Sheri Armendariz and her husband, Art, owners of a small garden business, settled on Union Street in 2006, attracted by the city’s agricultural heritage and its nurseries and gardens that still dot the area.
When wildfires threatened in 2008, Sheri Armendariz said she had nowhere to go. Fires blocked the northbound route near Camp Pendleton, and she and her husband had no nearby options, even considering pitching a tent on the beach.
Construction on the Clark Avenue Apartments has left her with similar feelings.
“We didn’t know where to go (in 2008),” Armendariz said. “And that’s how I feel now.”
The Clark Avenue Apartments, a 199-unit development situated on 6.22 acres east of Interstate 5, will be accessible from Clark Avenue to the north and Union Street to the south.
On Aug. 27, the City Council voted 4-1 to meet in closed session on Sept. 2 to consider with staff and attorneys whether permits could be paused due to potential legal challenges over the development’s road widths, “by-right” classification and whether the statute of limitations to contest its approval has expired.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers and Councilmembers Luke Shaffer, Jim O’Hara and Marco San Antonio voted in favor. Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes opposed.
The item was introduced by O’Hara, who declined to share specifics from the closed session but stated that the city and council remained committed to achieving the best outcome for the project.
The main concern is the width of access roads. City rules require 26-foot-wide roads for buildings taller than 30 feet, but the project, which exceeds that height, anticipates access roads between 19 and 21 feet.
Cynthia Sheya Palmer, who lives north of the project, told the council Aug. 27 that the landlocked property has “mobility challenges, emergency response challenges, evacuation challenges” for current and future residents trying to reach the freeway or other parts of the city.
Showing photos of Clark Avenue, Union Street, Del Riego Avenue, Puebla Avenue and La Mirada Avenue, Sheya Palmer said cars parked along the streets further narrow the roads.
“That’s our reality every day,” she said. “They’re single lane roads, all of them.”
Armendariz said ongoing construction will only worsen the situation. She did not fault Western National Builders for developing its property, but she worried that the apartments would be completed before improvements to the nearby infrastructure were made.
Armendariz pointed to ongoing projects on Quail Gardens Drive as further straining traffic to I-5 from Leucadia Boulevard and Encinitas Boulevard.
“It’s really a mess,” Armendariz said. “We didn’t buy this gridlock.”
She suggested a three-way stop sign at Saxony Road and Union Street would help, but said she had not heard back from the city.
Armendariz said she fears her home could become “unsellable for a couple of years while construction is here” and could lose value if traffic issues persist. She also worried about safety problems tied to road rage, delays for emergency vehicles and an overall lack of priority for infrastructure upgrades.
“We don’t know if there’s an answer to keep us safe,” Armendariz said. “If there is, let’s get going on it.”
In the meantime, she said she and her neighbors must adapt while waiting for clarity on infrastructure improvements.
“We’re going to have to stay positive and leave early,” Armendariz said.
