Encinitas groups appeal Quail Meadows to Coastal Commission

ENCINITAS — Two community groups are appealing the Encinitas City Council’s approval of the controversial Quail Meadows Apartments project in February to the California Coastal Commission. 

First proposed in 2022, the Quail Meadows development would bring 448 housing units, including 90 affordable units, to a 12-acre site along Quail Gardens Drive. It was brought forward by developer Baldwin & Sons, and would be the largest housing project in the city’s history. 

This is the second time the project has faced an appeal in recent months. In the fall, local groups Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (SAFER) and Encinitas Citizens for Responsible Development (ECRD) appealed the Planning Commission’s approval of the project, bringing the matter before the City Council. 

After a lengthy discussion in February, the council upheld the Planning Commission’s decision in a 3-1 vote. Leaders expressed at the time that they felt forced to deny the appeals and move the project forward due to threats of litigation from Baldwin & Sons and the California Department of Housing and Community Development. 

In early March, ECRD, SAFER, and consulting firm Hamilton Biological each appealed the City Council’s decision to the California Coastal Commission. However, SAFER has since withdrawn their appeal, the Coastal Commission confirmed Tuesday. 

The appeals claim that the project violates the Coastal Act and the city’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) on multiple fronts, focusing on potential impacts to wetlands and local habitats, particularly Cottonwood Creek near Moonlight Beach. 

“There’s sort of a pattern of projects in Encinitas that are trying to get around the LCP and the Coastal Act,” said Robert Hamilton of Hamilton Biological. “I think it’s important to hold the city accountable to their LCP.”

One of the appeals’ main claims is that the project’s drainage plan relies on unpermitted and illegal infrastructure, including a headwall and pipes, which impede the natural flow of a stream that acts as a tributary to the creek. 

Although the previous landowner is believed to have implemented this unpermitted system, Hamilton said it needs to be addressed and fixed in the Quail Meadows project. 

“There’s quite a bit of Coastal Act precedent saying you can’t rely on unpermitted development for a new coastal development. That’s the crux of what we’re appealing on,” Hamilton said. 

ECRD’s appeal said the Quail Meadows project fails to work around and preserve this well-documented drainage flow, referred to in the project’s Biological Resources Letter Report as an “unnamed tributary.”

“Due to the presence of this tributary to Cottonwood Creek and its natural drainage course, the project would be consistent with the LCP if it incorporated the drainage course into the design of the development, rather than divert its flows into the proposed box culvert at the edge of the wetland area,” ECRD’s March 4 appeal states. 

The appeals also address the developer’s plans to repair a leaking pipe on the property via a slip line. Hamilton Biological said in their appeal that this leak has become an important source of water for two existing wetland areas and that repairing the pipe would lead to the wetlands’ demise. 

Appellants pointed to a section of the Encinitas LCP that requires the city to preserve and protect wetlands, and prohibits any “net loss of wetland acreage or resource value” due to development.

The appeals also allege that the project does not sufficiently analyze traffic impacts on coastal access or special communities, including the San Diego Botanic Garden, San Dieguito Heritage Museum, and the Encinitas Union School District’s FARM Lab, which draw thousands of visitors annually. 

“The project is located on Quail Gardens Drive, which also provides exclusive access to several popular visitor sites,” ECRD’s appeal states. “No analysis on impacts to access of these attractive and essential community and visitor resources has been performed.” 

Baldwin & Sons did not respond to requests for comment about the appeals. 

Coastal Commission officials said they have not set a hearing date for the appeals but expect to bring it forward before the end of 2025. 

“While the Commission has not yet scheduled the hearing for the Quail Meadows Housing Project appeal for a specific month, we do indeed expect it to be heard within the year,” said Coastal Planner Stephanie Leach.

Since its proposal, the Quail Gardens project has undergone major revisions, including a decrease in units, a reduction from six stories to four, and the addition of 749 parking spaces, exceeding the state minimum. 

Steve Gerken, a founding member of ECRD, said he remains hopeful of a favorable outcome for residents and the surrounding environment.

“We hope that the commission finds substantial issues and calls for a de novo hearing,” said Gerken. “Ideally, Baldwin would agree to sell the property to a foundation that could transform the area into a resource for all Californians — a coastal gem with riparian areas, a coastal stream, protected wildlife and native vegetation. It could become a beautiful, accessible natural space for everyone.

“Realistically, I hope they significantly downsize the project to make it compatible with fire safety, flood risk, and community needs, while also including low-income housing as part of a designated Housing Element site. Those are the two main visions I have.”