OCEANSIDE — The Oceanside City Council declined last week to certify an environmental impact report for a proposed 83-home project across the street from Guajome Regional Park, siding with an appellant who sought to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval from the fall.
The council’s decision on Jan. 28 halts the project, known as Guajome Lake Homes, until developer Rincon Homes addresses issues the council alleges were insufficiently studied in the environmental impact report (EIR).
Council members said the EIR failed to adequately study the project’s impacts on traffic, biodiversity, and wildlife connectivity, and is inconsistent with local zoning standards, including the Equestrian Overlay and Scenic Overlay.
They also questioned the EIR’s description of the site as an infill project that is isolated from other natural preserves.
“I found it to be very deficient. I couldn’t believe the inference was that this was just an infill project,” Mayor Esther Sanchez said. “I don’t believe it was adequately analyzed.”
Over 40 community members also spoke in opposition to the project, some holding signs urging the council to “vote neigh” and protect the area’s equestrian nature.
The project is proposed for a nearly 17-acre parcel along Guajome Lake Road, just across from the regional park. It would subdivide the parcel into 83 single-family lots and six common lots, followed by the construction of 83 detached homes.
Two access points would be provided from Guajome Lake Road, and an interior loop road would run through the project, with a communal open space in the center.
The Planning Commission first reviewed the project in August but sent it back to address concerns about coastal sage scrub mitigation, baseline density calculations, access points into the development, and consistency with local standards.
Commissioners reviewed the EIR again in October after revisions and clarifications and approved it. However, Oceanside resident and biologist Jennifer Jacobs appealed the commission’s decision soon afterwards, arguing that the EIR was still deficient in several areas.
“We are here tonight on behalf of our community to urge you to deny certification of the EIR for the Guajome Lake Homes project,” Jacobs told the council. “Those deficiencies remain unresolved.”
Rincon Homes representatives said the project will provide much-needed housing opportunities with minimal environmental impact.
Only the southern portion of the site will be developed, while approximately seven acres to the north will be preserved as open space to protect sensitive habitats and riparian areas, including a stream and a coastal sage scrub hillside.
Because the project proposed reserving four of 74 homes for very low-income households, the state density bonus law entitled the project to a 20% density bonus, or 15 additional homes, for a total of 89. However, Rincon chose to develop only 83 in total.
“We are proposing nine units above the base density. This is hardly an attempt to maximize the density of the site,” said Jonathan Frankel of Rincon Homes. “In stark contrast, it’s an attempt to be as sensitive as possible to the biological resources on the site; again, fully locating housing outside of those most sensitive areas.”
While the site is not located within a High Fire Severity Zone, Rincon Homes agreed to implement fire safety measures that exceed code requirements, including a fuel modification plan.
Impact concerns
Rincon requested several waivers of local development standards to build the project, including those under the Equestrian Overlay zone. They also requested reduced lot sizes, lot width, and building setbacks; and increased lot depth-to-width ratio, lot coverage percentage, and retaining wall heights.
By waiving the Equestrian Overlay standards, the project would not need to construct large yard spaces, public trails for horses, or a thirty-foot buffer from residential properties, nor would it be required to use a country/rural architectural style.
Residents said the EIR dismisses the project’s potential impacts on existing equestrian uses, despite many horses being boarded along Guajome Lake Road and riders frequently using the road to access Guajome Park.
“The road is part of an established trail network to access the park for equestrians, hikers, bikers, and local school running teams. To ensure safety of horses, riders and other park users, a trail would need to be developed along the length of Guajome Lake Road,” said resident Jessamyn Keenan.
Residents also said allowing the developer to override the equestrian standards set a precedent for future development, leading to a loss of the rural, equestrian neighborhood character that the zoning seeks to protect.
“This project threatens the safety, character, and the unique equestrian nature of the Guajome community,” said resident Margaret Ogiela, who lives adjacent to the site.
Council members agreed that there was not enough study of the impacts of waiving the Equestrian Overlay standards.
“There was a lot of testimony today that validated the Equestrian Overlay and how it was pretty much ignored by the EIR,” Sanchez said.
There were also many concerns about impacts on road conditions, as Guajome Lake Road is a windy dirt road with many sharp turns. Rincon Homes plans to pave approximately 200 feet of roadway along the project site and leave the remaining approximately 800 feet unpaved.
Residents said the increased vehicle traffic from the development will create even more dust along the unpaved portion of the road, leading to safety and air quality issues for drivers, pedestrians, and horses, community members said.
Members of the Britts family, who live along Guajome Lake Road, said it already feels unsafe to back out of their driveway or even to walk along the side of the road. They worry that this project will make that worse.
“This is unsafe for all of us. I think it’s crazy that we are going to build all these homes without paving the dirt road. It isn’t safe,” said Josie Britts, a local student.
Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa noted that paving the remainder of the road would cost around $1 million and expressed concern that the city would eventually have to foot the bill to improve the area.
“Without that being included in this project, I can’t support this project,” Figueroa said.
Residents also said the EIR did not adequately assess impacts on wildlife and wildlife corridors.
The EIR states that the site is “relatively isolated from large undeveloped areas and open preserves,” and does not function as a larger wildlife corridor. However, many residents pushed back, stating that the site is part of a linked chain of open spaces from Jeffries Ranch to Guajome Park.
“There was no other analysis of wildlife movement in the EIR, because the EIR dismissed the topic,” said Doreen Stadtlander, a retired biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Preserving half the site as open space does not adequately protect the corridor, residents claim, and habitats for threatened species such as the California gnatcatcher will still be destroyed on the developed portion of the site.
While the EIR says there will be mitigation measures to reduce the impacts on the gnatcatchers, residents said more transparency is needed.
The council unanimously agreed to deny certification of the EIR and direct Rincon to address the areas of concern.
Following the council vote, Rincon Homes told The Coast News they will continue pursuing the project.
“For nearly four years, we worked hard to design a balanced project that delivers affordable housing, preserves open space, provides road improvements, and creates real opportunities for Oceanside families to achieve the dream of homeownership. We remain steadfast in our commitment to addressing the critical housing needs of our region,” Frankel said.
