OCEANSIDE — City Council voted in closed session April 3 not to oppose the Quarry Creek development that will bring 656 houses to Carlsbad and additional traffic to Oceanside.
The housing development, proposed for a 156-acre site south of state Route 78 and west of College Boulevard along the Carlsbad and Oceanside border, has received numerous citizen protests for its size and location next to an open space preserve.
Councilmen Jerry Kern, Gary Felien and Jack Feller cast the three no votes that stopped the city from moving forward with a lawsuit to oppose the project.
“We, in all likelihood, would lose the case,” Felien said. “When staff made a list of requests to be mitigated, Carlsbad agreed to every single one of the requests. Litigation wasn’t going to gain us anything more to offset the impacts.”
Felien said he feels Oceanside’s interests are protected with Carlsbad’s promise to move a fire station closer to the planned development and require the developer to construct roads to mitigate traffic.
“I have no issue on how Carlsbad decides its own land use issues, how big or small a project is, or what should be a greenbelt or what shouldn’t be a greenbelt,” Felien added. “It’s not my job.”
Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez supported taking action against the high-density development that is not in a “smart growth” area.
Wood said he is not satisfied with Carlsbad’s agreement to have the developer construct roads to mitigate an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 additional trips of traffic a day.
“Everything will pour onto College Boulevard and Lake, with the new (Carlsbad) high school going in it’s going to be devastating,” Wood said.
“I’m embarrassed to sit on this council anymore,” Wood added. “They (Kern, Felien and Feller) represent developers and Carlsbad.”
Sanchez expressed concerns that the development would lower Oceanside residents’ quality of life.
“The Carlsbad housing project 100 percent impacts Oceanside residents,” Sanchez said. “We demanded certain fixes for traffic, a lower number of units. Above 200 is unjust.”
Wood said he would not take individual action to oppose the development. He added that the 2014 City Council election would give residents an opportunity to have their say about councilmembers’ decisions.
2 comments
I wanted to commend Mayor Wood for his honest opinions and statements regarding the Quarry Development. As an Oceanside resident, I find it frightening that so many units would be approved for development in that area.
San Diego, including Oceanside, is at the tipping point. We can decide between two realities:
1. We uphold our current state of being that includes enjoying a more laid back coast lifestyle. One that includes friendly neighbors, enjoying our oceans, lagoons, canyons and neighborhoods.
2. We develop and become an overused, concrete city where our nature is secondhand, freeways rule our lives and ambient noise and neighbors become nuisances, not friends.
Traffic in this area is already at maximum capacity. The surrounding freeways are dangerous, busy and the side streets are filled with speeding commuters that care not for pedestrians, rules or children walking to and from school. The interchanges are poorly designed and not able to accommodate more vehicles.
There will always be developers. There will always be a chance to pour concrete. There will not be more chances to build nature’s beauty. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. And in the place of solitude, fresh air, joy and community, we find ourselves with yet another Wal Mart.
How can we stop this regression to an urbanized lifestyle that is not ours? Developments such as the Quarry Creek project is not “progress.”
Kern, Feller & Felien never met a developer they didn’t like. It would be such a shock if they EVER actually listened to their constituents instead of outside interests. The only traffic “mitigation” agreed to by the developer is a right-turn lane. Yeah. That’ll really help. Carlsbad gets credit for building housing and Oceanside gets ALL the traffic impact and responsibility of providing emergency services. Is it 2014 yet? Can we vote these guys OFF the Oceanside Council?!
Comments are closed.