Del Mar council members lobby petitioners to withdraw referendum
Del Mar City Hall
Feb. 24, 2021 4:45 AM PT
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The Del Mar City Council will continue to negotiate with the proponents of a petition seeking to overturn the North Commercial zoning change, hoping to get them to withdraw it before it reaches an upcoming ballot.
Council members said they hope to reach a settlement with the proponents by their March 15 meeting.
The zoning change, which the city committed to in 2013 but still hasn’t completed, is a key component of the city’s plan to add affordable housing. If overturned by voters, the city could face penalties from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development.
Del Mar hires legal counsel for housing
Del Mar City Hall
Feb. 3, 2021 10:55 AM PT
The Del Mar City Council has enlisted a specialized legal counsel to help the city navigate housing-related issues that have drawn warnings from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), including a referendum seeking to overturn a recent zoning change.
The city will pay up to $20,000 from the General Fund contingency for the new counsel, land use attorney Barbara E. Kautz from Goldfarb & Lipman.
Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland and City Councilwoman Tracy Martinez, who serve as the council’s Housing Subcommittee, met with Kautz to discuss the city’s upcoming decisions on housing.
Del Mar voters may get to weigh in on a controversial zoning ordinance that is intended to provide additional affordable housing units in the city’s north commercial zone, in an effort to meet state housing mandates.
With state regulators watching, Del Mar council to decide fate of petition to repeal North Commercial upzone
Del Mar City Hall
Dec. 22, 2020 4:21 AM PT
A petition by Del Mar residents to repeal a recently approved zoning ordinance has been certified by the county, setting the stage for one of the City Council’s first big decisions of 2021.
The ordinance increases the density of 16 parcels of land off Jimmy Durante Boulevard, zoned as North Commercial, to 20 residential units per acre to fulfill state housing mandates. City planners estimate that the upzone would result in 19 affordable housing units.
But in response to the petition, council members have to either accept the repeal themselves or let residents vote in a future election.