Plans to build a mix of apartments, shops and hotel rooms just south of the luxury Alila Marea Beach Resort are outstanding and the development will provide a huge community benefit, Encinitas City Council members have said Wednesday, as they denied an appeal filed by an opponent. group
“I haven’t found any reason for this appeal,” Councilman Joe Mosca said at tonight’s council meeting, calling the proposed development a “thoughtful project that will really fit the community.”
Councilor Joy Lyndes said it would be a “positive contribution to the quality of life in our community”, while Councilor Tony Kranz said two-thirds of the dozen public speakers strongly supported the development plans, as and several people who sent e-mails to the city in the days before the hearing.
“I can’t think of any other project that has had this evolution of support,” he said.
Mayor Catherine Blakespear said project developer Larry Jackel provided a great description of the plans.
“Like Mr. Jackel said, it’s the right project for the right area,” he said.
Jackel proposed to build 94 apartments, including 19 that will be for low-income people, plus a two-story underground garage, some shops and restaurants, and a 34-unit hotel that will be connected via bridge to Alila. Marea Resort The facilities will go on a 3.79-acre, mostly vacant parcel along North Coast Highway 101, just south of the beach resort and bordered to the west and south by the Seabluffe townhome community.
Seabluffe residents are divided over the development plans, and that was evident at Wednesday’s meeting. A series of residents who support the proposal spoke during the public comment period, while the council considered an appeal filed by Friends of Seabluffe, an opponent group. The group was appealing the city’s Planning Commission’s decision in June to certify the project’s Environmental Impact Report and approve various city permits, including a coastal development permit.
The attorney for the opponents, Isabela Rodriguez, told the council that parts of the project do not comply with the city’s development standards and the city should require the developer to do more to reduce its likely traffic impact on local roads.
“We will please take into consideration the health (of Seabluffe residents), their safety … when you decline this appeal,” he said.
Opponents also called on the city to require monitoring equipment and observers to track whether construction activity is making the shoreline’s sandy cliffs unstable.
Marco Gonzalez, the developer’s lawyer, told the council that there was no need for this, saying that his experts found that the railroad trains passing nearby have much more impact.
For their part, council members focused on an issue that was not part of the appeal. They repeatedly asked city staff and consultants whether all interested tribal groups had been properly notified of the development plans.
Their questions came after a representative of the San Pasqual Band of Missionary Indians said their group had been left out of the process until recently and asked the council to reject the project or delay the vote
A city consultant said the city worked with another tribal group throughout the process, but that wasn’t initially included in the notification paperwork because the city wasn’t aware it had an interest in what happened. in the site. The city has since invited San Pasqual representatives to visit the site and provide comments, the consultant said.
Council members said they were glad the tribe had called attention to the problem.
“We’ll do better (next time),” Kranz promised.
