OCEANSIDE – A giant mixed-use development with a wave lagoon proposed to take over the site of the old drive-in theatre and area swap meet is soon heading to the Oceanside Planning Commission for approval.
Ocean Kamp will turn the 92-acre site located at 3480 Mission Avenue into a mixed-use development with 700 homes consisting of apartments, condos, townhomes and senior housing; 134,000 square feet of commercial space with offices, retail and restaurants; several miles of trails and 20 acres of open space; and a 4.5-acre wave lagoon for year-round surfing, swimming and paddleboarding.
Additional features include an Airstream trailer camping park, a 300-room boutique hotel with private casitas, a public surfboard shaping bay, a mountain bike pump track and displays highlighting local surf culture.
A minimum of 5% of Ocean Kamp’s housing will be deed-restricted as affordable housing units.
According to its developers, Ocean Kamp is a “California lifestyle resort community” with a resort hotel, dining, commercial space and recreational activities.
The development has been in the review process with the city for the last three and a half years.
Mike Grehl, vice president of development company N4FL Worldwide, explained that Ocean Kamp will help the city gain needed housing, provide jobs and earn new tax revenue.
“Ocean Kamp has been designed to better fit the community than what is currently envisioned in Oceanside’s General Plan,” Grehl claimed via email. “It will also be a modern community that maximizes opportunities to ride transit, walk, or ride bikes.”
The San Diego North Economic Development Council and Oceanside Chamber of Commerce have already voiced their support for the project.
“Ocean Kamp’s vision will be a complementary extension of all the benefits of living and working in Oceanside,” said Scott Ashton, CEO of the Oceanside Chamber. “It will also provide needed inclusive housing opportunities, spaces for local businesses to grow as well as tourism and event facilities that will collectively be a long-term economic driver for Oceanside.”
But not everyone is as excited about the development as local business organizations.
Some residents have noted the site underneath the flight path of the city’s municipal airport should be light industrial rather than any sort of residential. Others have also noted concern about increasing traffic along Highway 76, which many residents describe as a parking lot at certain hours of the day.
According to Grehl, the development will produce 40% fewer vehicle trips than what the General Plan considers for the area. Developers will also make a series of roadway improvements, contribute millions for traffic improvements and install two roundabouts at Foussat Road, which is consistent with the city’s circulation element plan.
Ocean Kamp is expected to go before the Planning Commission as early as next month.
