VISTA — The city’s Planning Commission has given the green light to a proposed 96-unit apartment complex planned to replace a retail and office building along South Santa Fe Avenue.
The project at 1070 S. Santa Fe Avenue, submitted by developer Ambient Communities, would replace the two-story commercial center known as Monte Vista Plaza with three residential buildings ranging from two to three stories.
Eight of the 96 units are planned to be deed-restricted for very low-income households, or those making up to 50% of the area median income, or AMI.
Robert Honer, principal at Ambient Communities, said the project would “upcycle” the 1980s-era commercial building and continue adding needed housing along the South Santa Fe corridor. Over the past few years, this corridor has seen the opening of the 126-unit Rylan Apartments at Main Street and the 42-unit Found Lofts at Terrace Drive, as well as the recent approval of the 183-unit Kensho project off Guajome Street.
“This will be one of a few new developments in the area,” Honer said. “It’s further down South Santa Fe than a lot of the previous development, so we wanted to design a residential community that continued the vision of the South Santa Fe corridor further east from Vista Village.”
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project at their Feb. 20 meeting. It will now go to the Vista City Council for review and final approval.
Due to its inclusion of affordable units, the project is eligible for a density bonus that increases the allowed density from 30% to 35%. The project was also granted two concessions, reducing the front and back yard setbacks and a waiver to reduce the required common open space.
Due to the affordable units and the project’s location within a half mile of public transit (the Civic Center Vista Sprinter Station), state law only requires that 48 parking spots be provided onsite. However, the developer said so few spaces would not be realistic, so they increased the number to 77 spaces.
Despite this, some commissioners expressed concerns about parking, noting that the number of spots is still lower than the number of units.
“My concern is that you’re going to have parking overflow,” said Commissioner Charles Grimm.
Honer said they attempted to provide as much parking as possible onsite while also providing the desired number of units and noted that there is also parallel parking permitted overnight along South Santa Fe Avenue.
Honer said he also hopes that some residents will take advantage of the nearby public transit rather than having a car.
The three planned buildings will be designed to follow the natural grading of the 2.3-acre site, which features a drastic north-to-south slope.
One individual, who said she represents the property owners directly north of the project site, expressed concern about how things will look at the back of the building where the slope bank rises to the neighboring properties.
“I think a lot of these plans don’t show any real visibility on what’s happening to the rear of that property, and all those homeowners back there to Alta Calle,” said Laura Brown. “This is not a good situation for our properties.”
Honer said they are planning to leave the slope with its native vegetation, as it includes sensitive plant species, and don’t plan to do any further landscaping.
The project includes four studios, 58 one-bedroom units, 36 two-bedroom units, and two three-bedroom units. Honer said while it may draw some families, the development is mostly geared toward couples, roommates, or single occupants in their 20s and 30s.
The eight affordable units will be spread throughout the development and be of the same quality as the market-rate units, Honer said.
