DEL MAR — The 22nd District Agricultural Association agreed Tuesday afternoon to resume a negotiating agreement with the city of Del Mar for affordable housing at the Fairgrounds, after temporarily suspending talks last month.
Del Mar is relying on a potential housing project on the Fairgrounds property to meet state housing requirements within its 6th Cycle Housing Element. Last year, the two parties entered an exclusive negotiating rights agreement to explore the possibility of building around 65 affordable units on their land.
The board voted on Feb. 13 to pause talks with the city for one month, following Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland’s public support for Alternative A, a rail realignment route that board members said would be detrimental to the Fairgrounds.
Since then, the SANDAG board of directors, which is overseeing the rail realignment project, has selected rail routes to advance for environmental study that do not include Alternative A. The city also sent a letter to the Fairgrounds board last week seeking to patch these things by reiterating their support for Fairgrounds operations.
To the relief of Del Mar leaders, the Fairgrounds board agreed in a 6-1 vote on Tuesday, with board member Kathlyn Mead opposed, to resume talks with the city while reserving the right to revisit the matter at any time.
“I’m happy to see it looks like we are in a more positive situation here. This board has been supportive of continuing conversations about housing because we all see it as an immediate and ongoing crisis for the state,” said board member Joyce Rowland.
Del Mar leaders noted that significant effort and money have already been invested in the Fairgrounds housing project. This includes support from elected officials like state Sen. Catherine Blakespear and Assemblymember Tasha Boerner and $1.5 million in grant funds through SANDAG’s Housing Acceleration Program (HAP).
The city is ready to use this HAP grant for feasibility studies at the Fairgrounds examining transportation impacts, sea level rise, sewer capacity and more — all of which will benefit its larger master planning process.
“The task orders are ready to go, and they will produce data that will be needed to meet milestones in the [exclusive negotiating rights agreement] to solicit developer interest and to eventually gain Coastal Commission approvals of affordable housing, and also would be useful to implement any other types of development on the state fairgrounds consistent with your master plans,” Del Mar Principal Planner Amanda Lee said.
Board members warned the city that resuming negotiations did not guarantee they would approve a housing project, and that the Fairgrounds could ultimately decide not to go in that direction.
Fairgrounds CEO Carlene Moore explained that the exclusive negotiating rights agreement simply spells out the process for identifying and studying potential housing sites in collaboration with the city.
“This board has not and is not at this time deciding whether or not affordable housing will be sited on the district property. That decision is gonna be made at a later date; there will be a lot more information, reports, things like that to come,” Moore said.
The board also noted that talks could be cut off again in the future, particularly if the city supports rail realignments that could harm the Fairgrounds or continues to oppose the San Dieguito Double Tracking and Special Events Platform project.
“If anyone tries to hurt the district, the action should be very swift,” said board member Mark Arabo.
Seaside Ridge
Several speakers urged the 22nd DAA to resume talks with Del Mar, except for Darren Pudgil, a representative for the 259-unit Seaside Ridge housing project proposed for the city’s North Bluff.
Seaside Ridge developers are suing Del Mar for refusing to process their project application. They argue that the city is required to approve it under the builder’s remedy law because its Housing Element was not certified when the project was proposed in 2022.
Pudgil told the 22nd DAA that the city has other options for meeting its housing obligations besides housing on the Fairgrounds.
“Our builder’s remedy lawsuit against Del Mar will be heard this June, and we are optimistic a judge will also rule in our favor and require Del Mar to process Seaside Ridge. And with Seaside Ridge, there’s no need for affordable housing on these fairgrounds anytime soon,” Pudgil said.
Pudgil said a developer prevailed in a similar case against the city of La Cañada Flintridge near Los Angeles. In that case, the city recently dropped its appeal of a judge’s ruling ordering it to approve the project.
Lee noted that while 85 units in Seaside Ridge are described as affordable, most of them are for moderate-income households. The units the city is pursuing on the Fairgrounds would all be low-income.
A representative for the state Department of Housing and Community Development said they are closely monitoring the status of the agreement with the Fairgrounds. They also clarified that if the deal is unsuccessful, the city must rezone the North Bluff and other properties under a portion of their Housing Element known as Program 1E.
“Program 1E is definitively required if the binding agreement with the Fairgrounds is formally terminated or suspended, or the project is no longer feasible within the planning period,” HCD spokesperson Alicia Murillo said. “The City should consider continuing efforts toward Program 1E to protect its compliance status should this pause or board discussions disrupt the Fairgrounds feasibility within the planning period.”
The next hearing in the Seaside Ridge lawsuit is in June.
