Design contract to redo Santa Fe Drive’s recent overhaul also gets green-lit
If the developers of a proposed 120-unit housing project want to proceed, they must build a sidewalk and bike lane segment, and add a vehicle lane to part of El Camino Real, the Encinitas City Council unanimously decided Wednesday.
“I think our staff has put together a compelling argument,” Councilmember Joy Lyndes said as she explained why she was voting for city staff’s recommendation. Councilmember Luke Shaffer called the situation a “moral issue,” and asked the developers, “Why would you not want to ?” And, Mayor Bruce Ehlers said there didn’t appear to be established state case law regarding this particular situation, and added that keeping the roadway improvement requirement in place was worth being sued over. Representatives for the developers countered that the city’s proposed action went counter to the state’s Density Bonus Law, which allows developers special exemptions from city building requirements in exchange for setting aside some units for low-income people. Attorney Tim Hutter, who represents developers Sage Canyon Investors LLC, said Encinitas needs to show that there will be “significant, quantifiable and unavoidable impacts” if the developers do not make the roadway improvements, and he said that Encinitas has not proven this. Under state law, developers are entitled to exemptions if their projects contain a certain percentage of low-income units and if they can show that a proposed city building requirement would place an undue cost burden on their housing projects. The Sage Canyon project, which would be among the tallest structures in the city if built as currently planned, is proposed to go on a 5.23-acre property on the southeast corner of El Camino Real and Sage Canyon Drive. To the north, on the other side of El Camino Real, is The Grauer School, while to the south on the same side of the street is the Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Plans call for 24 of the 120 units to be set aside for low-income people. In December, the city’s Planning Commission approved the development plans, plus six, developer-requested waivers for exemptions from city building height limits and other standards. However, the commissioners did not agree to the developer’s seventh request — a concession that would exempt the developers from having to make improvements to El Camino Real. The commission’s decision led the developers to file an appeal to the council. In their vote Wednesday, the council rejected that appeal. Encinitas is seeking to have the developers add a vehicle lane, a sidewalk, and a curb and gutter area, plus modify the existing bike lane. Having a sidewalk in that area of El Camino Real could reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes by 65 percent to 89 percent, while adding a buffer lane could reduce bicycle-car accidents by 15 percent to 45 percent, according to a city staff report. Developer representatives said the bike lane and sidewalk changes alone would cost them upwards of $172,000. And, they argued that the city’s safety percentage statistics were merely general estimates and not specific to their project. In other action Wednesday, the council voted 4-1, with Lyndes opposed, to contract with consulting company Michael Baker International, Inc. to produce a design for redoing a recently overhauled section of Santa Fe Drive. The design work is estimated to cost no more than $460,000, and council members said they want company representatives to give a public presentation when their plans are about 50 percent complete. The design contract was on the council’s consent calendar — items that are considered routine in nature and approved as a group without council comment — but the Santa Fe Drive project has been hugely controversial over the last several years and the item was pulled off consent due to public requests. A dozen people spoke on the topic, and about half of them opposed the proposal. Opponents, who included the city’s most recent prior mayor and the husband of a former mayor who’s now a state senator, said the new council majority is proposing to tear out the recent roadway changes as a political “vendetta” against the old council majority, while project proponents said the previous renovation was poorly designed and desperately needs a redo. Current plans call for the removal of the new back-in parking spots near San Dieguito Academy High School and the elimination of one of the two new separated bike lanes, plus the expansion of vehicle lane widths from 10 feet to 11 feet.Iran’s supreme leader killed in major attack by US and IsraelSan Diego State loses to Lobos in Albuquerque, and it’s The PitsNavy will decommission 2 San Diego-based warships and a submarine this summerHow a San Diego lawmaker wants to keep homebuilding out of Mission Bay ParkSDSU shortened its bench on the way to blowout win over Utah State; is the new rotation here to stay? SDSU shortened its bench on the way to blowout win over Utah State; is the new rotation here to stay?
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