ENCINITAS — The Encinitas Planning Commission is postponing a vote on the proposed 120-unit Sage Canyon Apartments on El Camino Real until the developer addresses road improvements.
The developer, Wermers Properties, plans to build a 120-unit apartment complex on 5.23 acres, just north of Manchester Avenue, according to city documents.
The vacant lot would be redeveloped with 96 market-rate units, 22 low-income units deed-restricted in perpetuity, and two additional low-income units restricted for 55 years. The multifamily units would range from studios to two-bedrooms, spanning 564 to 1,130 square feet.
Developers are requesting several density bonus waivers, including a maximum building height of 75 feet, 2 inches, despite the R-30 zoning overlay standard of 30 feet, according to city documents. They are also seeking to reduce private open space from the standard 100 square feet per unit to 60 square feet.
Patrick Zabrocki, the project manager, said developers could build 314 units by right, but reduced the proposal to 120 units after receiving community feedback. The plan includes 170 parking spaces, exceeding the required 126.
The project also proposes eliminating a public frontage improvement requirement, though Zabrocki said developers intend to add bike lanes, safety buffers and traffic flow upgrades along El Camino Real.
“The number of waivers and concessions are a testament to the challenges to build in one of the many hilly areas in Encinitas,” Zabrocki said.
A city report described El Camino Real as a “prime arterial road,” with prevailing speeds of 56 mph. It warned that the absence of a sidewalk “would have a significant, quantifiable, direct and unavoidable impact on public health and safety in that it would increase the [probability] of collisions involving pedestrians and vehicles.”
“The resulting unsafe conditions impact any pedestrian from the project who desires to reach an offsite location,” the report said.
Zabrocki countered that the report did not cite site-specific data or crash histories and said a traffic safety study found no adverse impacts from the project.
City staff recommended delaying the commission’s vote until right-of-way improvement plans are finalized.
Commissioner William Brent Whitteker said crosswalks and a pedestrian stoplight were needed to cross El Camino Real safely. Commissioner Robert Prendergast said he was concerned about safety-related concessions, noting that while he understood the developer’s goals, traffic safety “was the crux of the conversation.”
Commissioner Susan Sherod, who bikes the road regularly, said the southbound bike lane is “pretty nice,” but the northbound lane narrows quickly. She said drivers often exceed the 50 mph limit.
“You’re riding your bike and you actually don’t have the three feet of separation that the California State Code requires,” Sherod said. “And so you feel it’s a bit dangerous.”
The commission voted unanimously to postpone the decision until right-of-way improvements are clarified. Planning Chair Stephen Dalton recused himself, saying his architectural firm had worked with Wermers Properties on other projects and he wanted “to avoid any appearance of impropriety.”
Austin Wermers, principal at Wermers Properties, stated that the city is employing delay tactics, and as a result, communities in need of affordable housing will suffer. Wermers said he believed his team had already submitted a final proposal.
“You don’t need time to review and plan checks, because I don’t plan to give you anything else,” Wermers said. “I’ve given you the application.”
1 comment
Leave Encinitas alone Wermers!