The appeal of the Quail Meadows development on Quail Gardens Drive made by the Encinitas Citizens for Responsible Developement (ECRD) was heard on Wednesday, May 13th by the California Coastal Commission and denied. This ends the appeal process for this development that once built will have 448 housing units on parcels of vacant land just north of the nearly completed Sunshine Apartments. It will have a significant impact on traffic, parking, noise and safety.

The developer, Baldwin & Sons, will now be submitting grading plans to the city and beginning to proceed ahead with excavation and then construction. It is too soon to understand any of the key project milestones.

While the decision of the Coastal Commission was not unexpected it is still disappointing. However, we can all take some solace in the fact that through our lobbying efforts we were able to have the developer reduce the number of stories from seven to four, reduce the number of housing units and to provide a number of mitigation measures.

On another topic, the city’s Planning Commission just approved a 27 unit housing development adjacent to Encinitas Blvd. across from the San Dieguito Union High School District building up on the bluff. Here is a link to an article about this in the Coast News:  https://thecoastnews.com/planners-reluctantly-approve-ocean-bluff-project-in-encinitas/