Residents rail against rezoning in Carlsbad

The City Council approves rezoning 16 parcels as part of Housing Element update amid massive pushback; State Street development also raises concerns

More than 400 apartments are being constructed near the intersection of Palomar Airpot Road and Aviara Parkway in a view from Cottage Row. Residents railed against the city’s rezoning plan for 18 parcels, although the City Council removed two from the plan. Steve Puterski photo

CARLSBAD — A pair of contentious issues swept over the city as residents expressed consternation over the Housing Element rezoning update and a proposed development on State Street and Carlsbad Village Drive.

The City Council approved the rezoning plan during its Jan. 30 meeting, while about 80 residents descended to the corner of State Street and Carlsbad Village Drive for a meeting on Jan. 25 with the architect of the proposed four-story mixed-use development.

As for the Jan. 30 meeting, the City Council approved the rezoning plan to ensure its Housing Element remains compliant with the state and to meet goals set by the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. Sixteen of the 18 sites were approved, although residents protested several others to no avail.

The Housing Element must be updated every eight years, and the current cycle began in 2021 and runs through 2029. Carlsbad is required to designate space for 3,873 units under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment and prior to the council’s action only had 2,833 units zoned.

Under Senate Bill 330, The Housing Crisis Act of 2019, a municipality cannot enforce housing caps under its Growth Management Plan.

“The rezoning program is required to retain the city’s certification for its Housing Element,” City Planner Eric Lardy explained. “This was a three-year process with significant outreach. We need to rezone to address the RHNA shortfall. Rezoning must be completed by April.”

Lardy said the two maps presented to the City Council, along with potential exemptions, were consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Most of the 16 parcels will be rezoned between 23 and 40 units per acre, according to the staff report. If the council did not approve the plan, it would trigger the “Builders Remedy” Lardy said, which would allow developers near free reign to have any project approved.