Bressi Ranch housing project moves forward
The City Council approved allowing Toll Brothers to submit an application for city staff to fully vet for 111 proposed townhomes adjacent to Viasat’s east campus
CARLSBAD — A proposed townhome development in Bressi Ranch moved one step closer to a full review on Tuesday after the City Council unanimously agreed to allow the application to proceed.
The council voted to send the proposal back to city staff for further processing, clearing the way for technical studies, environmental analysis and additional public outreach. The action does not approve the project itself and does not guarantee it will be built.
Toll Brothers and Levine Investments, which owns the property, are looking to redevelop a seven-acre parcel adjacent to the east edge of Viasat’s campus along Alicante, Gateway and Town Garden roads. Toll Brothers is proposing 111 for-sale townhomes on land currently zoned for Planned Industrial.
“Please understand this is not an approval of a project,” Mayor Keith Blackburn added. “This is just giving the property owner the permission to bring a proposal forward. There are still off-ramps for the council. I want to make sure the residents don’t go home thinking they lost, because you didn’t.”
But to develop the land, Toll Brothers is requesting a General Plan amendment to change the site’s zoning from PI to Residential (R-23), a designation that technically could allow up to 161 units before any state density bonus incentives. Regardless, the maximum height in preliminary plans is at 35 feet, with a density of 15.8 units per acre, two-car garages, plus about 27 visitor parking spaces.
The property, though, is bisected by two safety zones under the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan and Federal Aviation Administration regulations tied to the property’s proximity to the McClellan-Palomar Airport, which limit allowable density on parts of the property and restrict building heights.
