A divided Escondido City Council has approved the 510-unit Palomar Heights project, a development that will replace the former Palomar Hospital campus with a mix of housing types and commercial uses advocates say will spur revitalization of the city’s downtown corridor.
The project was approved last week on a 3-2 vote, with council members Mike Morasco, Tina Inscoe and Joe Garcia in favor, and Mayor Paul McNamara and Councilwoman Consuelo Martinez voting no.
By the same margin, the council voted to exempt the project from a requirement to join the city’s Community Facilities District, a mechanism established by the council last year to recover the costs of providing city services to new developments.
Escondido
Action is anticipated on several major residential development projects in Escondido in 2021, from construction of approved projects to consideration of proposed new developments by the city’s Planning Commission and City Council.
The two largest proposed housing developments Palomar Heights in central Escondido and Harvest Hills, near the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are both expected to come before the council in early to mid-2021, said Mike Strong, Escondido director of community development.
Palomar Heights, which is proposed to include 510 apartments and townhomes and about 10,000 square feet of commercial space, would be located on the site of the old Palomar Hospital campus in central Escondido.