DEL MAR — The developer behind a proposed 259-unit housing project on Del Mar’s North Bluff is suing the city after more than a year of tense communications, alleging that the city’s repeated rejection of the project application violates state Housing Element law.
The lawsuit is the latest chapter in the saga of the Seaside Ridge development, which was first proposed to the city in the fall of 2022 for the vacant site at 929 Border Avenue by landowner Carol Lazier. Since then, Del Mar leaders have repeatedly determined the project application to be incomplete and declined to move forward, most recently in December.
In the complaint filed in San Diego County Superior Court on Friday, Lazier — who is named as the plaintiff — claimed that under a law known as the Builders’ Remedy, the city is required to move forward with the project because its Housing Element was out of compliance at the time the application was submitted.
However, the city has refused to follow this law, preventing the construction of much-needed affordable units in the city and leaving the developer with little recourse, the suit says.
“Enough is enough. Having exhausted all other options and after four project submittals and subsequent denial letters from Del Mar, we have no other option than to file suit against the city,” project spokesperson Darren Pudgil said Monday.
Del Mar City Manager Ashley Jones declined to comment on the litigation but noted that the city had not been served with the complaint as of Monday.
The 929 Border Ave. property has been identified in the city’s Housing Element as a potential backup site to be rezoned for housing if the city cannot find other sites.
Last year, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) stated that Del Mar would have to rezone the North Bluff site and other properties for affordable housing if they did not make “adequate progress” on an agreement to develop 61 affordable housing units at the Fairgrounds by April of this year.
Just last week, the Fairgrounds approved an agreement to enter into affordable housing negotiations with the city, seemingly saving Del Mar from rezoning these sites for now.
However, Seaside Ridge developers claim the city must rezone this site regardless of the Fairgrounds agreement. Specifically, the suit says the state required Del Mar to rezone the project site and other properties by the spring of 2022 after the city missed a deadline to bring its Housing Element into compliance. This rezoning never occurred the suit states.
Further, Lazier alleged that the Department of Housing and Community Development itself made a mistake by certifying Del Mar’s Housing Element in May 2023 before the city had rezoned these properties.
“HCD’s approval of the City’s 6th Cycle on May 31, 2023, two years after the April 15, 2021 deadline, was clearly erroneous. As demonstrated herein, the evidence rebuts the presumption of validity, and the City cannot hide behind the shield of HCD’s ultimate, but untimely, certification of its 6th Cycle Housing Element,” the suit states.
HCD declined to comment directly on the lawsuit, as they are not named as a party. However, the agency reiterated that Del Mar is not required to rezone these properties under Housing Element Program 1E, unless they fail to adopt an agreement with the Fairgrounds, an action known as Program 3A.
“The requirement to implement Program 1E was contingent on the City’s failure to implement Program 3A. The City was not obligated to rezone these sites unless it failed to get into a binding agreement on the Fairgrounds by April 2024. As that deadline has not yet passed, the City is not yet obligated [to] rezone those sites. If the City secures the agreement by April, it will not need to implement Program 1E,” said Assistant Deputy Director of Housing Policy David Zinner.
The suit also claims that because Seaside Ridge proposes affordable units, it qualifies as a by-right project, meaning Del Mar cannot deny the project based on discretionary requirements.
Seaside Ridge proposes making one-third of its units “affordable,” with two set aside for extremely-low income households, two for very-low income households, 38 for low-income and 43 for moderate-income.
These 85 affordable units would greatly help the city meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 113 units by 2029, Pudgil said.
“When we submitted our plans for Seaside Ridge a year and a half ago, we were hopeful the city of Del Mar would embrace this worthy project as a meaningful way to help meet its state mandate for 113 affordable housing units,” Pudgil said. “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the city has done nothing but obstruct this proposal at every turn in violation of state law.”
The units proposed for the Fairgrounds might not be completed until as late as 2031, Pudgil added, referencing a timeline shared with the Fairgrounds board last fall. This would exceed the 2029 closure date for the 6th Cycle Housing Element.
“By contrast, Seaside Ridge is a ready-to-go, privately-funded project that would be completed in only four years,” Pudgil said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated to include a response from the Department of Housing and Community development.
