DEL MAR — The City Council held its first discussions last week about adding an affordable housing overlay zone to several sites throughout the city to increase incentives for developers to pursue lower-income housing projects.
At a June 15 meeting, the council said they would support applying the overlay zone to seven sites throughout the city that are identified as potential infill sites in the 6th Cycle Housing Element. This includes five in the north commercial zone along Jimmy Durante Boulevard just south of the San Dieguito Lagoon, and two in the professional commercial zone along Camino Del Mar across from Shores Park.
Both the north commercial and professional commercial zones contain a base density of 20 dwelling units per acre. All the northern commercial sites are also located within the floodplain overlay zone.
California’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) requires Del Mar to process the new affordable housing overlay zone because the city failed to produce at least 30 lower-income units by April of 2025.
The city will begin drafting regulations for the affordable housing overlay zone, incorporating the council’s feedback from a June 15 meeting. Formal Planning Commission and City Council hearings on the proposed overlay and associated amendments to the Local Coastal Plan will be held by the end of the year to meet state deadlines.
“Under the existing zoning, nobody’s coming in with applications,” said City Manager Ashley Jones. “We have to create an overlay zone with some additional accommodations for development in order for people to want to develop their property, otherwise there’s no incentive for them to do that.”
Mayor Tracy Martinez and council members John Spelich and Dan Quirk all live within 500 feet of three of the sites (sites 3, 4, and 5), which presents a conflict of interest under city regulations. Spelich was chosen via a name drawing to sit out of the discussion about those sites.
Council members recognized that developers already have the ability to propose density bonus projects on all sites, but said that setting site-specific zoning standards will provide a framework for potential affordable housing development.
“I hope the community understands that none of this is what we really want in terms of the character of Del Mar, but site-specific is gonna minimize the overall footprint,” said Councilmember Dan Quirk.
North commercial zones
In the north commercial zone, the city currently allows a maximum height of 26 feet and a floor area ratio of 30%.
For each site, the consulting firm Ascent presented an analysis of the minimum density, floor area ratio (the ratio of total interior floor area to the site’s surface area), building height, and lot coverage required to accommodate a project with affordable housing units.
Ascent also presented conceptual designs for what projects on these sites could look like, including a developer-proposed density bonus project that would permit additional units beyond the base density.
City staff said that, at a minimum, sites in the north commercial zone would need to accommodate a height of at least 35 feet, or three stories, to make an affordable housing project feasible. The floor area ratios would also need to increase dramatically, to 83% at Site 1 and as high as 103% at Site 2.
Site 1 is a 0.8-acre site at 2236/2148 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, which is partially vacant and includes a small commercial building. At base density, the site could accommodate 16 units in a two-story, 26-foot-tall building, according to Ascent.
With a 50% density bonus, Site 1 could have a 24-unit project measuring three stories and 38 feet tall.
Site 2 at 2126 Jimmy Durante measures half an acre and currently includes warehouses. A base-density project could include 10 units, each two stories and 26 feet tall, and a density-bonus project could have 15 units across three stories, each measuring 35 feet tall.
Site 3 at 2120 Jimmy Durante is 0.9 acres and contains commercial and office spaces. With a 50% density bonus to the base density, the site could have 28 units in a three-story, 35-foot building.
Site 4 at 2010 Jimmy Durante is 2.12 acres and could have a 50% density bonus project featuring 64 units in a three-story, 35-foot building. It currently contains parking and commercial offices.
Site 5 is a 1.42-acre triangular lot at 2002 Jimmy Durante, containing commercial offices and a coffee cart pop-up. A 50% density bonus project could feature 43 units in a three-story, 40-foot building.
Ascent stated in their study that all five sites could be developed at the maximum density bonus without obstructing any scenic views.
However, some council members questioned this. They claimed the consultant did not fully assess the potential impacts of ocean views on homes on Heather Lane, which is elevated above the north commercial zone.
“Height is really impactful. You’re asking people, they could lose 25% of their property value. That’s a huge deal for people,” said Mayor Tracy Martinez.
Councilmember Terry Gaasterland said the city should try to maximize the FAR before allowing taller building heights, and asked that building heights be limited to 30 feet rather than the staff’s recommendation of 35 feet.
Staff explained that it’s technically possible to have a three-story project in a 30-foot building, but it would be very tight. Principal Planner Amanda Lee said the city could also analyze ways to increase the FAR in these areas.
City staff noted that because the entirety of the north commercial zone is in the floodplain, a three-story affordable housing project would need to have parking on the ground floor, followed by two floors of residential units above.
Lee said the city learned this lesson with Watermark, a 50-unit development approved as a by-right project in 2022. Watermark is also in the north commercial zone, just across from sites 1 through 5 on the other side of Jimmy Durante Boulevard.
Watermark obtained a density bonus for including 10 affordable units. Because of the existing floodplain, the height was permitted to increase to 48 feet and four stories to accommodate ground-floor parking while still allowing the desired total number of units. The floor area ratio for the project also grew from 30% to 129%.
“We know that this low floor area ratio and low height limit is just not suitable for doing affordable housing development when you’re in a floodplain context,” Lee said.
Professional commercial
Two sites are being eyed for an affordable housing overlay in the professional commercial zone in the city’s downtown Village area. The two sites are located adjacent to one another at 807 and 853 Camino Del Mar, and are known respectively as sites 6 and 7.
Site 6 is a 0.3-acre site currently developed with a one-story commercial building. If developed with a density bonus, the site could accommodate a 9-unit, two-story project at a height of 26 feet, according to Ascent.
Site 7 measures 0.55 acres and has a two-story office building and surface parking. A density bonus project could have 17 units between two stories, measuring 26 feet tall.
For both sites 6 and 7, staff found that affordable housing can be accommodated within the current maximum height of 26 feet. The floor area ratio would require less dramatic increases than in the north commercial zone, from 60% to 81% on Site 6 and 70% on Site 7.
Affordable housing could also be accommodated on-site without blocking scenic views, Ascent’s study found.
Ascent also presented three additional sites that the city will likely rely on in the 7th Cycle Housing Element, which begins in 2030. They include 832 Camino Del Mar, 322 8th Street, and a parking area at 10th Street and Camino Del Mar across from Del Mar City Hall.
The City Council opted not to include those sites in the affordable housing overlay zone at this time.
Staff said that if sites 1 through 7 roll over to the city’s 7th Cycle, any proposed projects with affordable units would have to be processed as by-right, meaning they could not be held to any subjective design standards.
Martinez said she hoped HCD would show some leniency to cities, as many are struggling to meet their unit production quotas in the 6th Cycle.
“I also know that most cities are going to fall short, and there’s some hope that HCD will give some grace if we’ve done everything we possibly can,” Martinez said.
