Encinitas denies local group’s appeal of Torrey Crest project

ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council on Wednesday unanimously denied an appeal by a local group opposing a 30-home development on Melba Road and Island View Lane, allowing the project to move forward despite neighbors’ concerns.

The appeal, filed by the Melba Alliance for a Safe and Healthy Environment (MASHE), challenged the Planning Commission’s September approval of the Torrey Crest project. MASHE argued the development would create safety issues, contaminate soil, increase traffic and result in the removal of mature trees without adequate mitigation.

Developer Torrey Pacific Corporation’s plan also features a private road, a park, road widening along Melba Road and other site improvements on the 7-acre parcel near Oak Crest Middle School.

“This should not be approved until a suitable agreement is reached between Island View neighbors, the applicant, and the city,” said Jean-Bernard Minster, a Cardiff resident and retired geologist speaking on behalf of MASHE.

Minster said the group does not oppose the Torrey Crest project but seeks to collaborate with the city and developer to identify and address project shortcomings and mitigate its impact on the neighborhood. 

The project has raised concerns from neighbors over potential safety issues due to increased traffic projections on Island View Lane, a narrow road that was originally used as a private drive to a now-abandoned home at 1190 Island View Lane.

Developer representative Brian Staver, whose family has owned the property for decades, described the project as an “environmentally responsible place to put 30 homes,” highlighting its proximity to schools, parks and other amenities.

“(The project is) walkable to schools of all levels … Oak Crest Middle School, San Dieguito Academy, to name a few of the closest ones,” Staver said. “Repeatedly, we have revised the project based on what MASHE identified as their top request at the time.”

During the meeting, Senior Planner J. Alfred Dichoso said the project, which includes three very low-income units, complies with state density bonus law and the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance. While the appellant argued for more affordable units, Dichoso said the current proposal met all regulatory requirements.

“The property is zoned residential three, which allows for three dwelling units per acre with a minimum lot size of 14,500 square feet,” Dichoso said. “The project is surrounded by single-family development, with Oak Crest Middle School to the north and a private stable to the west.”

Mayor Tony Kranz expressed frustration with the project but said the city had no legal grounds to block it.

“I do find it somewhat ironic, I started … serving on the City Council in 2012, and a couple months in, a very controversial density bonus project was heard on appeal, and it was baptism by fire, so to speak,” said Kranz, who will soon be succeeded by Mayor-elect Bruce Ehlers. “So here, at the end of my service on the City Council, I found myself in the same position with a density bonus project that is frustrating for me because of the impacts and the loss of space that people have grown to love.”

The council’s 4-0 vote also approved modifications to public road standards for improvements to Melba Road, preserving several mature trees. However, the project will cause many other trees to be removed, which remains a contentious issue. Critics argued that replacement trees would be inadequate, with one speaker describing them as “skinny little sticks.”