North County Report: Developers of Two Failed Housing Projects Are Trying Again 

Residents of Encinitas and Carlsbad may be experiencing déjà vu with two controversial housing developments being considered by their respective cities.  

That’s because this isn’t the first time these projects have been proposed by the same developers. 

We looked into why they didn’t work out the first time, and what residents can expect this time around. 

Let’s Start With Encinitas 

Dubbed the largest development in the city’s history, the proposed Quail Meadows project is a 485-unit apartment complex on a 12-acre site on Quail Gardens Drive. Seventy-two of those units would be affordable. 

Some background: Developer Baldwin & Sons first submitted applications for the project in 2020. But at a Planning Commission meeting in 2022, the developers realized they had to go back to the drawing board when a neighboring property owner submitted a third-party environmental survey of the site and discovered the property had two willow trees. 

Baldwin & Sons consulted with the California Coastal Commission, which found the northern part of the project site was, in fact, a wetland. 

The Coastal Commission defines a wetland area as a place with water, special soil or vegetation. In this case, the willow trees classify as vegetation. 

Planning commissioners in 2022 also took issue with the original design of the project which envisioned 485 units across four buildings and all the project’s 72 low-income units in one building, instead of spread throughout. 

Commissioners raised concerns that this would segregate the low-income tenants. 

In 2023, Baldwin & Sons resubmitted the project condensing the units into two residential buildings on the southern part of the site, away from the wetland area. The low-income units are split evenly in both buildings. But the two buildings would also include seven-story parking garages – six stories above ground, one story below – as well as a separate two-story fitness center. 

The two apartment complexes would be six stories and 68.6 feet tall, while their accompanying parking garages would be seven stories, including the underground area. This means they’d be 74.6 feet tall. 

Residents are still largely opposed to this new proposal despite the changes. 

The latest: At a Feb. 1 Planning Commission meeting, nearly 60 people signed up to speak against the project, raising concerns about its size and potential impacts on traffic and the surrounding wetland area that has to stay protected. 

The Commission was set to continue the hearing this Thursday, but the city said in email that Baldwin & Sons asked that it be postponed “to have time to reassess the project based on the comments received by the public.”  

Carlsbad Village, Round Two 

In 2018, the Carlsbad City Council narrowly rejected a four-story, mixed-use project called Carlsbad Village Center. The majority of those councilmembers no longer represent the city. 

Developers proposed underground parking, ground-floor retail shops, second-story offices and third-and fourth-floor apartments. 

Residents opposing the project said it was too large compared to the surrounding one and two-story buildings and didn’t match the character of the neighborhood. A council majority ultimately agreed. 

At the time, city staff said the building met or exceeded all city standards for height, parking, density and more. But the City Council still rejected it on a 2-1 vote. 

Six years later, developer Leor Lakritz is trying again. 

New and improved: Kirk Moeller, the project’s architect, hosted an informational gathering for Carlsbad residents last month to unveil the new plans. 

Now called Carlsbad Village Square, the new project would be four stories and 45 feet tall with nearly 3,000 square feet of first-floor retail space and five residential units above it.  

Moeller told attendees that they’ve eliminated the underground parking garage, pulled back the building slightly from the property line and created a more modern design, the Coast News reported. 

Many residents, though, are still opposed and say it still doesn’t fit the character of the neighborhood. 

Looking ahead: The proposal is still in its early review phase, a city staffer told the Coast News, so it’s still far from reality.  

But if the Planning Commission and the City Council find that the project fits all the necessary development standards like it did six years ago, it’s likely the project will get approved due to increased pressure from the state to produce housing. 

I’ve previously written about state lawmakers and the state attorney general amping up their enforcement of housing laws cities are required to follow. Those laws don’t allow cities to reject housing proposals if they meet all the necessary standards to be approved. 

In 2022, Encinitas officials rejected a housing project proposed in the Olivenhain neighborhood that met all requirements. Attorney General Rob Bonta quickly reprimanded the city for denying the project, and the City Council had to rehear it and approve it.   

In Other News: 

• SANDAG presented the latest developments on its plan to move a stretch of train tracks that run along the Del Mar bluffs into an underground tunnel last week, and residents are still largely opposed to most of the tunnel options. The agency said a preferred route could be announced by spring. (Union-Tribune) Related: I’ve previously reported on the highly anticipated and very expensive plan to relocate the train tracks. Read that story here. (Voice of San Diego) 
• Carlsbad officials declared an emergency last week to expedite the cleaning of sediment and debris from the Buena Vista Creek channel, which has contributed to the flooding of state Route 78 at El Camino Real for years. (Union-Tribune) 
• The city of Encinitas is considering putting a 1 percent sales tax measure on the November 2024 ballot. Encinitas’ combined sales tax rate is currently 7.75 percent, one of the lowest in California. (Coast News)