CARLSBAD — In the latest report on the beleaguered Windsor Pointe development, the City Council heard continued concerns along with a drop in calls for service and progress from the developer.
The report was the sixth since March 2024 and city staff reported more homeless veterans are now residing at the property, repairs have been made and a new property manager covering the property. However, several residents challenge the report, continued to rail against the plight of the project and questioned the property management company’s credentials.
Nevertheless, the issue remains as the 55-year lease gives little wiggle room for the city, which owns the land and holds the ground lease, to make radical changes.
CPD Assistant Chief Reid Shipley said from August 2024 through January, calls have decreased by 34% compared to the previous six-month period. He said 44% of those calls did not require a response. Of the 175 calls, 48% were from one unit, he said.
“The department has noticed an improvement since our last report out,” Shipley added. “The severity and frequency have declined.”
Residents, though, questioned Solari Enterprises as the new property manager.
Jean Walker spoke to the council and said the ground lease states Windsor Pointe must have a management company with the necessary qualifications. She said Solari has zero experience with managing serious mental illness tenants and a history of noncompliance and failure to pay taxes, citing records from the California Secretary of State.
Walker said Solari has only been in compliance for the last five months. She questioned why City Attorney Cindie McMahon on a lack of background research, the previous city manager for negotiating lease and Mayor Keith Blackburn and Councilwoman Priya Bhat-Patel for voting for the project several years ago.
Resident Denis Jensen said there have been more than 1,100 calls to Windsor Pointe in its three years of operation, five reported deaths and dozens of crimes. He, and other residents, have pleaded with city and county leaders to close the facility as it’s been a failed project, along with numerous lease violations and letters from CPD about security concerns and other violations.
As for security, Walker and others still took aim at Windsor Pointe’s ongoing issues. Walker said the city’s concerts in the park series have more security than the facility.
Julie Ajdour, who lives near one of the two developments, said in January a man left one of the residences and produced a combination of methamphetamine and Viagra.
“Where did he make this concoction?” she asked. “The owners of this building are required to do an expensive cleanup. There is a liability. It’s past time for real action, if only to cover your own derriers.”
Mandy Mills, director of Housing and Homeless Services, said Affirmed Housing, which owns the buildings, has made some progress on the list of demands made by the city. Those include repairing doors and locks in the exterior stairwells.
She said the city also approved six more veteran housing vouchers, while eight veterans currently reside at the facility.
Carlsbad funded more than $8 million for the $31 million development with the city’s money coming from a combination of Community Development Block Grant funds and the Housing Trust Fund. However, Affirmed Housing changed course and pivoted to a No Place Like Home model to close the funding gap.
Libraries reopen on Sunday
Nearly five years ago, the city closed libraries on Sundays due to the pandemic. The city cut several services during the pandemic including hours of operations for library.
According to city staff, the both branches — the Dove and Cole — will open from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays at a cost of $40,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year, according to city staff. Staff will request $90,000 on an ongoing basis to support the expanded Sunday hours.
Staff also presented its second quarter financial update showing Carlsbad’s economy saw a slight decrease in gross regional product of $50 million out of $16.8 billion in 2024. Home prices dipped to a median cost of $1.48 million.
Carlsbad Finance Director Zach Korach said the city’s revenues are $3.5 million (3%) higher than the previous year with much of it coming from a $1.7 million increase in property taxes. Sales tax revenue is $200,000 higher the last year during the same period and transient occupancy tax is $600,000 (3%) higher.
Staff will requested budget allocations, which were approved by the council and are enacted immediately. Some of those include $95,000 for an electric vehicle for the fire marshal; $550,000 for brush management; $45,000 for a parks impact fee study; and increases of $84,000 for CPD for ammunition, training and the K-9 program; $55,000 for additional design for pickleball courts; and others.
Correction: The man at Windsor Pointe who mixed a drug cocktail did so in January, not on Jan. 25 as reported. The city’s budget allocations were approved from various funding sources and take effect immediately.
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