Quail Meadows developer stands firm on size despite local pleas

ENCINITAS — Developers of the proposed Quail Meadows Apartments refused to slim down what would be the largest residential development in the city’s history despite pleas from neighbors during an Aug. 31 citizen participation program meeting at City Hall.

The meeting was held exactly three months after a previous forum left many residents with more questions than answers about the 485-unit apartment complex.

Maria Miller, director of planning and entitlement for Baldwin & Sons, the project’s developer, said the second meeting was meant to clear up any remaining confusion.

Since 2008, Baldwin & Sons has owned the 12-acre site on Quail Gardens Drive, located across the street from Kristen Court and just slightly north of the Encinitas Boulevard intersection. Over the past decade, the project has morphed into various forms, from single-family homes to multifamily units.

In 2020, the developer proposed a project but returned to the drawing board after the California Coastal Commission deemed a northern portion of the project site a wetland area.

Developers resubmitted the project’s current design in April, proposing a nature preserve on the wetlands and concentrating its development on the southern end of the parcel.

Quail Meadows will consist of 485 apartments within two six-story buildings, with the main entrance across the street from Kristen Court. The project will also include a concrete parking structure (six stories above ground plus an underground level) within each building, a two-story clubhouse and fitness center, and two pools.

Under regular city zoning laws, buildings ranging between 60 and 90 feet in height and holding nearly 500 units wouldn’t be allowed on the site. However, since the project has invoked the state’s density bonus law by including 72 affordable units, or 20% of the site’s 359-unit base density, the units were added to the total density. The affordable units will be mixed throughout the project rather than designated to a single area.

Density bonus projects are also granted waivers of certain development standards, in this case allowing the developer to bypass the city’s height restrictions under the general plan and Proposition A.

Neighboring residents are largely opposed to the project’s size, especially considering three other projects proposed along the same stretch of roadway: Fox Point Farms (250 units), Sunshine Gardens (140 units just south of Quail Meadows Apartments at the intersection of Encinitas Boulevard and Quail Gardens Drive), and Moonlight Apartments (202 units).

Of the projects, Quail Meadows is the largest and offers the most affordable units. The city’s state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment requires Encinitas to build 369 new units for low-income households between 2021 and 2029.

“Just with those units, we’re meeting 20% of the city’s obligation,” Maria Miller said.

Nonetheless, residents were concerned about the buildings’ height impacting views, community character and traffic along Quail Gardens Drive.

“None of us are against housing; we’re just very concerned about (buildings that are) twice the height limit,” said Jeff Miller, who lives up the road from the project. “It’s higher than our hospital.”

Some residents were particularly opposed to the proposed traffic signal at the Kristen Court intersection. Baldwin & Sons COO Nick Lee said the intersection was added because of residents’ previously voiced traffic concerns, noting that a roundabout is not feasible.

Jeff Miller and several residents also questioned how the developer could miss the wetland area in the initial proposal. According to Maria Miller, three parameters indicate a wetland area: the presence of water, special soils and vegetation. The Coastal Commission found the vegetation present — several willow trees — was enough to define the area as a wetland, going against the findings of the developer’s biologist.

Although developers welcomed comments regarding the project’s design, they stood firm on their proposed units and height.

“I believe in housing – I believe Southern California has an extreme deficit in housing, I believe it gets worse every day. We’re entitled to build this number of housing, and we’re going to try to build this,” Lee said. “I have two young kids, and I fear they will not be able to afford to live in Southern California.”

But just as the developer refused to budge on the project’s size, some residents remained steadfast in their opposition to the massive residential development.

“We’re going to fight this,” said Susan Jones, a resident who lives near the project site.

The project is still in the early stages as staff continues to review its plans. Once staff determines the project is ready, the Planning Commission will decide whether to approve or deny it. If approved and appealed, the project will go before the City Council for the final decision.