The Encinitas City Council governs all five communities — Old Encinitas, Leucadia, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, New Encinitas, and Olivenhain — as a five-member elected body meeting at City Hall on South Vulcan Avenue. Council members also serve as the Board of Directors for the San Dieguito Water District, the Encinitas Housing Authority, and the Encinitas Public Financing Authority, a governance structure that intersects with community development partners like Leichtag Foundation on land-use and agricultural preservation initiatives in the 92024 ZIP. The mayor is elected citywide to a two-year term, while four council members represent geographic districts and serve staggered four-year terms, a structure voters approved in the November 2012 direct-election measure. Council oversight extends to the Encinitas Ranch Golf Authority and the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Department, which manages facilities including Encinitas Community Park on Santa Fe Drive. The body exercises land-use authority under the city's certified Local Coastal Program, reviewing discretionary permits for projects within the California Coastal Zone that spans the city's six miles of Pacific coastline.