Podiatrist in Del Mar, CA

The project would add 259 residential units, including one-third afforable, on a north bluff property where many local residents have opposed multi-unit housing

Aug. 29, 2023 11:52 AM PT

Applicants for Seaside Ridge, a proposed 259-unit apartment complex on Del Mar’s north bluff, have submitted a response to the city’s June 30 letter that deemed the project application “incomplete.”

The back and forth between the city and applicants has persisted since last October, when the preliminary development application was submitted. Del Mar has disputed the legal basis of the project, but the applicants argue that a state housing law known as the Builder’s Remedy should allow it to proceed as a by-right project that overrides local zoning regulations.

The property at issue, owned by Carol Lazier, was also the proposed site for the comparatively smaller Marisol hotel project, which Del Mar residents rejected in a March 2020 ballot measure.

Here are some of the highlights from the latest Seaside Ridge missive, signed by attorney Whitney A. Hodges, about several key sticking points between both sides:

Del Mar’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation requirement

The city of Del Mar has to provide zoning for 113 units of affordable housing, based on the state’s sixth cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation that requires each community to add more housing at all income levels.

Del Mar’s housing element, which was approved a few months ago following about two years of back and forth with the state, includes properties that can accommodate that necessary affordable housing. The Del Mar Fairgrounds is the centerpiece of that effort, with the city in negotiations for 60 affordable units on the state-owned property.

“The City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element clearly identified several properties in the City, including the State Fairgrounds site as adequate sites that meet RHNA obligations consistent with state housing law,” Del Mar Principal Planner Matt Bator wrote in the June 30 letter, the city’s last communication to the Seaside Ridge side.

The north bluff, where Seaside Ridge would go, was identified in the housing element as a backup option if city and fairgrounds officials can’t make a deal.

“The fact the City has highlighted the Fairgrounds as a preferred site for housing, does not — and cannot — take away from the fact the Project site has been approved as a candidate site for densified housing pursuant to the 6th Cycle,” read the Seaside Ridge response.

The California Coastal Act and CEQA

The two sides were also at odds over whether the project adheres to the Coastal Act and California Environmental Quality Act. The city’s June 30 letter said that the Seaside Ridge application “neglects to recognize that all State Housing laws remain protective of environmental and coastal resources.”

“The State did not allow its mandated housing programs to override the State’s long lineage of protecting coastal resources and sensitive environmental habitats,” according to the city. “Each housing law clearly states that neither the California Coastal Act nor CEQA is to be superseded.”

The Seaside Ridge response says that the application doesn’t claim that the project would be exempt from either environmental law. It adds that the density bonus would apply within the coastal zone in a manner consistent with state law.

“The Project team recognizes that CEQA is not limited by the State Density Bonus Law,” the letter continued. “CEQA analysis must be completed on the Project as a whole, including any requests submitted under the State Density Bonus Law. However, this does not mean that the Project application, including the requested density bonus, incentives and waivers, somehow is violating CEQA. To the contrary.”

The Builder’s Remedy

A state law known as the Builder’s Remedy requires a local government without a compliant housing element to approve housing projects with at least 20% affordable housing, commonly referred to as “by-right” development that can supersede local zoning laws.

Del Mar’s position is that the Builder’s Remedy only comes into effect when an application is deemed complete. So far, the city has not deemed the Seaside Ridge application complete because it doesn’t adhere to the city’s Local Coastal Program, which outlines the parameters for development in the coastal zone.

“For the proposed project site, it is the Local Coastal Program that defines the density standards and is the controlling Coastal Act standard that cannot be unilaterally waived,” the city wrote.

But the Seaside Ridge side argues that the project meets the criteria under state law to proceed.

“Here, because the City did not have a substantially compliant housing element, it may not disapprove an affordable housing project for inconsistency with the zoning and land use designation.”

Design review

The city also contends that Seaside Ridge requires a Design Review Permit application.

“Discretionary Design Review Permit approval is required for all development in the City of Del Mar not otherwise exempted,” according to the city letter.

Seaside Ridge’s response reiterated that the applicant believes the project is by-right and shouldn’t be subject to any discretionary review: “For reasons stated above, Seaside Ridge is a by-right project and would not be subject to the City’s discretionary Design Review process. The fact that the City does not have an objective component of its Design Review process or a ministerial Design Review Permit is not a burden on the applicant.”

Del Mar City Council members approved a series of “guiding principles” on July 24 that they will use on a short-term rental ordinance, with further discussion about the parameters of the ordinance scheduled for September.

The city currently allows short-term rentals that were in operation prior to April 2016, pending a permanent set of regulations. The process to draft and adopt those permanent regulations has been beset by litigation, disagreement with the Coastal Commission, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re in a position where we need to establish new policies and regulations, and that means processing a new ordinance,” said Amanda Lee, the city’s principal planner. “And during that time, the forbearance will continue to be maintained, in effect, to accommodate the existing STRs.”

The guiding principles that the council wants to include in the ordinance are consistency with the community plan, maintaining the character of the city’s residential zones, minimizing adverse impacts to adjacent properties, and establishing enforcement protocols that don’t require additional expenses for the city, among others.

During the council’s regularly scheduled September meetings, there will be discussion about litigation involving short-term rentals that is shaping policy throughout the state, as well as short-term rental policies that other California cities have adopted.

In 2017, the Del Mar council adopted a short-term rental policy that required short-term rental reservations to be a minimum of seven days and limited hosts to renting 28 days per year. But that policy never went into effect because it didn’t get approved by the California Coastal Commission, which wanted the city to loosen those limits to a minimum of three days per reservation and maximum of 100 days for hosts to rent every year.

According to a city analysis, there were 116 short-term rentals advertised in Del Mar from January through April 2023, in addition to many more that were advertised as Del Mar rentals even though they were outside the city’s borders. The average cost was $630 per night and the average stay lasted 3.7 days.

Historically, short-term rentals in Del Mar have been popular during the summer racing season and for students. In recent years, sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo have made it easier for homeowners to enter the short-term rental business. They’ve also stoked concerns about housing units essentially being erased from the market if they’re used only as short-term rentals, exacerbating the statewide housing crisis.

“There has been a long-term tradition of having short-term rentals and vacation rentals,” Del Mar City Councilmember Dave Druker said. “We want to make sure as we create these ordinances that we understand that is what’s happened in the past. My assumption is that we’re not going to turn around and say that short-term rentals are not allowed, period.”

Council members in the city of Solana Beach have also been discussing updates to the city’s short-term rental policy.

Kimberly Jackson, who lives in Del Mar and has operated a short-term rental company for 13 years, added: “It has been a tradition here, not only during racetrack season but also year-round.”

The property closed suddenly about two years ago until wastewater management issues could be resolved

Del Mar Horsepark will reopen in July, culminating a years-long process after the facility suddenly closed two years ago because of wastewater management issues, forcing the cancellation of events and the horses that were boarded there to move somewhere else.

A longtime home to horse shows and other events, the 65-acre horsepark is located about 1.5 miles east of the Del Mar Fairgrounds at the corner of El Camino Real and Via de la Valle in the San Dieguito River Valley.

The slate of events this summer includes a July 15 grand reopening event with free admission (but $20 for parking), food, live music and other festivities beginning at 4 p.m. The lineup of shows include the HITS Del Mar Sunshine Classic from July 12 to 16, a county hunter/jumper show from July 22-23, Del Mar Summer Festival I from Aug. 2 to 6, Summer Festival II from Aug. 9 to 13, Summer Classic I from Aug. 23 to 27, Summer Classic II from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, and a fall lineup that includes the Del Mar Fall Preview Channel II from Sept. 22 to 24 and Del Mar Fall Classic from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1.

The Del Mar Fairgrounds Board of Directors, which oversees the state-owned property, decided to lease the property to a company that would assume responsibility for rectifying those issues. Last year, the board awarded the lease to special events company HITS LLC. The request for proposal mentioned an estimated $4-6 million for the necessary water improvements, although reconfiguration of the site could alter that estimate. Del Mar Fairgorunds spokesperson Tristan Hallman said HITS has not provided a final cost yet.

A Change.org petition by Friends of Del Mar Horsepark collected more than 17,000 signatures by supporters who wanted to reopen the horsepark as soon as possible.

“Our whole campaign from the beginning was to find somebody to lease the place and refurbish it, including the water, and run horse shows out of it and include other activities,” said Carla Echols Hayes, one of the leaders of grassroots group Friends of Del Mar Horsepark. “All of this research and all of this work has come together in a positive way.”

Hayes was also appointed to a six-member horsepark advisory board to focus on “the development and the future of the Del Mar Horsepark,” according to the HITS website.

“All of this research and all of this work has come together in a positive way,” Hayes said. “This was really worth the effort for lots and lots and lots of reasons.”

Dale Harvey, general manager of the horsepark, said in a statement that “the team is hard at work preparing” the venue for the grand reopening.

“The improvements that are underway will offer exhibitors a world-class experience at one of the most beautiful venues in the country,” Harvey said.

Tom Struzzieri, a part owner and director of HITS, has presided over multiple facilities throughout the country, including two in California.

“The benefit of being a lifelong horseman, rather than just an investor, gives me a unique perspective in not only developing and designing facilities, but also in acting as a horseman in the coordination of events,” he said in a statement last year after HITS won the lease to horsepark. “These skills will be instrumental after witnessing the challenges the sport has experienced this past year. I look forward to starting the project of renovating one of the most iconic horse facilities in the country, and then producing some of California’s most outstanding events.”

Enrollment in the Del Mar Union School District continues to decline. Districtwide enrollment for the 2023-24 school year is now at 3,734 students, down from 4,132 in 2019 and 3,753 students last year.

With the enrollment decreasing, the district is now considering adding transitional kindergarten, at the board’s direction.

The district’s enrollment projections are driven by birth rates by zip code, the number of students generated from residential developments and tracking “cohort survival,” the migration of students among each grade level. The district sees an increase of current students by grade level of about 3% each year—the only grade level change that has seen a decline is from fifth to sixth grade when many families opt to enter the private school system.

Birth rates for the Carmel Valley and Del Mar zip code for the current kindergarten class born in 2018, were at 635 children (89 in Del Mar and 536 in Carmel Valley). The district had expected a kindergarten class of 475 but it currently sits at 349 students. Last year’s kindergarten class was 392 students.

“We were anticipating a higher number of students coming to enroll at our schools but, as of July 17, they were not materializing,” said Ryan Stanley, assistant superintendent of human resources.

The kindergarten enrollment window remains open and they are projecting 390 students in the kindergarten class, significantly lower than the numbers by all demographics projections.

The enrollment trends are not unique to Del Mar, Stanley said. About two-thirds of districts across California are also experiencing decline and K-12 enrollment in the state has also dropped below 6 million for the first time. The last two years, enrollment has been impacted by the pandemic and many districts expected this to be the “bounce back” year, Stanley said, however, the lower numbers they are experiencing may now represent the new normal.

Starting in the 2024-25 school year, the district is anticipating an increase of 100 additional K-6 students with the reopening of Del Mar Heights School.

At the board’s July 26 meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Chris Delehanty said the declining data they have been receiving gave them a lot of pause—districtwide, they could be down to 3,400 students in the next five years, impacting programs and space. A special board meeting was scheduled in July to share new information with the board as the district weighs options moving forward.

For facilities implications, there will be open rooms at most school sites this coming school year, a total of 19 districtwide. There are four empty rooms at Ashley Falls, Torrey Hills, Ocean Air and Sycamore Ridge; two at Pacific Sky, and one at Del Mar Hills (all classrooms are occupied at Carmel Del Mar and Sage Canyon).

The decline in enrollment means no new revenue into the district but a decrease in expenditures. Delehanty said the board’s direction has been for staff to explore the feasibility of adding in transitional kindergarten.

Transitional kindergarten (TK) refers to the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is developmentally and age-appropriate. By 2025-26, TK is expected to be fully phased in for all 4-year-old children statewide at no cost to families.

According to the California Department of Education, all school districts are required to provide TK to age-eligible children, “as a condition of receipt of apportionment”. The Del Mar district, as a community-funded basic aid school district supported by property taxes, does not receive state funding for TK.

Of the 133 districts that are TK eligible in the state, eight don’t offer it and five are in San Diego County: TK is also not offered in four other local basic aid districts: Encinitas, Cardiff, Rancho Santa Fe and Solana Beach.

Historically the majority of the board has supported TK but questioned how they would fund it. As Delehanty explained, the cost for one K-6 section is $143,000 on average, the total cost for a staff member. The cost for transitional kindergarten (TK) section is $186,000, as the district is required by law to have another adult in the classroom with the certificated teacher.

Delehanty said staff is projecting that in the 2023-24 school year, they could potentially have 3.1 TK sections.

Trustee Katherine Fitzpatrick, a longtime advocate for TK, said the situation highlights the difference between basic aid schools and schools that receive funding from the state per average daily attendance (ADA)—Del Mar is not dependent on enrollment so when enrollment decreases, they basically have more money to spend, she said.

“We’ve seen the light with enrollment, it’s really down this year so now we’re talking about TK. But TK is being delivered in 90% of basic aid districts across the state,” Fitzpatrick said. “Let’s deliver the instruction and the curriculum that the rest of the four-year-olds in our state are given access to. We are falling behind in that regard. We are just as capable financially and in all other regards to be able to provide this program.”

Fitzpatrick said she would love the district to start offering TK this coming school year, knowing there are empty classrooms and waiting lists at preschools all around.

While he believes the district should be offering TK, board President Gee Wah Mok’s concern is that they offer a sustainable program that lives up to district standards. Mok said he wasn’t sure it was feasible to start a program now with just weeks before school starts on Aug. 14.

“I believe in TK, I think it’s necessary,” said Mok, himself a father of a four-year-old.

Looking ahead, Stanley and Delehanty said the district would continue to review the demographic forecasts and start seeking input from current and prospective parents as well as teachers—they need to have conversations with the Del Mar California Teachers Association about the impacts of starting this new program.

The board is expected to continue to discuss the TK topic at upcoming workshops.

Edited Press Release

Del Mar, CA – July 18– HITS Del Mar Horsepark, a renowned equestrian facility, extends its heartfelt appreciation to all those who attended and contributed to the resounding success of the Grand Re-Opening of Del Mar Horsepark. The vibrant celebration, held on July 15 at our Del Mar Sunshine Classic, marked a triumphant return of the cherished venue and showcased the community’s unwavering support.

The event was a testament to the power of unity and collaboration, as HITS Del Mar Horsepark recognized the integral role played by its dedicated family and crew. Their relentless efforts, spanning countless hours, were crucial in making this momentous occasion a reality. Without their unwavering commitment, the Grand Re-Opening would not have been possible.

“We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who came out to support and celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of HITS Del Mar Horsepark,” expressed Dale Harvey, General Manager of Del Mar Horsepark. “The overwhelming response from the community has been incredible, this achievement truly belongs to each and every one of you.”

Furthermore, HITS Del Mar Horsepark acknowledges the unyielding support from the community, whose voices were instrumental in the push to reopen this historic facility. Through their persistent rallying and advocacy, they paved the way for the return of a beloved riding venue, reinvigorating the equestrian landscape in Del Mar. The heartfelt appreciation of HITS Del Mar Horsepark extends to all those who pushed for its revival and ensured its accessibility to the public once again.

Del Mar Horsepark proudly kicked off its highly anticipated Grand Re-Opening with an electrifying display of athleticism and precision at the renowned Dog Agility Classic. The event showcased exceptional teams, consisting of horses and dogs, as they skillfully navigated a series of challenging obstacles in their quest for the ultimate achievement – securing the fastest time. Hannah Loly and Asombro had the fastest combined time with their doggy partner and took home the first-place ribbon.

The night highlighted the thrilling $100,000 Bentley San Diego Grand Prix, which showcased the incredible skill and talent of the participating riders.

In a spectacular performance, Cassio Rivetti and Billy Dorito captured the first-place ribbon, the Monica Ward Memorial Trophy, and were awarded an Antares Sellier saddle. Additionally, Cassio Rivetti’s groom, Víctor Fidel Cejudo Cruz, was recognized with the $500 groom’s award, acknowledging his invaluable contributions to the team’s success.

Cassio Rivetti continued to impress, securing the second-place position on his second horse, Chagall de Toscane. The third-place ribbon went to Juan Manuel Luzardo and Big Stan.

Alyce Bittar and her mount Cézanne B blazed through the course, securing the fastest time in the $1,000 U25 Classic presented by Interactive Mortgage. Their outstanding performance not only earned them the top spot in the U25 but also secured them a remarkable fifth overall position in the prestigious $100,000 Bentley San Diego Grand Prix.

As HITS Del Mar Horsepark enters this new chapter, it is committed to providing a world-class experience for riders, trainers, and spectators alike. The Grand Re-Opening celebration served as a testament to the enduring passion and resilience that defines the equestrian community.

For more information about HITS Del Mar Horsepark, including upcoming events and programs, please visit HitsDelMar.com and follow us on social media for updates.

Original press release courtesy of HITS.