Controversial Quail Meadows approved amid heated debate

Encinitas City Council reluctantly gives green light to 448-unit complex after legal threats, but residents and activists vow to fight back

Encinitas resident Molly Hintlian speaks during Wednesday’s City Council meeting outlining many issues with the controversial Quail Meadows project. The council approved the project, but one group will appeal to the California Coastal Commission. Steve Puterski photo

ENCINITAS — A heated, tense and, at times, verbally combative sparring was front and center as the Encinitas City Council reluctantly approved the controversial Quail Meadows project on Wednesday.

After five hours of public speakers and discussion, the council only voted to “approve” and deny the two appeals of the 448-unit complex after threats of lawsuits from the California Department of Housing and Community Development all but promised Builder’s Remedy would be triggered with a denial. The council, though, was offered a lifeline as Encinitas Citizens for Responsible Development (ECRD) said it would file a complaint through the California Coastal Commission to stop the project.

Councilmen Luke Shaffer, Jim O’Hara and Marco San Antonio, who was recently appointed, all initially voted to uphold the appeals. However, pleas from Mayor Bruce Ehlers eventually resonated as Ehlers said, “it is clear as day,” HCD and developer Baldwin & Sons, would sue and the city was hanging in the noose of Builder’s Remedy. The council voted 3-1, with O’Hara casting a vote in protest, to deny the appeals and approve the project.

Builder’s Remedy would then allow any developer essentially free reign over their development projects and could bring larger and more dense projects and bypassing any oversight from the City Council or Planning Commission.

“Ultimately, this will cost Encinitas a hell of a lot more with this decision,” Ehlers warned the three councilmen. “Are we making it worse? We will fight this at the state level. I think we can win at the Coastal Commission.”

The appeals allege a host of issues with the project around traffic, water, flooding and claims Quail Meadows should not have been exempted from the California Environmental Quality Act, among many others. ECRD and SAFER (Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility), each filed an appeal, although now they have 10 days to file a new complaint with the California Coastal Commission.

Craig Shaffer, an attorney who represents ECRD, said an appeal will be filed to the Coastal Commission of all of the California Coastal Act protections that are implicated by the project and the cities adopted local coastal program.

Barbara Kautz of Goldfarb Lipman Attorney, who represents the city on housing issues, said HCD will not hesitate to pull the trigger and invoke Builder’s Remedy. She said the city of Portola was decertified without warning in March 2024.

Ehlers said two recent cases of Builder’s Remedy increased the zoning to 80 and 120 units per acre. The Quail Meadows site is 30 units per acre.