CARLSBAD — A long running battle between residents and the city’s planning department has been renewed over a proposal on the north shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
On Wednesday, a proposal for a 20-unit timeshare complex at 4509 Adams Street will go before the planning commission. The planning department recommends approval of the project, according to city records.
James Courtney, a board member of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, is seeking to redevelop the current structure on the shores of the lagoon into the Carlsbad Boat Club Resort.
Courtney’s application to the city is requesting approval of a tentative tract map, non-residential planned unit development permit and conditional use permit.
The three-story project calls for a 19,884 square-foot building with 20 units, 30-space parking garage, two boat storage spaces, two visitor spaces outside the garage and a 30-foot by 45-foot courtyard.
He proposed a 26-unit project in 2008, but was denied by the commission and city council. The commission and council noted the project had too many units to justify approval.
Many neighborhood residents, meanwhile, are opposing the new project citing numerous concerns including safety, traffic and assimilation.
Currently, the site is the only parcel in the area zoned Visitor Commercial/Residential Tourist, while every other property is zoned residential.
At least two homeowners associations and at least 10 residents have sent protest letters to the city voicing their opposition to the plan.
Opponents noted the project is nearly the same in terms of square footage and bedroom size as the previous plan. One resident noted the new proposal is 76 square-feet and three bedrooms smaller than the previous plan.
Residents also said the lagoon’s ecosystem, narrow street, noise and water traffic were other reasons the project should be denied.
Perhaps the biggest objection, however, is residents said the project is incompatible with the area. The waterfront properties, minus the project, plus surrounding homes are single-family residences and a building with dozens of tourists doesn’t make sense.
The planning department report, however, states in the application the project would provide street improvements and the geotechnical report indicates the project is suitable for the type and density.
In addition, a preliminary hydrology report indicates all runoff can be controlled on site.
3 comments
Geotechnical report,. LMAO
In 2008 the Carlsbad Planning Staff recommended denial of the project because it was incompatible with the adjacent single family uses of the surrounding neighborhood, it was too intense in use, and because of its massive size and bulk and scale of the structure. The community wholeheartedly supported that. The Planning Commissioners denied the project. Even the City Council unanimously denied the project.
This time around the Planning Staff has – amazingly – recommended approval of essentially the same project. The proposed building is “smaller”, less intense, by only 76 square feet of “habitable” space. The Staff report states “The number of timeshare units is 20, which is a 25 percent reduction compared to the previously denied timeshare project on the site.” But it is only 3 bedrooms less than before. Its 17,000 square foot parking garage footprint and 53 foot height makes it essentially the same massive size, bulk and scale as the denied project.
This incompatible project is not orderly growth and development of our community. We hope that the Planning Commissioners will deny the project and will faithfully protect the public interest and not just that of a single property owner. They are the guardians of our common future and are trusted to plan for the needs of present and future generations.
The community is not against development on this lot and they would probably support a smaller project that is not a timeshare.
We ask that the Planning Commissioners help our neighborhood preserve its special Carlsbad small town beach character and deny the application for this massive, incompatible project.
yeah, they can fix the street, they can sequester the drain water, but the thing is that the development doesn’t belong there…it isn’t compatible with the area.
People like the street the way it is, rather than open it to tourist traffic to and fro. It’s already a neighborhood.
Instead of burdening the area with more traffic, transients, noise, and disruption, why not support the lagoon? The lagoon is labelled an environmental hazard, let the lagoon foundation and the planning department work on cleaning that up.
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