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Seaside Ridge Site Plan - A conceptual illustration for the proposed Seaside Ridge development, which would bring 259 rental housing units to Del Mar’s north bluff at 929 Border Ave. Graphic courtesy of Frank Wolden
Seaside Ridge Site Plan - A conceptual illustration for the proposed Seaside Ridge development, which would bring 259 rental housing units to Del Mar’s north bluff at 929 Border Ave. Graphic courtesy of Frank Wolden
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Seaside Ridge housing project proposed for Del Mar’s north bluff

DEL MAR — The former proposed site of the Marisol resort is now being eyed for a massive residential project that would bring 259 rental housing units to the city’s north bluff.

City officials received an application earlier this month for the proposed Seaside Ridge development on the 7-acre property at 929 Border Ave, which San Diego philanthropist Carol Lazier purchased in 2001.

The application proposes a nine-building development just north of Del Mar Dog Beach, with 85 units designated as affordable, including 42 for low- to extremely low-income households. The development would be the largest apartment project in San Diego County’s smallest city if approved.

The site along the fragile bluff has been a battleground regarding developments, with most of the community showing resistance to past project proposals. In 2020, voters rejected the Marisol development proposed at the site. This luxury resort would have brought 65 hotel rooms, 31 villas, 22 affordable housing units, a spa and dining options to the bluff.

“After 20-plus years of ownership of the land, and multiple attempts to develop the property as a hotel resort, it has become clear that a mixed-income community is the most beneficial use of the land for the city and the region,” Seaside Ridge representative Darren Pudgil said.

A rendering of the proposed Seaside Ridge project in Del Mar. Courtesy graphic
An aerial view of the proposed Seaside Ridge project in Del Mar. Courtesy graphic

This time around, developers eyeing the land are doing whatever they can to ensure that their project can move forward.

Southern California law firm Sheppard Mullin, which is representing the project, argues that Assembly Bill 1398 and Senate bills 330 and 8 — which limit jurisdictions’ abilities to restrict new affordable housing developments — would allow the project to move forward under the state’s by-right process and remove any of the city’s discretionary or subjective requirements.

AB 1398 states that jurisdictions that submit their Housing Element to the state more than a year after the statutory deadline cannot be in compliance unless they first rezone all properties identified as potential housing sites.

With Del Mar’s 6th Cycle Housing Element still under review by the state, lawyers argue that the city fits these terms and must rezone the property now.

“The actions of the State to create an expedited path for this land to become part of the solution to our worsening housing crisis is a welcome opportunity to make a meaningful impact for people who cannot otherwise afford to live in this special area of our region,” Pudgil said.

In an initial response to the application, City Manager Ashley Jones stated the city “is not in agreement with the proposed legal basis by which the project has been designed” and said that the application — which did not include rezone, design review permit or coastal development applications — would not be able to proceed as is.

“The City of Del Mar is not in agreement with the proposed legal basis by which the project has been designed. It is the City’s position that the submitted application request is not consistent with the current zoning and density allowances for the property located at 929 Border Avenue,” Jones said.

The 929 Border Ave property is already included in the city’s Housing Element as a potential site to be rezoned to fulfill state affordable housing requirements, but purely as a backup option if they cannot secure an agreement to develop affordable housing units on the Fairgrounds by 2024.

“The City’s adopted Housing Element identifies a sufficient inventory of sites with correct zoning and capacity to meet the City’s [Regional Housing Needs Assessment] without the need to rezone properties,” Jones added.

The city of Del Mar recently approved its first by-right housing project, the 50-unit Watermark development on the corner of Jimmy Durante Boulevard and San Dieguito Drive, in April. However, progress on the contentious project has been stalled after it was appealed to the California Coastal Commission, where the matter remains to be decided.

Lazier’s project application also includes a request that the project is allowed to exceed the city’s 14-foot maximum building height to permit building up to 55 feet tall.

Due to the “high level of public interest” in the Seaside Ridge project, the city of Del Mar has made all application documents available on their delmar.ca.us/861/Seaside-Ridge-Preliminary-Development-Ap.

1 comment

steve333 October 28, 2022 at 12:44 pm

Vote out all incumbents and vote for some Republicans to stop this over development insanity
The Developer Party of California has taken over The Democratic Party of California.
Matt Gunderson for State Senate
Nathan Hochman for AG

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