a Lieutenant when he was a Division Chief and ultimately became the Fire Chief. The Police and Fire departments work closely together but are totally separate entities, so we are not in each other’s chains of command. The departments have complementary roles, a great working relationship and mutual respect.

Q. What do you like to do when you’re not working?

A. Our family is probably like a lot of Carlsbad families. We are involved in a lot of sports, and we like to spend time with friends and family. We love the ocean and try to get out to the beach as much as possible.

If you want to meet your new Police Chief in person, keep an eye out for a series of “Coffee with the Chief” events we will be planning in the coming weeks.

City gets clean financial audit

Our Finance Department provided the results Tuesday of the city’s most recent audit, covering the financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023. Our results were as good as it gets, with the auditors finding that our financial statements meet the standards set by the Comptroller General of the United States. These standards are outlined in a publication called General Accounting Standards, which is commonly referred to as The Yellow Book (yes, it has a yellow cover).

Cities are required to undergo an outside audit every year. The Independent Auditor’s Report is part of the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which also includes an analysis of the city’s finances and basic financial statements.

As we put a bow on last fiscal year’s budget, we are preparing to present the proposed budget for next fiscal year. Here are the key upcoming dates:

Sustainable progress made on environmental goals

Also on Tuesday, city staff presented the Climate Action Plan annual report. The plan is a roadmap for how the city will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet state requirements. You can read about the report highlights or read the entire report on our website.

Carlsbad was one of the first cities in the region to have an approved and measurable Climate Action Plan, and that was almost 10 years ago. So far, we surpassed the initial goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 4% lower than what they were in 2012. Now, we’re working on the next target—reducing greenhouse gas emissions to less than half of what they were in 2012 by 2035 (2012 is considered the “baseline year” for measuring greenhouse gas emissions).

We are in the process of updating the Climate Action Plan to align with new statewide targets. We will share a draft this summer for review. After that, it goes to the Planning Commission and, finally, to the City Council for adoption.

Doing our part for the planet

In honor of Earth Month, over the past few weeks I’ve been sharing tips on how you can live more sustainably – from reducing food waste to curbing your energy use and using water wisely.

Today, I’ll highlight some of the ways the City of Carlsbad is leading the way in environmental sustainability, a key goal in the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan. In 2023, the city:

• Certified 18 more businesses through the Carlsbad Green Business Program, which encourages businesses to conserve energy, water and other resources.
• Approved permits for more than five megawatts of solar on nonresidential buildings throughout Carlsbad – enough to cover the electricity usage of about 6,200 California households each year.
• Approved permits for more than 12 megawatts of solar on residential properties.
• Continued implementing city ordinances related to energy efficiency and alternative water heating in new construction and major renovation projects.
• Connected 52 households in Carlsbad with free in-home energy assessments through our Home Energy Score Assessment pilot program.
• Replaced eight more city fleet vehicles with hybrid or electric alternatives, bringing the total number of replacements to 96.

Stay up to date on environmental initiatives, find out about rebates and weigh in on city programs by signing up for our new environmental sustainability e-mail newsletter.

Exploring renewable energy sources

Speaking of Carlsbad’s environmental sustainability goals, the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan identifies several long term projects related to protecting our natural resources.

A new solar energy study is one of those projects. This week, the City Council, in its capacity as the Carlsbad Municipal Water District Board, received an update on a study to see if we could utilize available property near the city’s eastern border to generate and store solar energy.  

We are only at the very beginning stages of exploring the idea. The next step will be to hire an expert in the field to work with the city to study the feasibility and evaluate different ways it could be operated. That work will begin at the end of this year. If the project looks viable, we would then work with the surrounding community to get feedback and discuss design considerations.

You can read about other sustainability initiatives in the Environmental Sustainability section of the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan.

Learn more.

Get involved: Creek to Bay cleanup

Earth Day is Monday, April 22, but you can celebrate a little early this year by helping the City of Carlsbad and I Love a Clean San Diego remove 30,000 pounds of litter Saturday at the 22nd Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup.

Creek to Bay Cleanup

Saturday, April 20

9 a.m. to noon

Register

We’re still seeking volunteers at several sites, including North City Beach, South Ponto State Beach and Warm Waters Beach. Or you can stay close to your home and pick up trash in your neighborhood. Every little bit helps keep our oceans and lagoons clean.

Learn more on the event website.

Next steps for Veterans Memorial Park 

Veterans Memorial Park is nearing construction and on track to open to the public in 2026. The next step in the planning process is creating public art that will be featured on the upper plateau.

Last year, we worked with veterans and active service members to talk about the project and what was most important to consider in designing this new artwork. Here’s what they had to say.

Based on this initial feedback, the city issued a nationwide Call for Artists to identify potential artists and artist teams for the project. The city received 35 qualified applications, which will be considered by a Public Art Advisory Subcommittee made up of four community members, two members of the city’s Arts Commission and one arts professional.

Members of the public are welcome to weigh in too. You can see all the proposals on the city’s website, along with the scoring criteria. Email your comments to arts@carlsbadca.gov or come to the meeting and provide input in person.

Public Art Advisory Subcommittee meeting

Thursday, April 25, 5 p.m.

City Council Chamber

1200 Carlsbad Village Drive

Agenda

• The goal on April 25 is to narrow the field down to three to five artists who will be invited to make presentations at a future meeting.
• Once an artist is selected, the community will have an opportunity to help shape the public art design concept before work begins.

You can sign up for email updates about this very special public art project to be kept informed about progress and opportunities to get involved.

Understanding immigration enforcement laws

On Saturday, April 13, around 10:47 a.m., the City of Carlsbad Police Department received a call concerning a boat that came ashore near Grand Avenue with about 10-20 people onboard. When officers responded to the scene, the passengers were no longer there.

• While we can’t confirm the immigration status of those involved, this incident matches other similar operations in the region involving human smuggling.
• California laws prohibit local police from enforcing immigration laws.
• That’s why when officers observe or receive reports of suspected illegal immigration activities, our only recourse is to report them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection – the agency responsible for securing U.S. borders and enforcing against illegal entries and human smuggling.

The City Council supports legislation that provides financial assistance to local agencies for Homeland Security. We are urging the state and federal governments to provide the necessary technology and personnel resources to effectively monitor and put a stop to scenes like the one we saw here in Carlsbad.

I hope that helps answer questions you might have had about this incident. Carlsbad is one of the safest communities in the state, and we will continue to do everything we can to keep it that way. 

What’s on the agenda for the next City Council meeting

The next City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, April 23, starting at 5 p.m. in the City Council Chamber. Topics include:

• Continuing local storm-related emergency proclamations to remove debris from the Buena Vista Creek channel and repair a slope between El Camino Real and Trieste Drive. These proclamations must be renewed at each regular City Council meeting until the emergency is declared over.
• Considering new fees and the amount of land developers of new residential subdivisions must contribute to support parks in Carlsbad
• Approving the plans and putting the Stagecoach Park community garden construction project out to bid
• A request from the Citizens for a Friendly Airport organization to change the city’s zoning regulations to address potential new uses or expansion at the county-run McClellan-Palomar Airport
• A report on the results of a grant-funded project to demonstrate how a 1-mile segment of Carlsbad Boulevard, south of Palomar Airport Road, could be moved farther from the coast to protect against future sea level rise

See the agenda and staff reports.

The City Council encourages your participation. You can get agendas and staff reports emailed to you directly, and if you want to provide input, you can email council@carlsbadca.gov before the meeting or come in person and fill out a request to speak. If you want to watch from home, we have three options:

• Watch the meeting live on the website
• Watch a recording of the meeting afterward
• Watch live or a replay throughout the week on the city’s cable TV channel, Spectrum channel 24 and AT&T U-verse channel 99

This weekend should be a nice one, so if you’re heading out, please do take a few moments to enjoy our natural resources. And be sure to review our construction map of city projects so you know which areas will be affected and can change your route if needed.  Keep in mind the map only shows city projects, not work being done by private companies or local utilities.

Scott Chadwick

City Manager