HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-05-01; Privately Initiated Residential Rezone Requests (District -All); Barberio, GaryTo the members of the:
CITY COUNCIL
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Council Memorandum
May 1, 2025
To:
From:
Via:
Re:
Honorable Mayor Blackburn and Members of the City Council
Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services
Jeff Murphy, Community Development Director
Sheila Cobian, Assistant City Manager ~~
Privately Initiated Residential Rezone Requests (District -All)
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID# 2025031
The Community Development Department {department) is receiving increasing interest from property
owners and developers wanting to rezone/upzone properties to accommodate additional housing units,
beyond what was contemplated and approved as part of the city's 2021-2029 Housing Element. This
Council Memorandum explains the department's current position on these inquiries and what direction is
being given to prospective applicants.
Background
Following a multi-year public education and engagement effort that included input from a City Council
appointed Housing Element Advisory Committee, the City Council adopted on April 6, 2021, the
2021-2029 Housing Element which set forth the programs and policies necessary to accommodate the
city's state housing obligations for the next eight-year housing cycle. The Housing Element was
subsequently certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on
July 13, 2021, and the city has remained in good standing with the state agency ever since; meaning, the
city has timely and effectively adopted and implemented the requirements set forth in its state certified
Housing Element, and approved private housing development projects consistent with state housing laws
and the city's housing plan.
One of the programs included in the Housing Element was the requirement to rezone enough properties
throughout the city to accommodate its Regional Housing Needs Assessment1. After similar extensive
public engagement efforts and public meetings, the City Council on January 30, 2024, approved the
rezoning of several properties to allow for new or expanded housing development. The timely completion
of this program was a condition of HCD's certification of the city's Housing Element. Additional
information about the Housing Element and rezoning effort is available in Attachments A and B.
1 This assessment process is the part of state housing law used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability
of those homes, each local government must plan for in their respective Housing Element. This process is repeated every
eight years, and, for this housing cycle, the San Diego region is planning for the period from 2021 to 2029. The housing
allocation assigned to Carlsbad for this housing cycle totaled 3,873 housing units (1,311 very low income, 784 low income,
749 moderate income, and 1,209 above moderate income).
Community Services Branch
Community Development Department
1635 Faraday Avenue I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 442-339-2600 t
Council Memo -Privately Initiated Residential Rezone Requests (District -All)
May 1, 2025
Page 2
Discussion
Over the past several months, the department has received informal (i.e., phone calls/emails) as well as
formal (i.e., pre-application) inquiries from property owners and developers interested in rezoning or
upzoning their current land use designation to accommodate new housing development.
The department has consistently expressed its opposition to such requests explaining that the City Council
very recently (January 2024) rezoned several sites throughout the city to allow for high density residential
development to accommodate its state housing obligations. Given the significant planning efforts, public
engagement and environmental analysis that went into the development of the Housing Element and
rezone site map, new high density residential development should be focused on approved housing sites.
The value and benefit of a Housing Element is to evaluate and analyze housing needs and requirements
comprehensively - a process that requires significant public vetting and public review. The sites that are
seeking individual rezone/upzone have not benefitted from such review and input. As such, applicants
and developers are encouraged to wait to have their site considered for inclusion in the next housing
cycle, which the city would likely start working on before the current housing cycle ends, which is in 2029.
This is not to preclude a property owner or developer from initiating a request to change their land use
designation for their property-they are legally allowed to submit an application for the city to consider.
However, in the event an application for a general plan amendment and/or rezone is submitted to
authorize residential development, the department intends to immediately take the application forward
with a recommendation for denial for the reasons specified, first to the Planning Commission for their
recommendation then to the City Council for its determination. As part of due process, the applicant will
be given the opportunity to present their rationale and reasons why the application should be processed.
Should the City Council disagree with the recommendation of denial and are willing to consider the
general plan and rezone request following review, public engagement and environmental analysis
typically associated with site specific application requests, the City Council could remand the application
back to staff for continued processing.
Next Steps
Department staff will continue to oppose general plan amendment/rezone requests that propose
additional housing development beyond what is planned for in the 2021-2029 Housing Element and will
process associated applications as described in this Council Memorandum, unless otherwise directed by
the City Manager or City Council.
Attachments: A.
B.
Staff Report dated April 6, 2021 {on file with the City Clerk's Office)
Staff Report dated January 30, 2024 {on file with the City Clerk's Office)
cc: Geoff Patnoe, City Manager
Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Mike Strong, Assistant Director of Community Development
Eric Lardy, City Planner
Robert Efird, Principal Planner
Matt Sanford, Economic Development Director