The approval clears the way for the city of Carlsbad to approve a commercial and residential development that many locals had hoped to see turn into a coastal park.
OCEANSIDE, Calif. (CN) — A patch of undeveloped land in Carlsbad is turning out to be anything but uncrowded.
The California Coastal Commission voted 7-4 to approve a land-use plan amendment by the city of Carlsbad on Thursday that would pave the way for 120 townhomes and commercial development on the 11-acre patch of land located near the beach that locals say is the last chance for a coastal park in the southern part of the city.
The commission hearing in nearby Oceanside brought dozens of Carlsbad residents to voice their concerns over the development during a marathon public comment period. Residents overwhelmingly opposed the proposed development in favor of a new public park.
Commissioners were generally sympathetic to the grassroots advocacy but also supportive of the city’s desire for more housing in the region. Developer H.G. Fenton Co. said the new development would include 24 affordable three- and four-bedroom units.
The commission rejected the city’s proposed plan as submitted but voted to approve a plan with several staff-recommended changes.
Residents opposed to the plan say they have repeatedly rejected the city’s plans over the years to develop the vacant property. People for Ponto say it’s now or never for the park.
“This is an extremely important topic on an extremely important part of land,” Jodi Jones, an outspoken member of People for Ponto, told the commission. “A coastal park is what is needed. There is nothing right about taking the last remaining open space and putting concrete buildings on it.”
Jones told commissioners that there is overwhelming support among Carlsbad residents for a new city park and that nearly 20,000 residents and visitors have submitted petitions for one.
Residents in South Carlsbad say the region is devoid of public park space compared with its northern neighbors, as coastal erosion and shoreline armoring affect the beach. They said their children resort to playing in the street or traveling long distances through traffic to get to another park.
“This isn’t an abstract issue,” said Roxanne Johnson, who lives adjacent to the parcel in question. “I am not against housing, I am against the destruction and development of our last tiny bit of open space where the needs of our community are not being considered and better locations for housing exist. Whose needs matter more? The needs of the families who are already here? Or the few newcomers who could be served by additional housing?”
Commission Vice Chair Caryl Hart, of Sebastopol, California, commended the community organizing around the land as a prime example of how new parks are typically formed.
“Parks don’t just happen because a few people want it, or it’s pre-zoned,” she said. “They happen because of a movement. That is what we’re seeing here.”
Even more importantly, sea-level rise is threatening nearby South Carlsbad State Beach and its campground, she said.
“Once this is developed, you will never get it back,” she said. “I think you have to really look at what is going to be the impact of this housing development in this area and the loss of this area permanently.”
Hart was joined in her opposition to the city’s plan by Commission Chair Meagan Harmon and commissioners Mike Wilson and Suzanne Smith.
Other commissioners noted that the vote was not a decision on a park or a residential development, but simply a vote on the city’s amendment to its local coastal program.
There was nothing commissioners could do on Thursday to implement a park, other commissioners noted.
“We’re here to identify coastal resources and not compel in a land use decision of this making a nexus to create a park,” Commissioner Dan Kalmick, of Huntington Beach, said. “I don’t believe this is a venue to achieve that goal for residents.”
The land-use designations for residential and commercial uses were approved by the Coastal Commission in 2016, but the corresponding changes to the Poinsettia Shores Master Plan still required its approval before such development could take place.
The city says the privately owned parcel has been part of the master plan since 1993 and has never been designated as open space.
While the commission’s vote does not approve construction of the development, it puts the issue back in the hands of the city of Carlsbad.
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