OCEANSIDE — The city took a major step toward shaping its future last month by approving the latest update to its General Plan, a long-term blueprint for growth and development.
The Oceanside City Council adopted the second phase of the “Onward Oceanside” General Plan update on June 24, advancing a planning process that began nearly a decade ago.
Under state law, every city’s General Plan must address land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise, safety, environmental justice and air quality.
The council adopted the first phase in 2019, which included the Economic Development Element, Energy and Climate Action Element, and Climate Action Plan.
The second phase updates several General Plan elements:
- Remarkable Community: Seeks to preserve neighborhood character, protect cultural resources and promote Oceanside as a visitor destination. It also includes a Sustainable Tourism Master Plan and calls for development of objective design standards and a future dark-sky ordinance.
- Efficient and Compatible Land Use: Addresses land use, building scale, industrial uses and parking, among other topics. The update will require staff to return with revisions to the city’s zoning ordinance.
- Integrated Mobility: Covers roadway classifications, complete streets improvements, transit and microtransit, active transportation and evacuation routes. It also aims to develop infrastructure to support future growth and prioritize investments along major commercial corridors.
- Vital and Sustainable Resources: Focuses on preserving sensitive habitat, farmland, water resources, community facilities and climate action. The update includes a minimum of 145 acres of coastal sage scrub restoration, subject to available funding, as well as vegetation mapping, a long-term vegetation management plan, biannual progress reports, a biological resource protection ordinance, another zoning update and a wildlife movement study.
- Safe and Resilient Environment: Addresses natural and human-caused hazards, climate adaptation, terrorism and cybersecurity threats.
- Healthy and Livable Community: Covers community health, noise, civic engagement, recreation, community facilities and services, utilities, infrastructure, environmental justice and social equity.
The second phase also includes the Smart and Sustainable Corridors Plan and updates to the city’s Climate Action Plan.
Because portions of the General Plan affect the coastal zone, the update must also be approved by the California Coastal Commission.
The plan also incorporates several new planning documents, including a Trails Master Plan, an Active Transportation Plan and the South Morro Hills Community Plan.
The update accounts for projected growth through 2050, when the city expects to add 16,875 housing units, 28,500 jobs and more than 45,000 residents, bringing Oceanside’s population to about 222,435. By then, the city’s housing stock is also expected to include a larger share of multifamily housing and less emphasis on single-family homes.
Through the Smart and Sustainable Corridors Specific Plan, the city aims to revitalize Mission Avenue, Oceanside Boulevard and Vista Way as commercial corridors. Because of their proximity to transit, average residential density along those corridors would increase from 29 to 40-55 dwelling units per acre.
According to staff, projects consistent with the updated General Plan will qualify for streamlined review, while projects that deviate from the plan will require discretionary review.
The council unanimously approved the update with two amendments. The first, requested by Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce, retains a medium-density designation for a property along Mission Avenue between Carolyn Circle and Butler Street.
“It’s a very challenged parcel, which is probably why nothing has happened to it,” said Mayor Esther Sanchez, agreeing with Joyce.
The second amendment, proposed by Sanchez, directs staff to analyze the incorporation of electrification into the Climate Action Plan checklist without requiring revisions to the plan or its environmental impact report. Staff will also clarify how the checklist should be used, including provisions to protect open space and agricultural land.
City Manager Jonathan Borrego said staff favors incentivizing all-electric appliances in new development rather than requiring them.
A council majority rejected three additional amendments proposed by Joyce. They would have directed staff to return with a proposal to increase the inclusionary housing requirement within the Smart and Sustainable Corridors Specific Plan from 15% to 19%, to exclude density bonus projects from the streamlining checklist, and to establish a sustainability commission.
Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa supported Joyce’s proposals, while Sanchez and council members Peter Weiss and Rick Robinson opposed them.
Several residents also weighed in during the hearing.
Patti Langen, president of the Buena Vista Audubon Society, praised the inclusion of language addressing bird collisions with windows but said it was too vague and should more closely reflect the CALGreen bird-friendly code.
Langen said up to 1 billion birds die each year in the United States after colliding with windows.
Resident Richard Newton said it’s “unfair and irrational to put huge economic burdens on Oceanside residents to aggressively tackle and address climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.”
Newton estimated that retrofitting existing homes with new electrical circuits and appliances could cost more than $40,000 per homeowner.
According to city staff, the city cannot adopt those requirements without first completing a state-mandated cost study demonstrating that long-term savings from retrofits would exceed the upfront costs.
