The City of Carlsbad recently hosted a luncheon to show a video about the current and future state of the city, as reported in The Coast News. The video indicates that the city trimmed $9 million from the budget without adversely impacting city services.

Among innovative improvements in the works in Carlsbad is the new desalinization plant being started to supply water to the city. There are plans for solar and hydroelectric powered energy production. Residents have donated thousands of hours of volunteer time in local projects. There is a lot of cooperation and teamwork going on in Carlsbad!

On Tuesday night, Aug. 11th, 150 Carlsbad residents crowded into the Carlsbad City Council meeting and expressed their opposition to the proposed development of the the La Costa Town Square Shopping Center to be built at the northeast corner of Rancho Santa Fe Road and La Costa Avenue. 30 Carlsbad residents spoke out against the project. The City Council did not make a final decision but will discuss it again at their next meeting on August 18th.

The proposed project will consist of a 284,000-square-foot shopping center, two office buildings totaling 55,000 square feet, and 64 single-family homes. A 128-unit multifamily housing complex would be on the northwest corner.

The most controversial piece of the project is a 98,000 sq. ft. two-story retail building. Some residents characterize this retail space as a “big box” and are afraid it would attract a store such as Walmart. Other Carlsbad residents opposed rezoning the northwest corner for high-density housing, saying it’s inappropriate to place 128 units on 10 acres next to a neighborhood of single-family homes. Carlsbad officials say that these multifamily units were added to meet state requirements for higher-density housing.

Stay tuned for more developments on this new Carlsbad project!

The Planning Commission agreed to allow an access road built through wetlands to connect a proposed real estate development to La Costa Avenue. This is the first stage of a development project on the southern edge of  the Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad.

Residents of the La Costa Glen retirement community are resisting the project on the grounds of greed by the developers and because of environmental concerns.

The Batiquitos Bluffs project in Carlsbad has 19 homes on a 10-acre site on the southwest corner of La Costa Avenue and El Camino Real. No plans for home construction have yet been submitted for review for the Planning Department.  A Carlsbad Senior City Planner says that the project will only impact a very small area of the entire wetland, only approximately .04 acres. The Senior Planner says that the proposed plan is acceptable based on the allowable zoning in the area.

As part of a state law, the developer is required to set aside open space in return for using the wetlands parcel in order to lessen any effects on the habitat. The location of the set-aside land will be determined later.

This is good news for Carlsbad residents because it is a sign that builders are back developing new areas again. Carlsbad continues to be a vibrant, energetic area in which to live.