Encinitas City Council members will meet in closed session Wednesday, Oct. 21, to negotiate buying a Lone Jack Road property for a permanent Olivenhain fire station.

The 23,000-square-foot parcel at 2883 Lone Jack Road currently holds a single-family home and a garage, according to a city staff report cited by the San Diego Union-Tribune. The owners are listed as Charles and Kathryn DuVivier in the city's amended agenda. Assistant City Manager Jace Schwarm is the city's negotiator, and the council will discuss price and terms behind closed doors.

The property sits about a half-mile from the existing Fire Station 6, which operates out of a leased commercial building on Rancho Santa Fe Road with a two-person crew and a light wildland patrol truck. Fire Chief Josh Gordon told The Coast News in October 2025 that the setup is "insufficient for the area's significant wildland fire threat and other emergency needs."

The Encinitas Planning Commission voted unanimously Sept. 3 to declare the proposed purchase consistent with the city's General Plan. The property is zoned rural residential-floodplain, where a fire station would be a conditionally permitted use, The Coast News reported.

At that September meeting, Gordon cautioned that a permanent station is a long way off. "It's going to be years down the road," he told commissioners, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The city has already approved a $400,000 contract with PBK Architects to design both a temporary and permanent Fire Station 6. A temporary station is planned for the neighboring city-owned Little Oaks Park at 2879 Lone Jack Road, where a manufactured home and a "sprung structure" garage will house a three-person crew and a Type 1 fire engine, according to city documents.

The Wednesday session also includes three litigation items. The council will confer with attorneys on two existing cases: People of the State of California/City of Encinitas v. Matthew Wolf/Turning Tides LLC (Case No. 26CU051749N) and Sethee v. City of Encinitas (Case No. 26CU031266-N). A third item covers whether to initiate one new lawsuit. The agenda included no details on any of the cases.

The special session begins at 3:30 p.m. at City Hall, 505 South Vulcan Ave.

No public action is expected. Any reportable outcomes would be announced after the closed session concludes.