Encinitas council approves planning document to guide El Camino Real development (original) (raw)

Encinitas now has adopted a special planning document that will guide development along the El Camino Real corridor for decades to come.

The project that’s been in the works for three years — officially called the El Camino Real Specific Plan — won City Council approval Wednesday in a 4-0 vote, with Councilmember Kellie Hinze absent. Next, it needs a state Coastal Commission sign-off, and that’s expected later this month, city employees said.

The newly approved, 105-page planning document aims to encourage the gradual transformation of the El Camino Real corridor into a “vibrant, diverse and pedestrian-friendly area” that’s a “destination for residents and visitors to live, work and shop,” it states.

“There’s a lot of effort that’s gone into that plan,” New Encinitas resident Ron Dodge, who served on the document’s Technical Advisory Committee, told the City Council on Wednesday.

Dodge mentioned that he participated in a 2017 walking tour of the corridor led by a city-hired consultant who was an expert in making roadways more pedestrian friendly. At that time, the planning document was simply a long-term goal, he noted. Now, the reality isn’t quite what they dreamed of then, but any future roadway improvements, particularly at the Mountain Vista Drive intersection, would be extremely helpful for pedestrians, he said.

The new planning document covers a 228-acre area along El Camino Real, from the Encinitas Boulevard intersection in the south to the one at Olivenhain Road in the north. Part of the long El Camino Real regional route — the “the Royal Road” that historically connected the 21 Spanish missions of California — the Encinitas corridor is now a six-, and in some places, eight-lane roadway that cyclists often avoid and pedestrians find challenging. Much of the surrounding commercial development occurred in the years before Encinitas incorporated in 1986.

A map of the area covered by the new El Camino Real Specific Plan. (Courtesy of the city of Encinitas)

To quote the new planning document, “Common barriers to visiting the (area) are traffic congestion, unpleasant bicycle or pedestrian experience, and a lack of community character.”

The corridor, which contains many shopping centers as well as the city’s main post office and a large medical office complex, is surrounded by lots of residential neighborhoods, so it has the potential to become a pedestrian and cycling destination, if people felt more comfortable walking or biking, the document continues.

The new plan doesn’t proposed a single, major, city-funded overhaul of the corridor. Rather, it’s a “tailored regulatory tool” that contains a set of standards that anyone proposing to redevelop a property in the area would follow, it states. In exchange for doing some of the items in the document, such as creating small public gathering areas or adding extra bike lockers, the developers would receive incentives, such as reductions on how many vehicle parking spots they must provide in their projects.

Also included in the plan are landscaping, sidewalks and bike lane recommendations for the city to pursue, possibly with grant funding.

Technical Advisory Committee members who worked on the project ranged from city elected officials to Encinitas Chamber of Commerce representative Sherry Yardley and property owner Chris Caulkins of Carltas Management/CB Ranch Enterprises. Workshops with land owners, plus community meetings and multiple public hearings before the city’s Planning Commission were held before the document made its way to the City Council.

On Wednesday, Councilmember Bruce Ehlers, who served on the Technical Advisory Committee, recommended a few additional changes, which the council approved. Among other things, Ehlers sought to have larger street trees, more use of native plants and a reduction in the square-footage size of any future apartments along the corridor.

Three people spoke during the council’s public hearing on the item — Dodge, plus cycling advocate and New Encinitas resident Kristine Schindler, and frequent City Council meeting attendee Donna Westbrook.

Schindler said she thought the current corridor was very “car-centric” and the new planning document would give the area a “more vibrant community feel.”

Westbrook said the city’s voters ought to get to approve the document, rather than the council.

The incentive to reduce developers’ parking requirements in exchange for some public improvements, such as little plaza areas, is particularly concerning, Westbrook said. It’s poorly thought out and the resulting lack of parking will lead to the destruction of the city’s commercial area, she added, saying the council really ought to rethink what it’s proposing to do.

Originally Published: September 16, 2024 at 5:00 AM PST