The Oceanside City Council has upheld the city Planning Commission’s approval of the six-story Vista Bella apartment building proposed next to the Oceana senior community, where many of the residents opposed the development.
The mixed-use project will place 73 apartments, four live-work units, and ground-floor commercial space on a lot now occupied by an aging two-story office building at the corner of Vista Bella and Vista Rey streets, between the Coastline Baptist Church and a gas station facing El Camino Real.
The Planning Commission voted 3-1 in October to approve the project, with Commissioner Louise Balma opposed. She agreed with many of the concerns raised by residents, who filed their appeal of the decision Nov. 1.
Similar concerns have been heard across the region from people unhappy about state laws that encourage infill residential development to meet a widespread housing shortage.
Oceana residents said the Vista Bella building will be too big for their seniors-only neighborhood of single-family homes, that it would make street-crossing more dangerous for older pedestrians, block views and breezes, and bring more cars to park on neighborhood streets where there’s not enough space.
Under state law, including affordable housing allows the developer to build a taller building with more apartments than otherwise allowed by local zoning.
“The developer gamed the system by including a small amount of commercial space and minimal affordable housing,” said Ellen Marciel, who represented the appellants.
Council said that though the building may not fit the neighborhood, it meets the state’s requirements for affordable housing and there’s little the city can do. They voted 4-1, with Councilmember Eric Joyce opposed, to deny the appeal.
“The process can be very frustrating,” Joyce said. “In this case, the developer took it to the next level.”
Other council said that to deny the project would invite a costly legal challenge, and that the city would be likely to lose.
Morgan Gallagher, an attorney for the developer, said the building is “a well designed, high-quality project that the community can be proud of.”
At the request of Mayor Esther Sanchez, the developer agreed to spend up to $60,000 to install an improved pedestrian crosswalk with flashing lights at an intersection near the apartment building.
