Downsize Quail Meadows Apartments: Appeal to the Coastal Commission
The Impact
The City Council's February 12, 3-1 decision to approve the Quail Meadows Apartments project, was made in response to a credible threat, as stated in the state Housing and Community Development (HCD) letter supporting the project, that HCD would de-certify our housing element if the appeals were approved and the project denied.
As approved, the project builds 448 units in two, four-story buildings on Quail Gardens Drive at Kristen Court. It is unprecedented in its size and impact to Encinitas.
We want to signal our appreciation for the Council's measured response. In voting to deny the appeals, the Council moved to protect all Encinitans from "Builder's Remedy": a punitive action that as of January 1 was made more devastating by allowing developers to bypass local zoning and allow 100% density bonus increases without providing affordable housing for low and very low income renters.
In short, if our housing element is decertified, as the HCD memo threatened to do, there would be no way to stop or delay Builder's Remedy projects. To put it in perspective, the Quail Meadows Apartments project could instead be revised to provide up to 718 apartment units.