Project Benefits

The actions of the State to create an expedited path for private property owners to become part of the solution to our worsening housing crisis is a welcome opportunity to make a meaningful impact on meeting our region’s housing needs. The provision of these 259 homes (including 42 lower-income units and 43 moderate-income units) achieves the following benefits:

  • Seaside Ridge would help the City comply with State housing law. As of September 25, 2022, the City has not complied with California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) requests to update its draft housing element to obtain compliance with the State Housing Element requirements.

  • Achieves the spirit of the CCC’s Statewide Interpretive Guidelines on Affordable Housing in the Coastal Zone (May 5, 1981): “Meaningful access to the coast requires housing opportunities as well as other forms of coastal access... If the coast is not to exclude the less affluent members of society and become an exclusive enclave of the wealthy, affordable housing must be protected, encouraged, and, where feasible, provided”;

  • Provides much needed housing for the City of Del Mar in all income ranges and gives equitable access to coastal resources, including households with low-, very low-, and extremely low-income.

    • The 42 lower income units include 2 extremely low-, 2 very low-, and 38 low-income units.

    • The Project provides 78% of the City’s need for 54 lower income units per 6th Cycle – Program 1E and well over 100% of the City’s moderate-income Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation.

  • Promotes the use of public transit by adding mixed-income housing near major transportation corridors and is less than one mile from the Solana Beach Transit Center, which provides convenient access to large employment centers in Sorrento Mesa, Carlsbad, UTC, and along the 78 corridor;

  • Incorporates design features that are sensitive to the coastal bluff, including no reliance on shoreline stabilization devices and onsite drainage retention with discharge east and away from the bluff;

  • Promotes public access by providing a trail on the property that provides views of the Pacific Ocean.  The project also includes 25 public parking spaces;

  • Adheres to all objective design standards in the City’s adopted HEI-OZ, including an average unit size less than 1,000 sf in the Project (average of 819 sf proposed);

  • Architectural designs and landscape features are sensitively designed to be consistent with the existing City aesthetic and include colors, materials, and details that draw from and enhance the natural oceanfront setting; and

  • Facilitates ingress/egress to the Project, public safety for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles, and replacement public parking through public improvements to Camino del Mar.