Encinitas planning commissioners ultimately denied permits for a 199-unit residential development east of Interstate 5 after hearing from more than two dozen opponents and trying to come up with their own solution to traffic congestion.
The project’s investors, Western National Properties, were expected to appeal the decision to the City Council.
They weren’t fazed by the design of the proposed development, planning commissioners said before they voted. It was the impact the project was likely to have on nearby roads, which are old, narrow and potholed – and will not be renovated as part of the proposed development.
“We’re making a bad situation worse by adding a lot of housing,” said Commissioner Susan Sherrod.
Sherod said the apartment building design seemed “appropriate,” while Chairman Kevin Doyle said he had “no problem” with the proposed design, adding that he didn’t like it or hate it.
However, Doyle said, “I feel like this is going to be a disaster if we don’t do something along Union (Street).”
Commissioner Steve Dalton agreed, saying, “It seems like a terrible road to access from.”
The three-story, 15-building Clark Avenue Apartments project is proposed to sit on a 6.22-acre site east of Interstate 5 and west of Poinsettia Park in a region nicknamed “Avocado Acres” and “Tortilla Flats.”
Ken O’Neil, a representative of Western National Properties, told commissioners his company chose the site because it was near Interstate 5.
“We looked at numerous locations and this one jumped out at us,” he said, noting that his company plans to build and then manage a residential complex.
Western National tried to assuage neighborhood concerns by agreeing not to use Puebla Street as an access point, O’Neil said. He also highlighted the investments the company has made, including additional landscaping along the Interstate 5 side of the property and road improvements immediately adjacent to the site.
However, commissioners and area residents said the area’s main access route – Union Street – is not being upgraded and is in desperate need of it.
Doyle said the developers will pay to create a “nice little roundabout to nowhere” on the cul-de-sac while the main access route has no improvements.
“I’m just amazed that we’re going to spend a bunch of your money to fix this roundabout that nobody’s going to use unless they get lost,” he told developers.
Fellow commissioner Dalton said he shares Doyle’s frustration but feels the commission’s hands are tied.
The proposed housing site is among 15 sites listed in the state-approved citywide housing plan as places where higher-density housing must be located, he noted. If developers follow state requirements, projects proposed for those sites are considered “rightful” and the commission can do little to stop them or force developers to do more than meet basic requirements, he said.
Developer representatives also emphasized this and urged the commission to just finalize the decision that night. That request came after commissioners asked if they would be willing to accept a two-week delay and use the time to work with neighboring residents to reach an agreement on funding some additional road improvements.
In the end, the commission voted 4-0, with Commissioner Robert Prendergast absent, to deny the project a boundary line adjustment, plus the design review, lesser use and coastal development permits it needs to proceed. In their denial, commissioners said they believe the project is a subdivision that should be required to do a full environmental impact report. They also said public relations efforts were inadequate because developers did not reach out to Spanish-speaking residents in the area.
