OCEANSIDE — Despite opposition from nearby residents, the City Council last month approved a 19-home project next to First Baptist Church along Grace Street in the Loma Alta neighborhood.
The homes will be built on a roughly 1.7-acre vacant lot at 240 Grace Street, formerly used as a ballfield. The project features a twin-home configuration, connecting pairs of units by a shared wall in six clusters, with one home remaining fully detached.
Five floor plans are proposed, ranging from 1,487 to 2,086 square feet with three or four bedrooms. All homes will be two stories in height, featuring attached two-car garages and private backyards, accessible via a private street off Grace Street.
Two biofiltration basins will be installed at the project entrance to treat stormwater before it discharges into the existing system along Grace Street.
Two three-bedroom homes will be set aside for very low-income households, and one four-bedroom home will be reserved for a moderate-income household. Those affordable units enable the developer, Hallmark Communities, to utilize the state’s “stacked” density bonus law, increasing the project from 10 homes, the base zoning, to 19.
The density bonus law also permits developers to request unlimited waivers and limited concessions. Hallmark sought one concession to waive frontage improvements, including curb, gutter, sidewalk and street paving.
Requested waivers include reduced lot size, width and coverage; smaller setbacks; increased wall and fence heights; a mix of unit types outside typical city code; and relief from front yard landscaping and plantable retaining wall rules.
The Planning Commission approved the project in July, after receiving numerous letters and comments opposing it, citing concerns about stormwater, privacy, traffic, parking, dust, noise, habitat loss, fire safety and neighborhood character.
Residents appealed the decision, sending the project to the City Council for review on Oct. 15.
“I would have been OK with 15 units, but now they’re pushing it up to 19 units,” said nearby resident and main appellant Richard Kratcoski.
Kratcoski also raised concerns about parking.
The homeowners’ association will require residents to park in their garages, with space for two cars per home. The driveways are too short for additional parking, the private street prohibits parking, and the project includes only three guest parking spaces.
“The two cars will not be sufficient for that whole complex,” Kratcoski said.
Hallmark Communities asked to use the parking on the adjacent church lot, but First Baptist Church declined, citing potential future demand. Thirteen spaces on the church property will be removed for the project.
That leaves Grace Street, which falls under the city’s overnight parking permit program, also applicable to future residents. The developer said the current demand on Grace Street is low.
Kratcoski suggested excluding future residents from the permit program, but City Attorney Steve Burke said that would be illegal.
Though Grace Street is a public roadway, it is technically owned by the church, while the city maintains the street through an easement.
Residents also noted past property line encroachments involving the church. The developer said that six adjacent properties were incorrectly surveyed in the past, and the project will be built on the legal property line, thereby returning the affected land to its rightful owners.
Developers also plan to integrate with existing backyard walls and incorporate landscaping to help screen second-story views into neighboring properties.
A retaining wall, ranging in height from 3.5 to 6 feet, will be constructed to address noise concerns. All homes are slated to be completed within 10 months.
To address cut-through speeding in the area, the developer volunteered to install stop signs at the following intersections: Carey Road and El Monte Drive, El Monte and Foster Street, and Foster and Saratoga Street.
Joan Bockman argued that those measures fall short.
“Traffic doesn’t slow because of stop signs, and speed humps don’t work either,” she said. “You need to physically narrow streets.”
The council unanimously approved the project and directed staff to continue working on neighborhood traffic issues.
