SOLANA BEACH — The Solana Beach City Council recently completed a thorough review of priority projects for the upcoming fiscal year.
The council received updates on a series of new and ongoing projects, including Lomas Santa Fe Corridor improvements, the Santa Helena Neighborhood Trail, and the search for a location for a city dog park.
Following the feedback on last week’s FY 2024-25 draft work plan, the updated plan will be returned for council approval next month. The projects are divided into four strategic priorities: community character, fiscal sustainability, organizational effectiveness and environmental sustainability.
Looking ahead, one of the city’s main priority items is the $15 million Lomas Santa Fe Corridor Project, which plans multimodal improvements to include walkability, bikeability and general circulation along the east-west arterial from Highway 101 to the city’s eastern boundary at Highland Drive.
Using $7 million in funding secured by Congressman Mike Levin last year, the city plans to begin construction of the eastern portion of the project — from Santa Helena east of Interstate 5 to Highland Drive — in the next year while also seeking grant funding for the western portion.
“We’re expected to go out to bid by June, with anticipated construction to begin in December,” said Assistant City Manager Dan King.
City leaders are also prioritizing implementing several Housing Element programs required in the coming fiscal year, including a permit-ready ADU program and ordinances related to allowed building height in commercial zones, density calculations, reasonable accommodation criteria, and parking requirements for emergency shelters.
The work plan also includes continued community engagement in creating a neighborhood trail along Santa Helena Drive leading up to the San Elijo Lagoon trailhead. City staff said they have developed a scaled-down version of the original design, to be brought before the City Council, that the city could potentially afford using General Fund dollars.
Another priority item is moving forward with the creation of a 10-unit, mixed-use affordable housing development at South Sierra Avenue, the previous site of the failed Pearl project. Mayor Lesa Heebner said sarcastically that the city hopes to issue an RFP “sometime in the next century,” while King said they are preparing to do so this year.
City leaders intend to use the same project plans for 10 multi-bedroom units left by the original developer, who backed out of the project in 2020 following years of litigation from neighbors. However, the city continues to struggle to find developers willing to take on the project, mostly due to the high cost per unit.
“I do run into some affordable housing developers, and they pretty much say, ‘Nobody is going to touch this thing with a 10-foot pole unless we do something different,” said Councilmember Dave Zito. “Can we even potentially shake up the unit mix a little bit to make it cost less per unit?”
The city reached a settlement in the 1990s after closing a nearby mobile home park, and the Pearl planned to provide 10 units in order to comply with its terms. City Attorney Johanna Canlas said she would look at the settlement terms to see if there was room for changes in project plans.
The Solana Beach City Council also approved a 13-unit housing development along Stevens Avenue last month, including two affordable units for low-income households.
City officials said they are also continuing to look at sites for a long-requested dog park but have hit dead ends with options like the old San Diego Gas & Electric fill site on Sun Valley Road and open space in the Helena area. Heebner said the city could circle back to the possibility of the San Dieguito River Park as a site but noted that the city has gotten “no’s so far.”
Another 2024/25 priority is developing North County Transit District property at North Cedros Avenue and Lomas Santa Fe Drive. The city said it is continuing to discuss the disposition and development of the 5.6-acre property with NCTD in hopes of eventually issuing a new project RFP. The previously planned project, which included a restaurant, office, retail, hotel and residential uses, was canceled in 2018.
The City Council also recommended continued work on the following items:
- Marine Safety Center upgrade design
- Collaboration with the City of Encinitas on a Highway 101 pedestrian crossing between Harbaugh Seaside Trails and Cardiff State Beach
- Increased patrol of visitor parking along North Rios and Solana Hills
- Glenmont Pocket Park design
- La Colonia Park Master Plan
Among its accomplished work plan items in the past fiscal year, Solana Beach saw the certification of its Housing Element and completion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sand replenishment, the South Acacia Avenue reconstruction project, the Fletcher Cove tot lot and an e-bike ordinance. The city is also preparing to open the renovated La Colonia Park tot lot later this month.
