HomeMy WebLinkAbout; ; Elements of Master Plan; 1957-01-01COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN
A REPORT ON THE ELEMENTS
OF A
MASTER PLAN
CARLSBAD
CALIFORNIA
GORDON WHITNALL & ASSOCIATES
CONSULTANTS
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1957
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A REPORT ON THE ELEMENTS
OF A
MASTER PLAN
CARLSBAD
CALIFORNIA
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GORDON WHITNALL & ASSOCIATES
CONSULTANTS
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1957
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Los Angeles, California
Carlsbad City Planning Commission
City Hall
Carlsbad, California
Gentlemen:
In fulfillment of the assignment made to the undersigned, there is submitted in this
report a proposed Comprehensive General Plan for the City of Carlsbad.
The Streets and Highways Element, at the request of the City, was submitted in
advance of its being correlated in this Comprehensive General Plan Report. That Element
has already been adopted in order to better assure consistency in guiding the new
development that has been occurring so rapidly. A second reason for giving this Element
early attention was that it would aid in developing the land-use pattern under the new
zoning ordinance which was done separately from, but concurrently with, the studies on
this proposed Comprehensive General Plan.
The Foreword of this report explains the basic purpose of a comprehensive general
plan (master plan). However, emphasis is here given to the last paragraph in the
Foreword which points out the importance of identifying and protecting certain features
contained in the Comprehensive General Plan by translating those features into the form
of regulatory precise plans.
This report represents the beginning, and not the consummation, of the City's
planning program.
Yours truly,
GORDON WHITNALL AND ASSOCIATES
Gordon Whitnall
GW:b
November, 1957
FOREWORD
A master plan, within the meaning of California Law, is a graphic compilation of
ideas and plans on how best to deal with all of the many subjects which, in combina-
tion, constitute a city. However, it is more than a mere index of subjects. It correlates
the general plans for all subjects, and projects them into the future. C
A master plan is a guide, and its purpose is to encourage continuity and con-
sistency in all projects which contribute to the development of a city. It contains no
element of compulsion, but encourages the use of logic and judgment in its execution.
The conceiving of a master plan and its adoption involves certain formalities that
assure thoroughness and deliberation. It may be modified from time to time, but only
by repeating the original procedures, thus assuring against precipitate changes.
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Unless a record of the goals exists, those who today have the responsibility for
the welfare of the City are unable to build consistently upon what was done in the
past, nor will those who assume the responsibility in the future be any more able to
carry on consistent development and thus assure maximum effectiveness and economy.
The master plan is the link that connects the past, the present and the future. By law,
a master plan is a prerequisite to the adoption of a precise plan.
When it becomes necessary to accurately define a detail in a master plan and
protect it against encroachments that make its ultimate consummation far more difficult, ft
if not impossible, the device known as the precise plan is made available by law. A
precise plan is adopted by a regulatory ordinance to protect the integrity of the plan.
An ordinance which adopts a precise plan, like a zoning ordinance, includes an accu- II
rate detailed map which exactly applies the plan to the land and establishes the basis
for a positive regulation of the land related to it.
G
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GENERAL LAND USE PLAN
In a degree, Carlsbad, like most cities, was compelled to "put the cart before the l«
horse" by proceeding immediately to the adoption of a precise plan of land-use known
as zoning. Zoning, in fact, is a precise land-use plan. But zoning, to be logical and F
stable and therefore of maximum value, should be recognized as being a result and L<
not a cause. To be permanently useful, zoning is not produced by arbitrarily coloring
an official map. Characteristic types of land-use are naturally induced by conditions T\
that are inherent in an area. Some of these conditions are natural in the form of IV
topography—hills, valleys, flat areas, rivers, bays, lagoons and ocean shorelines. Some
are man-made, such as existing streets, freeways, railroads, buildings and operations *
related to exploiting natural resources. Some of these factors attract certain forms of **
land use, others repel certain uses. The interplay of these influences naturally produces
the semblance of a land-use pattern. I
The techniques that constitute the process of precise zoning include first, the
identification of the location of both natural and man-made factors or influences; sec-
ond, the ascertaining on a factual basis of experience of how, and to what degree
each produce what normally happens; third, the determining of what additional man- -
made factors need to be anticipated, such as new streets and other facilities essential ^
to serve areas yet to be developed; and fourth, determining what added facilities must
be provided to better serve areas already fully or partially developed. .A
When all of these factors are identified and arrayed in %a comprehensive and "
composite graphic form, it is not a difficult task to determine the general pattern of
land use that might result. M
A master plan, among other purposes, provides such a composite picture. It is a
practical starting point for analyzing the subject of potential land use and then de- _^
picting the result of such analysis in the form of a map that shows the logical general [/
land-use plan.
Such a map is presented following page 2 of this report.
This map should be carefully reviewed by the Planning Commission with a view • •
to incorporating it as an important element of the Master Plan. The map, as offered, U
represents only the conclusions of the writers of this report. Like other Elements, it
should be changed if necessary to correctly interpret the conclusions of Carlsbad. Then, *
whatever final form the map takes, it should be adopted in the regular manner. ^
Thereafter, it will serve as a general guide when detailed changes in the precise
zoning map are under consideration. This general land-use map does not in itself C
impose a rigid pattern to be strictly adhered to; rather, it offers a more distant vantage
point from which to view specific issues of the moment in proper perspective.
Carlsbad contains an unusual number of major factors that naturally influence the
local land-use pattern. Prominent among them is the Ocean and its shoreline, the two •*
major Lagoons, the hill areas and the Freeway. These factors locally are so potent in their f
influence on the evolving land-use pattern as to leave for policy determination only the
matter of degree. •
But there is one additional major determination that must be interpreted by the
zoning ordinance—the quantitative factor.
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OCEANSIDE - CARLSBAD
STREET & HIGHWAY PLAN
WHERE different types of use should be placed is largely answered by major
existing factors. But HOW MUCH of each type of use should be provided is a question
that must be answered locally, and the determination must be based largely on the
unwritten, but potent, law of supply and demand. For instance, if the ultimate need for
and capacity to utilize commercial property is expressed quantitatively as "X" amount,
but the zoning map sets aside "2 x X" amount for that purpose, it is a certainty, based
on experience, that one-half of the property so zoned for commercial use, or "X"
amount, will remain stagnant and unused.
This is important tax-wise, and affects the City as a whole, which means every
property owner. Zoning cannot artificially create stable land values, but unwise zoning
that does not recognize the law of supply and demand and the influences of proper
location can definitely destroy values. It is the knowledge of this truth that prompts the
General Land-Use Element included in this report.
LEGEND
^—-j LQW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL AREAS
HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL AREAS
COMMERCIAL AREAS
INDUSTRIAL AREAS
STREETS AND HIGHWAYS
In this Age of the automobile, no phase of community development is more im- «P
portant than its street system. It is the skeleton, or framework, upon which the body of I
a city is built. A city's economic and social life are dependent upon the ability to
move persons and commodities. It is therefore incumbent upon a community to care-
fully plan an adequate street system, and then to protect the rights-of-way that now,
or later, will comprise that street system. Such planning is essential, but it is particularly
important where the topographic conformation which is typical of Carlsbad allows less
freedom of choice for the location and direction of streets. In Carlsbad there needs
to be considered the additional factor of the existence of a number of natural and
man-made barriers as represented by the two Lagoons and the Freeway.
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EThe physical characteristics that make Carlsbad such a desirable area for resi-
dential and related development are the same factors that present the critical need
to determine the location of essential rights-of-way in advance of development, and I
then protect them against encroachment. While it is possible with modern engineering
and construction methods to locate and construct streets in any kind of terrain, the
cost of construction and the destruction of property that can sometimes result are X
totally unwarranted. Modern thoroughfare systems, if they are to properly represent
an equitable balance between cost and service, should be so designed as to follow
the dictates of natural influences found in any area, such as topography and important
objective points. With the facility of movement provided by the automobile, traffic
flow acquires many of the characteristics of flowing water. This fact has been recog- fC
nized in developing the proposals for major thorougtnares as contained in this report.
Aside from the topographic features of Carlsbad, there are three major physical
barriers that influence the circulatory system of the City. The major man-made barrier
is the San Diego Freeway. Although not contained within the City of Carlsbad, the LJ
Vista Freeway will also have a bearing upon the local street system.
The major natural barriers are the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and the Buena Vista •
Lagoon. These two Lagoons, in a major way, limit the freedom of selection of travel |
routes north and south. In effect, they divide the City into compartments, each of which
must necessarily be designed individually. Although these Lagoons are spoken of as **
barriers, it would be physically possible to cross them, even as is already done by the Vj
Freeway, but the monetary cost and the cost in terms of destroying some inherent
values in the Lagoons themselves, justify the elimination of any plans for such cross-
ings. In fact, the dividing of the community into natural compartments can prove to be
a major asset in that volume of disconcerting and hazardous coast-wise through traffic
is automatically prevented. Except for Carlsbad Boulevard (old Highway 101) and the
San Diego Freeway, all additional north-south traffic will be kept to points eastwardly
of the Lagoons.
The San Diego Freeway, in common with all modern freeways, serves as a barrier A
that separates the street system on one side from the street system on the other side,
except at relatively few points where connections over or under are provided. This
enforced channeling of traffic flow provides a desirable seclusion to substantial areas Y
without destroying their accessibility. These facts are recognized and incorporated not
only in the recommendations for streets as contained herein, but also have a bearing
upon the land-use pattern as defined by zoning. ^
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Carlsbad, fortunately, is still a young community, both as an incorporated city
* and in terms of physical development. Although the limited areas represented by
^ developed or partially-developed lands are somewhat chaotic in the pattern of lots
and street system, the fact still remains that the major portion of the area lying within
T the City is still in its natural state. Timely planning has its major value as it relates to
these large undeveloped areas. By locating the more important thoroughfares before
subdivision development occurs it not only permits the selection of the most efficient
and economical routes, but assures that in the normal process of land subdivision these
thoroughfares will be progressively dedicated as a natural part of development. Thus
no expensive relocations or widenings will be required in the future, and all develop-
ment—both private and public—can be encouraged by reason of the stability and
certainty that is the natural by-product of well-timed and comprehensive planning.
In the areas already developed some redesign will be essential, and some pro-
posals are contained in other portions of this report under other headings.
Street Types and Standards
There are four principal categories of thoroughfares. In order of their capacity
and service to be rendered they are—freeways, majors, secondaries and locals.
Y FREEWAYS
A freeway is a thoroughfare designed exclusively to accommodate heavy volume
P traffic and is therefore characterized by the following four features:
(1) Its right-of-way is physically and legally separated from abutting prop-
I* erty, and no direct access to or from it is permitted from abutting property.
(2) There are no crossings at grades.
S (3) The roadways for accommodating traffic flowing in opposite directions
are physically separated.
(4) The radii of curves where necessary are as long as possible, both on the
horizontal plane in the form of gradients and the vertical plane.
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LIMITED-ACCESS HIGHWAY
A relatively new form of major thoroughfare is designated as "limited-access
highway". This type of thoroughfare can be, and is designed in many different forms of
C cross-section. The most adequate form employs a cross-section consisting of two sepa-
rated roadways for through traffic in the center of the right-of-way, flanked on each side
Tby a physical curb or parkway barrier that separates the through-travel lanes from
marginal service roads, the latter directly serving abutting property. Access to a limited-
access highway is provided at grade but permitted only at widely-separated intervals.
ft Cross streets between such points would be terminated at the service roads.
A second typical form of limited-access highway is represented by a cross-section
II containing two roadways, each accommodating traffic in opposing directions but
bordered by property which rears upon the thoroughfare and separated therefrom by
N an easement that prohibits physical access from such property to or from the thorough-
D fare.
A MAJOR STREETS
Major streets, if properly designed and located, represent in a community the
R same function that the major structural framework serves in a major building. They are
located and designed to serve as trunk lines for surface travel, usually between im-
rt portant objective points. They can, and do, differ in their cross-section design depend-
ing upon their location, the volume and type of traffic they are required to accommo-
Sdate, and the type of land design and land use tributary to them. Because traffic prin-
cipally flows in lanes, street capacity is usually measured in numbers of lanes. A major
thoroughfare is considered one that contains eight lanes. However, lanes vary in width,
again depending upon the type, the volume and the speed of travel. Travel lanes
may vary in width, from ten feet to fourteen feet. A parking lane is usually considered
to be eight feet wide. The normal major street serves not only the purpose of moving
traffic, but it also provides direct and exclusive access to abutting property, in which
case parking lanes at the curb are usually provided.
As major streets traverse hilly areas the cross-section profiles of hills usually compel
modification of right-of-way widths, but no compromise should be permitted in the
number of lanes to be provided. Where there is no escape from extreme topogra-
phy, and directness of route represents a major objective, recourse is sometimes had
to providing different levels for traffic moving in opposing directions. This is done by
dividing the roadways into separate rights-of-way although in reasonably close prox-
imity, thus providing paralleling one-way streets.
SECONDARY STREETS
Secondary streets are described by their title. They serve principally as collectors
and distributors for major streets or, on occasion, even for freeways. In capacity, they
normally possess not less than six lanes, of which two are usually parking lanes.
LOCAL STREETS
Local streets have as their principal purpose the providing of direct access to
abutting properties. They normally contain four lanes of which two may be parking
lanes. Sometimes, as in the case of short cul-de-sac streets, hillside streets, or short
loop streets, even narrower roadways are possible.
These descriptions of typical thoroughfares in terms of lanes are included in this
statement in lieu of specifically defining streets by dimensions in feet. The local appli-
cation of these factors will need to be devised in each case to fit local conditions,
especially those that are dictated by topography. Thus a given major thoroughfare of
some length might conceivably have different dedicated widths over different portions
of its route and still retain the required number of lanes to accommodate the volume
of traffic to be served.
It is anticipated that the recommendations presented by this Report on Master Plan
will be progressively translated into specific projects in the form of precise plans. The
identification of these projects by the master plan can serve adequately as a guide when
dealing with subdivision projects that lie along the course of a thoroughfare. But
there is always the danger that individual private improvements might be so placed
as to interfere seriously with the ultimate realization of the physical street. It is as a pro-
tection against such a possibility that these important street projects, when approved,
should be given the protection against encroachments as only a precise plan can do.
Following are the specific projects comprising the Streets and Highways Element
of the proposed Master Plan. They are grouped under the different types of thorough-
fares as previously explained. In the main, and on the basis of preliminary reports,
most of these projects have already been considered in the manner prescribed by law
and have been adopted as the Street and Highway Element of the Master Plan. It is
probable that additional items will be incorporated from time to time.
Specific Projects
FREEWAYS
The San Diego Freeway
The San Diego Freeway (U.S. 101) is the only project of its kind physically lo-
cated in the City of Carlsbad. It is an accomplished fact, except that in the southerly
part of the City southward of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, the State Division of Highways
has completed plans for its realignment. This realignment will begin at the point where
the Freeway presently turns southwesterly,to connect with the old Highway 101. This
diagonal connection will remain and continue to serve as a connection to the old Coast
Highway, but the new alignment will remain at a distance from the shoreline and will
generally pass to the rear of the communities of Leucadia, Encinitas, Solana Beach and
Del Mar south of Carlsbad, re-establishing a connection with the present Freeway near
the top of Rose Canyon. This realignment plan is mentioned because it will necessitate
a determination by Carlsbad, in cooperation with the State Division of Highways, on
F where grade separations or interchanges with the local system in Carlsbad will be
located.
R
With reference to the present and future realigned San Diego Freeway, con-
F sideration should be given to an interchange between the Freeway and Terramar Drive,
because Terramar Drive is destined to be a major thoroughfare. It is inevitable that the
£ Agua Hedionda Lagoon will be devoted to recreational purposes, and when this hap-
pens, Terramar Drive will acquire added importance. Although it is physically possible,
]fj via a new route following the railroad, to cross the lower Bay by bridge, this alone
will not provide adequate connection from the area north of the Lagoon to the area
f^ south of the Lagoon. But even though that eventually be done, it will still remain im-
portant to connect Terramar Drive and Tamarack Avenue as near as possible to the
Y easterly end of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It will always be important to provide a
practical connection between the areas north and south of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon
5, east of the Freeway. In addition, this connecting road will serve as an access to the
Agua Hedionda Lagoon recreation area. For that reason, the interchange with the Free-
way assumes major importance.
The Vista Freeway
The Vista Freeway, which is destined to become a full freeway, bounds Carlsbad
on the north. Although not located within the City, it has a major bearing upon the
street system on the Carlsbad side. Two thoroughfares of major importance in Carls-
bad relate to this Vista Freeway; one is El Camino Real, and the other is Jefferson
Street. These latter two thoroughfares are important not only because of the manner
in which they tap and serve the street system southerly of the Hosp Eucalyptus Grove
and the Buena Vista Lagoon, but they are of vital importance if these two mentioned
areas are developed for recreational purposes as this report recommends. Both Jeffer-
son Street and El Camino Real presently have grade connections with the Vista Free-
way. This must be presumed to be only a temporary condition, because their importance
is such as to require that they should continue to provide direct vehicular access to and
from the Freeway. This, in turn, means that eventually each shall be provided with inter-
change facilities when grade separations are established.
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LIMITED-ACCESS HIGHWAY
El Camino Real '
El Camino Real is shown on the composite map as a major thoroughfare. However,
its importance as a principal north-south thoroughfare is increased by the fact that it C
constitutes the first uninterrupted thoroughfare easterly of the two Lagoons, and the
additional fact that the topography along its alignment presents a minimum of physical D
problems. This thoroughfare will also provide one of the principal avenues of access to
the projected airport. In fact, it is regional in character and importance.
Because of this importance, and because of the inability to readily provide other
paralleling north-south thoroughfares, this report strongly recommends that El Camino A
Real be designed and ultimately developed as a limited-access highway. The physical
design may need to be modified along segments of its length in order to take advan- C
tage of, or to meet the limitations of, marginal topographic conditions. For that reason
its status should be determined and adopted jointly by the City of Carlsbad, its neigh- £
boring City of Oceanside to the north, and by the County that has jurisdiction to the
south. It is further recommended, because of the great importance of this thoroughfare C
over its entire length, that it be given priority in the development of precise plans.
MAJOR STREETS S
Carlsbad Boulevard
No mention has thus far been made of the type of thoroughfare commonly re- J
ferred to as "Boulevards". Traffic-wise, Boulevards usually have the proportions of
major or secondary thoroughfares, but they have added marginal or central planted
park strips, or both. It is conceivable that there may be several opportunities in Carls-
bad to utilize this type of thoroughfare. Such determination, however, must await de-
tailed studies for precise plans in relationship to the type of adjoining land use de-
velopment.
With reference to Carlsbad Boulevard, however, this thoroughfare is naturally of
major importance. Until the completion of the San Diego Freeway it was U.S. Highway
101. Although its regional importance has been diminished because of the Freeway,
it remains an important major street in the community. It still provides, and will continue
indefinitely to provide, the principal connecting link from the north side of Oceanside •"
(Hill Street) to the south side of Carlsbad. In addition, it will continue to provide the
nearest continuous major access to the local streets which reach from it all of the beach A
frontages. It seems possible that, with the development of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon
for boating and other recreational purposes, Carlsbad Boulevard will be severed at the J
point where it crosses the mouth of the Lagoon. However, it will retain its local im-
portance and might conceivably later be revealed as warranting the expense of bridg- Q
ing the Lagoon at one of its narrowest points, either along the present alignment of
Carlsbad Boulevard or in connection with the railroad crossing. B
Elm Avenue
This thoroughfare exists at present only from Ocean Street to Elmwood Street.
However, its extension easterly to a connection with El Camino Real represents a project
of major importance. It represents one of but three major thoroughfares that can be S
designed to traverse the east-west dimensions of the City. Its extension from Elmwood
Street to a junction with El Camino Real is entirely feasible, both topographically and J
geographically. The project also represents an essential facility if the tributary areas
are ultimately to be designed and developed to greatest advantage. This thoroughfare D
also acts as the principal connector between the beach frontage, the principal business
area and the Civic Center because its location is correct, and it is already provided r
with an adequate interchange with the Freeway.
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Tamarack Avenue
Tamarack Avenue presently extends from Carlsbad Boulevard to Highland Drive.
J It also has an interchange connection with the San Diego Freeway and thus serves as a
major collector and distributor to the substantial areas tributary to it and lying on both
E sides of the Freeway. It is proposed that this major thoroughfare also be extended
from Highland Drive to a junction with Chestnut Avenue in the vicinity of West Haven
^ Drive, and thence continue easterly as Tamarack Avenue to the junction with El Camino
Real. This thoroughfare will assume even greater importance if the recreational facilities
centered at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon materialize.
un Terramar Drive
In addition to the reference to Terramar Drive in the previous general discussion
on road system, it is noted that this street exists only from Carlsbad Boulevard to the
. railroad. There is already an allowance made for an underpass at the Freeway in
anticipation of an extension of this street. This proposed extension is essential as the
O principal means for penetrating the presently undeveloped agricultural lands which are
destined inevitably to be developed. It is therefore most important that the alignment
Y of this particular project should be accurately ascertained at an early date and pro-
tected against encroachment by the adoption of a precise plan.
Proposed New Major Street
f A new major street is proposed that will extend from Tamarack Avenue on the
north to a junction with Terramar Drive on the south and run parallel to and probably
H contiguous to the Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way. With the possible severance of Carls-
bad Boulevard at the entrance to the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, this proposed new
" project becomes essential. It would provide the sole direct access to the considerable
_ area comprising the peninsula formed by the Ocean and the Agua Hedionda Lagoon
lying westerly of the Freeway. This proposed new street might to advantage be carried
.. still farther south as an essential facility to serve the probable industrial development
that will eventually locate adjacent to the railroad facilities. If Carlsbad Boulevard is
— not severed at the entrance to the Lagoon, this proposed new major street loses much
of its importance.
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SECONDARY THOROUGHFARES
H Normally, a well-conceived circulatory system consists of substantially more secon-
dary streets than major streets. But, because of local topography, the Ocean, the La-
f goons and the Freeway, the total area of Carlsbad is divided into district compartments
of such size and shape as to minimize the need for secondary streets.
A Jefferson Street
D This thoroughfare connects with both the Vista Freeway and the San Diego Free-
way via the Las Flores Drive interchange. More important, however, is the fact that
C it provides a travel route that approximately parallels the southerly shore of the
Buena Vista Lagoon. Geographically, its position is very strategic in that it provides
C what is substantially a diagonal route. In the event that the Buena Vista Lagoon Inter-
community Recreational Area is established, Jefferson Street will acquire an even
greater importance.
8
Highland Drive and Buena Vista Avenue
Highland Drive, by its extension onto Buena Vista Avenue, serves as a connector
to two major streets (Tamarack Avenue and Elm Avenue) and two secondary streets
(Chestnut Avenue and Pio Pico) all of which, in combination, serve a very considerable
existing and potential residential area. At present the area is developed to a low popu-
lation density factor, but as new land development and redevelopment occurs, a higher
population density will inevitably result. Highland Drive will serve as a collector and
distributor in a pattern that will permit a division of traffic instead of concentrating it
on a single major thoroughfare. As otherwise noted, there is also the proposal that
Highland Drive be eventually connected with Terramar Drive, thus attaining an impor-
tance second only to the San Diego Freeway and El Camino Real.
Chestnut Avenue
This thoroughfare will serve as a connector between two secondary streets (Pio
Pico and Highland Drive) and El Camino Real to the east via the proposed extension of
Tamarack Avenue. It will serve partially as a by-pass but, more important, it will serve in a
major sense as a collector and distributor for the considerable area that lies between
Elm Ave.nue on the north and Tamarack Avenue on the south. It is also a convenient
route via Pio Pico to the Civic Center and to the interchange and underpass at Elm
Avenue, which is the major approach to the principal business district of the City.
This project should also be studied from an engineering standpoint for the purpose of
determining at an early date the exact ultimate alignment that should be established
and protected, in order to improve present alignments and gradients at certain
locations.
State Street
This thoroughfare is already important in that it constitutes the easterly tine of a
two-tined fork that penetrates to the heart of the Carlsbad principal business district
directly from Carlsbad Boulevard (Hill Street in Oceanside).
Pio Pico
This thoroughfare, lying contiguous to the easterly side of the San Diego Freeway,
is a by-product of the Freeway project. Its capacity is that of a marginal service road
and, either as a collector or distributor, offers a connection between the interchanges
with the Freeway (Las Flores Drive, Elm Avenue, Tamarack Avenue). Because of the
strategic location of Pio Pico, however, its present dimensions are inadequate—
especially so because considerable abutting property fronts upon it and is dependent
upon it for access. Fortunately, a major portion of the frontage upon this thoroughfare
is not as yet intensively developed, and what development does exist, except for the
City buildings, is not of a permanent nature. It is most important, therefore, that any
ultimate changes in the width of this thoroughfare shall be determined in advance of
the establishment of any permanent building improvements along its frontage. How-
ever, the sizes and shapes of the lots abutting upon Pio Pico are such as to prejudice
some of them in terms of improvement possibilities consistent with the importance of
the frontage. It is therefore suggested that the City not only undertake to resolve the
Pio Pico project into precise plans but that the possibility of resorting to redevelopment
be seriously studied and analyzed in connection therewith.
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A LOCAL STREETS
Local streets are not normally separately identified as components in a Streets
*• and Highways Element of a Master Plan. In the case of Carlsbad, however, certain areas
have been identified and studied for the purpose of exploring the manner in which
local streets may best be located and designed so as to utilize to the highest degree
_ the natural qualities that attach to these areas by reason of their geographical location,
their topographical characteristics and, to some extent, their division into separate
_ ownerships.
These areas are designated in light yellow on the composite colored map.
R The separate districts are identified respectively as "A", "B", "C", "D", "E",
"F" and "G", and the boundaries of each are indicated by a heavy dot-and-dash
C black line. A separate map drawn to a larger scale to show details has been prepared
for each of these lettered districts, and they will be found following page 22. While
t not actually an integral part of the Master Plan, these detailed plans have been de-
veloped to illustrate certain principles and to assist the City and the owners of the
T land developing these properties in an orderly and most acceptable manner. The
local street system, including those here proposed, complements the major and sec-
•> ondary system and may be used as a guide for future development, especially in con-
nection with new subdivision.
As a procedural detail, this report recommends that each of these study areas
shall be separately considered. It will be well for the Planning Commission, or a com-
mittee of the Commission, or the staff, to invite the record owners of properties com-
prising each study area to jointly explore them informally. Thereafter such future steps
may be taken as the preliminary conferences indicate might be acceptable.
Recommendations
Following are the specific recommendations with reference to the
Streets and Highways Element of the Master Plan:
FREEWAYS
Establishment of an interchange with the San Diego Freeway at
Terramar Drive.
Establishment of an interchange with the San Diego Freeway at the
road to the Airport (along the new alignment).
Establishment of an interchange with the Vista Freeway at El
Camino Real.
Establishment of an interchange with the Vista Freeway at Jefferson
Street.
LIMITED-ACCESS HIGHWAY
That El Camino Real be designed and developed as a Limited
Access Highway.
MAJOR STREETS
That the following Streets be classified as Major Streets:
Elm Avenue, including extension eastwardly to proposed junction
with El Camino Real.
10
Tamarack Avenue, Including extension from Highland Drive to
junction with El Camino Real via a portion of Chestnut Avenue.
Terramar Drive, including extension from Santa Fe Railroad east-
war dly to connect with the proposed extension of Highland Drive.
Carlsbad Boulevard.
Proposed new Major Street to extend from Tamarack Avenue on
the north to a junction with Terramar Drive on the south, running
parallel to and probably contiguous to the Santa Fe Railroad right-
of-way (in lieu of high level bridge for Carlsbad Boulevard over
mouth of Agua Hedionda Lagoon).
SECONDARY STREETS
That the following streets be classified as Secondary Streets:
Buena Vista Avenue southeastwardly from Pio Pico to its junction
with Highland Drive.
Highland Drive, southward from the junction with Buena Vista Ave-
nue to a connection with Terramar Drive extended.
Pio Pico, from Las Flores Drive to Tamarack Avenue.
Las Flores Drive, from Jefferson Street to Pio Pico.
Chestnut Avenue, from Pio Pico to a junction with Tamarack Avenue
extended.
State Street from Carlsbad Boulevard to Elm Avenue.
Jefferson Street, from Vista Freeway to Elm Avenue.
11
P
A
R
K
S
PARKS AND RECREATION
Historically, Carlsbad is unique when considering the subject of recreation be-
cause, from its beginning in the late 1800's, the mineral water which had been dis-
covered, and the excellent beach area, were recognized as representing major com-
munity assets. In fact, the name "Carlsbad" is tangible evidence of the intent to identify
the new community as similar in important respects to its centuries-old namesake across
the seas. Although its mineral bath is now identifiable only by an historical marker, the
City has lost none of its recreational advantages. In fact, its potential in this respect
is only now coming into full realization. During the course of the studies that have led
to this report, there have been numerous and sincere expressions of an awareness of
recreation as a social need and as a community-wide asset. Coupled with this has been
the declared intention locally to make the most of the opportunity to develop the
recreational potential to its maximum and to retain and embellish the aesthetic qualities
of the community. The citizens of Carlsbad recognize the social and economic value
of recreation in modern Society.
The words "recreation" and "re-creation" differ only phonetically. They are
actually synonymous. Recreation is not a luxury—it is an essential to life. Recreation
&is mainly the medium by which every individual maintains an equilibrium by balancing
his vocation with his avocation. As distinguished from those who live in rural areas, city
dwellers can seldom individually provide the areas needed and the facilities essential
for adequate recreational activities. But what cannot be provided individually must, of
U necessity, be provided collectively. Thus there has come into existence not only a
" recognition of the need for community-provided recreational facilities, but the actual
E practice of so providing them is now an important function of government on all levels.
There is biblical authority for the statement that Man does not live by bread
C alone. Individuals are never alike, but they all inherently possess the instinctive desire
for, and the capacity to enjoy, things that are not normally classified as material. Con-
ic sistent and incontrovertible records reveal that where the proper recreational antidote
is provided to balance the artificialities of urban living, a far higher standard of health
I" exists, as well as considerably lower incidences of delinquency, adult as well as juve-
nile. These factors, of course, have a direct relationship to the cost of local govern-
II ment. For the same reasons, but from a different standpoint, properties located in
proximity to natural beauty spots such as beaches and shorelines and man-made parks
I and natural landscapes possess a far greater monetary value than properties not so
located. These almost self-evident facts need no emphasis in this report other than
I to lend encouragement to the local recognition of such facts.
0 Except for minor land reservations for strictly local recreational use as are repre-
sented by neighborhood parks and recreation in the customary sense of the word, the
N major assets of Carlsbad and its neighboring areas lie in the almost unequalled rela-
tionship of the Ocean and its beaches to the adjoining uplands. Much of the lands
comprising Carlsbad form huge balconies, as in a theatre, with the Ocean and beach
areas constituting the stage. But just as the whole relates to the Ocean, so lesser but
important areas relate to the Lagoons, each of which constitutes a literal bowl that
possesses potentialities and opportunities for beauty and recreational activity that
probably are not exceeded or matched anywhere. Because of the growing pressure
of the increasing population density in the Los Angeles area to the north and in the
San Diego area to the south, the demand for living environments which are so readily
12
available in Carlsbad—unless Man blindly destroys them—gives to the City barely
time to plan for the highest standards of development that will redound to the great
and lasting benefit of the community and the people who comprise it. This means
primarily the preservation and the development of the highest recreational potential
that the area can provide.
Recreation has always been an important and necessary part of human existence,
and although the forms it has taken in different places and at different times have
varied, its importance is never lessened. But as the seven-day week and the twelve-
hour day have gradually developed into the five-day week and the eight-hour day,
the leisure time of people by that fact is also increasing. But leisure time, although ab-
solutely essential to a balanced existence, can, in excess amount and if not advan-
tageously employed, also represent a hazard. So far as individual incentive is con-
cerned, this does not appear to pose a major problem. One has only to observe our
limited beach areas in good weather, our mountain trails, our golf courses, our natural
parks, our baseball fields, our bowling areas and tennis courts; or to observe the in-
creasing number of, and business done by, sporting goods concerns, boat building
establishments, outboard motor engine and tent and fishing tackle manufacturers, to
realize where public leisure-time interests lie. But one cannot live with only one meal
a month, or a gorging of food once a year, yet this analogy represents about the
recreational diet of the average person except for such activities as can be indulged
in close at home. Therein lies the opportunity for Carlsbad—and the problem.
The colored composite map following page 20 does not indicate numerous
areas for recreational purposes, but those that are recommended are considered of
major importance. There are three major facilities; one is the Beach, the second is the
Buena Vista Lagoon and the Hosp Eucalyptus Grove Area, and the third is the Agua
Hedionda Lagoon.
With reference to the Beach, it would be impossible to over-emphasize the im-
portance of retaining for public use all that may be available and, of equal importance,
the devising of such related facilities as will make the Beach more readily accessible
and usable in every respect. It is unfortunate that the early desire to realize maximum
immediate profit from private land exploitation resulted in divorcing the City as a
whole from the Ocean and the Beach. It is not an extreme statement to say that resi-
dents located along the ridge property a mile or more from the Beach can, because
of elevation and consequent uninterrupted view, better enjoy the Ocean than can
those who reside on the east side of Ocean Street who could readily throw a stone
from their front lawn (if any) into the surf were it not for the intervening row of
buildings that vistually, and sometimes physically, isolate the City from the Beach. This
condition, unfortunately, is too prevalent along much of the California coastline.
The composite colored map indicates no specific treatment of the shoreline, but
the text of this report does. The City of Carlsbad cannot be held accountable for what
has happened in the past because much of the physical development and the resulting
precedent had been established long before the City became a city. But this does not
mean that the City should not undertake to recapture one of its greatest assets. This
may necessarily have to be done gradually, but this report does not hesitate to express
the belief that although the monetary cost of such correction will be heavy, it need
not be great at any given period. But whatever the cost may prove to be, IN THE LONG
RUN IT WILL COST THE CITY LESS TO DO IT THAN TO LEAVE IT UNDONE. Specifi-
cally, this means the approval of a policy and a program that will result in the per-
sistent acquisition parcel by parcel of all lands that actually abut upon the ocean front,
and the preparation of a specific ocean front development plan that shall make it
possible to adequately exploit ON A COMMUNITY-WIDE BASIS, the unequalled asset
13
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT PLAN
HOLIDAY PARK
CARLSBAD,CALIFORNIA
VISUAL SCALE
0 SO .100 200 250
CHESTNUT
that is inherent in that strip of area where the ocean meets the land. Then it will
belong to all of the people of the City, both present and future, and to the numberless
guests who will be attracted.
The Buena Vista Lagoon is not visualized as an area that will lend itself in any
substantial degree to major recreational purposes. It might be worth the effort and
the cost to convert it into a full marine facility were it not for two facts. One is that the
Agua Hedionda Lagoon is already almost adequate for all forms of aquatic recreation,
including small boat harbor facilities. The other reason is that the Buena Vista Lagoon
already constitutes a natural bird refuge that could readily be augmented in a manner
to easily give it a national reputation and serve the local communities with a form of
passive recreation for which there is also great need. The inner areas of this Lagoon,
not being subject to tidal fluctuations, permit on-shoreline development and activities
on a permanent basis. Such shoreline activities can be so designed and screened as
to in no manner interfere with the preservation of the natural and major unenclosed
"aviary". A study of the water surface areas and shoreline conformation indicates that
the natural environment for bird refuge purposes can be maintained and protected
better than at present. At the same time, certain still-water areas can be made available
for small boat purposes as well as such activities as are normally found in major urban
park areas. It is the proposal with respect to this area that it be made a dual-city
project as it is bisected by the common boundary line of Oceanside and Carlsbad.
However, there is an additional major reason for recommending that the Buena
Vista Lagoon and portions of its shoreline be acquired and retained for community
purposes. Experience has demonstrated in far too many cases that natural channels,
inundated areas, and low lying areas subject to occasional inundation, if left to their
own devices and private exploitation, develop into what is sometimes unpoetically re-
ferred to as tin can dumps and goat pastures. What has already been said without
reservation concerning the existing unfortunate conditions at some portions of the
Carlsbad ocean front fortunately has not yet developed with reference to the mar-
ginal areas around both Buena Vista Lagoon and Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Any un-
desirable development should be prevented, and steps in this direction should consti-
tute one of the City's major projects.
The third major facility is the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. This body of water in its
present natural state easterly of the Freeway is already completely usable except for
proper shoreline development. Westerly of the Freeway, however, some adaptations
will need to be made in order to develop it to meet the demand for berthing and servic-
ing of pleasure craft. This report earnestly recommends that this major recreational fa-
cility be specifically included in the plans of the City, and that every reasonable means
be employed to establish the status of this facility as an active project. It also recom-
mends that every opportunity be taken advantage of to forward the physical consum-
mation of the project to provide not only a facility of major local importance, but an
important link in the coast-wide plans of the State covering the same subject matters.
The manner in which the design of this major facility might be realized is shown
by the map preceding page 15. Before this report was fully prepared for printing, the
City had an engineering study made for the development of this facility. A comparison
of this specialized report, referred to as the Patterson Report, and the proposals pre-
viously prepared for inclusion in this Report on Master Plan indicates several major
similarities. We believe the upland treatment proposed in this Master Plan Report lends
itself better to the related development of the tributary areas. However, the sugges-
tion is here made that inasmuch as the facility under consideration conforms in its im-
portance, its opportunities and needs to those recognized by the State, that no local
14
BUENA VISTA
REGIONAL PARK
VISTA WAV
-ft Eu CAMINO
OCEANSIDE CITY LIMITS
if] CARLSBAD CITY LIMITS
AGUA HEDIONDA
RECREATION
AREA
AGUA HEDIONDA
LAGOON
determination be made as to details until decision shall have been made by the State
to constitute this project as a part of its State-wide program. It is unthinkable that this
will not happen, so when it does, the matter of details can be jointly worked out by
the State and the local authorities. In the remote event that the State does not partici-
pate, the City can utilize its own determinations as to details of development whether
the project becomes totally public, semi-public or completely private.
Holiday Park is the only neighborhood park shown on the comprehensive plan.
The separate map of this project, shown following page 13, is intended to show the
capacity of the area to serve diversified needs. There are any number of alternative
arrangements that can be designed by local recreational authorities to serve its
purpose.
This report adds the recommendation that serious consideration be given to the
increasing practice of providing small recreational areas contiguous to public schools,
and designing and equipping them in such manner as to combine the facilities of
both.
Recommendations
Following are the specific recommendations with reference to the
Parks and Recreation Element of the Master Plan:
BEACHES
(1) Prepare and adopt plans for the specific development of the
Ocean frontage.
(2) Adoption of policies, program and financing for acquiring of
lands fronting upon the Ocean.
BUENA VISTA LAGOON
(1) Designation of Buena Vista Lagoon and portions of abutting
properties as a dual-city recreation project.
AGUA HEDIONDA LAGOON
(1) Designation of Agua Hedionda Lagoon and certain shoreline
properties as a major marine recreational area.
(2) That every reasonable means be employed to establish this
facility as an active project to bring about its physical con-
summation.
15
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Public buildings group naturally into several types, each of which is characterized
by distinctive use, such as administrative buildings, cultural buildings, educational build- D
ings, historical buildings and special service buildings. One of the primary responsibili-
ties of a city is to so locate each structure that it will best serve its intended purpose.
The factors which determine building locations differ considerably in each case. Fire M
stations, for example, should properly be located in relation to the type and degree
of fire hazard in the area the station is to serve. Intensity of and type of development
are major factors to be considered. The equi-distant distribution of fire station sites K
is of less importance than the susceptibility of an area to fire hazard and the relation-
ship of the fire station site to the street and road system that must necessarily be em-
ployed to permit equipment to quickly reach any point. I
By contrast, school sites, especially elementary school sites, should be located
with relation to the existing and potential student load. Additional factors include con- •
sideration of the distance the students must travel and the related, and sometimes |
conflicting, consideration of an enrollment large enough to permit separation of classes
with a practical minimum of faculty. By recourse to advance planning it is possible ^
to avoid locating elementary schools on major thoroughfares and reduce or eliminate ^
the hazard of crossing heavily-travelled thoroughfares to reach the school.
Cultural and recreational buildings present still other factors and considerations.
As an example, a large-capacity stadium might be considered as being well served if
placed in proximity to two or more major thoroughfares serving the community. But if D
these thoroughfares are the same that serve the normal intensive commercial activity "
of the city during the same hours that the stadium is in use, the combined volume of
traffic resulting presents an almost insurmountable problem. II
Civic Center
In large cities it has been found that to arbitrarily group all governmental and I
cultural structures in one center depreciates the usefulness and value of each establish-
ment by reason of their number, sometimes conflicting character and the great number
of persons involved. These considerations have resulted in the trend to establish I
administrative centers, as distinguished from cultural centers. For large cities only ••
administrative offices, or those establishments that represent the handling of the
Public's business should be grouped together for purposes of convenience, efficiency
and economy. Major cultural buildings, by contrast, are usually located elsewhere, with
particular regard to the operation and type of use of each.
But in the modest-sized city this segregation is not necessary and, in many in- I
stances, is not desirable. As in the instance of Carlsbad, a grouping of the City's major •
buildings for general purposes (except schools) can constitute both an adminstrative
center and a cultural center which might properly be called a community center. Such, ftl
in fact, is the proposal contained in this report under this heading of "Civic Center". \\
The site selected for the Civic Center was chosen because of its strategic location
with reference to the local street system, the Freeway and the proposed near-by busi- ^
ness center on the opposite, or westerly, side of the Freeway. Experience has revealed VI
that major public buildings, with the exception of a post office, are not compatible
neighbors to establishments comprising a business center. Yet there is a relationship f
between the activities of the business center and a civic center that makes it desirable ^
to have them in close proximity to each other. This is accomplished in the Civic Center
site being recommended for Carlsbad.
16
D
PROPOSED
CIVIC CENTER PLAN
LEGEND
EXISTING R/W ~~~" mi I™
PROPOSED R/W —I.------VISUAL SCALE
0 SO 100 150 200
Not only is the recommended site well-located geographically, but it is good
topographically. A suggested site plan, shown following page 16, takes advantage of
the gradual slope of the land both functionally and architecturally. The dominant posi-
tion, at the apex of the blunt triangle at the highest elevation at the easterly end, is
assigned as the location of the City Hall. The slope of this building site is such as to
accommodate two building levels, each having direct access at grade. A structure de-
signed to fit this site would constitute a dominating architectural feature visible not only
from the Freeway, but from as far to the west as the Ocean front.
The Community Building, or Auditorium, is assigned the site north of the present
Fire-Police Building. The capacity for off-street parking for this building is greater at this
point and, by reason of distance from the parking facilities designed essentially for
the City Hall, there would normally be no conflict between the two. The number of
persons in attendance at the Community Building at any given time is apt to be greater
than at any other public building in the Civic Center. The indicated location for this
Community Building, therefore, is particularly strategic from the standpoint of traffic
access.
The Library Building is assigned a site at the corner of Pio Pico and Elm Avenue
south of the Fire-Police Building. Although the total over-all attendance at a library is
substantial, it is usually so spaced that there is never any period of great concentration
of persons at one time. Therefore, the location of the Library Building at this inter-
section will not tend to complicate traffic movement.
From the site plan shown following page 16, it will be noted that between the
two banks of off-street parking there is space reserved to accommodate still another
public building if one proves necessary in the future. In addition, it is here pointed
out that the blunt triangular area recommended as the Civic Center site is intended
to represent but the core of a possible larger development in the future. Whether this
expanded development will be represented by actual public or semi-public structures
is a matter that the future will reveal. However, it is here specifically recommended
that additional areas be acquired to the north across from the proposed Community
Building, primarily to serve two purposes; first to maintain open space and, second,
to make available additional off-street parking facilities should they prove to be neces-
sary. The existing Fire-Police Building represents a permanent unit in the plan. Inci-
dentally, this building is functionally well-located to permanently serve both of its pur-
poses. Its position in relationship to the Elm Avenue underpass of the Freeway, and
to the Freeway itself in both directions, makes it the most strategic location in the
City, as well as being centrally located measured north and south.
With the recommended ultimate extension of Elm Avenue eastwardly over the
crest of the hill to connect with El Camino Real, this location becomes an intensified
focal point. There is little likelihood that State or County branch governmental offices
will seek location in Carlsbad, inasmuch as they are locating in the adjoining City of
Oceanside. If and when a more pretentious Post Office is provided for Carlsbad, it
might well be given a location in the expanded business center westerly of the Freeway.
Carlsbad will never be another New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, and for that
it can be thankful. Quality and service are not measured by size. Cities, like people,
have personalities and characters of their own. There has been a notable revolution in
the past decade or two in the public attitude toward better quality and attractive ap-
pearance. The modern automobile market is influenced by design and appearance;
manufacturers of commodities spend almost as much on the attractive design and ap-
pearance of their packaging as they do upon the contents; modern private business
17
buildings and even industrial buildings absorb the best that the architectural profession
can offer to make their buildings attractive as well as functionally useful; the style and
design of clothing has more to do with appearance than with protection. In short,
appreciation of quality and beauty is no longer taboo, and inevitably related to this
attitude is the element of justifiable pride—not the "pride that goeth before the fall"
but, rather, the pride that is typified by Man's deserved respect for the quality of
something he produces, or a community's pride over having accomplished something
that is better than was done before. This is an attitude that cannot be given a name. The
term "aesthetics" is a clue; but maybe "pride" spelled with a small "p" is the best
term after all to apply to a community that realizes its opportunities and, when its
efforts produce success, its citizens can, with justifiable satisfaction, say "we did that".
This report visualizes the Civic Center project as symbolic of what the City of
Carlsbad as a whole may well become—if its citizens come to fully realize the almost
unequalled opportunities with which nature has endowed them. What the City shall
ultimately be is now being poured into the mold. The Civic Center project, if well-
conceived and well-executed, can produce not only a facility that will be efficient and
economical but, equally important, it can—within a relatively short period of time—
well become a beautiful physical and aesthetically-fine example of the future.
Schools
It is the responsibility of local school authorities to provide an adequate school
system. They must necessarily integrate the physical system into the community being
served. This involves consideration of and anticipation of the future, as well as meeting
the needs of the present. California planning law and the State Education Code re-
quire that school site locations be included in developing a master plan. Because this
is so, and also because of the desires of both the school authorities and municipal
officials to develop a finer community that will best serve the needs of its citizens, the
development of the physical school system should be the result of a cooperative effort
on the part of both agencies. The school authorities have cooperated fully in the
preparation of these recommendations and their needs and desires are reflected in
this Proposed Master Plan.
Locating school sites offers an excellent example of the value of a master plan
in properly relating several subjects. Of concern to school authorities when selecting
school sites is the matter of population density, as reflected in the land-use pattern; the
environment of the school sites as determined by surrounding land-use; the relation-
ship of the site to traffic arteries; and how physical barriers such as major lagoons,
freeways or extreme topography may deter normally anticipated expansion of urban
development in certain directions. In Carlsbad, the rolling topography of much of the
area, the natural barriers created by the Lagoons, and the man-made barriers such as
freeways and heavily-travelled streets have a very important bearing upon school
site locations. The Master Plan and the zoning plan of the City contain factors that
assist the school authorities in selecting proper locations.
There are two additional advantages that may be realized by utilizing the infor-
mation contained in the master plan and the zoning plan. Based on such information,
savings in site acquisition costs can be realized because school authorities are able to
acquire properly located sites before substantial urban development has increased land
values. The second advantage lies in the fact that school sites can be incorporated in
original subdivisions thus assuring a better relationship between school sites and the
pattern of streets. It also eliminates the too-frequent conflict that develops when
schools are located in an area after it is already largely developed and occupied.
18
Residents of the City who require school facilities to meet the needs of a growing
family seek locations near schools. Those who do not need such facilities normally prefer
to settle farther away from schools. When schools are subsequently located in the midst
of a developed area there is often confusion and resistance.
Through the years and throughout the State, school authorities have—on their
own—developed criteria and standards with respect to locating schools. These stan-
dards include factors relating to distances between schools, maximum and minimum
school enrollment that can advantageously be served at a single plant, having in mind
size of classes, student load per faculty member, supervisory costs and overhead. This
proposed Master Plan and the existing zoning plan provide the school authorities with
much advance information that will permit them to plan effectively and economically.
One purpose of this Master Plan is to serve as a guide, not only to the property
owners as they subdivide and develop their lands and to the city officials as they con-
sider these matters, but to the school authorities in locating school sites in proper re-
lationship to future land-use, future street extensions and possible commercial develop-
ment. This plan will aid the school authorities in budgeting for future needs and permit
the acquisition of sites in advance of subdivision development, thus making possible
better locations and, of equal importance, lower costs which, in turn, are reflected
in savings to the citizens, tax-wise.
The plan of school site location as set forth on the composite master plan map
represents a balanced school plant system capable of adequately serving the future
needs of the area. If the plan is generally adhered to, Carlsbad will have an effective
and desirable school plant system.
Fire Stations
The existing and the proposed fire station sites are indicated on the composite
colored map. These site locations are based on standards set forth by the Insurance
Underwriters. By adhering to their recommended standards the City is assured of
maximum fire protection with consequent minimum insurance rates for property owners.
The development of an adequate fire protection system is essential to any community.
The fire station site locations will permit the Fire Department to operate with a
minimum number of sites and equipment but a maximum of coverage. These site loca-
tions are also based on the needs anticipated by the Fire Chief in the light of the land-
use plan. Because of his specialized and technical knowledge of these matters as re-
lated to the community, his recommendations have been a dominant factor in site
selection.
Fire stations are as much a part of the master plan of a city as are schools and
other public facilities but, too often, are given consideration only after the need be-
comes obvious, thus often compelling a compromise in site location because of increase
in cost. By incorporating properly located sites into the master plan they can be in-
cluded in the capital budgeting program of the city.
Not obviously revealed on the colored map are other considerations which are
recognized as important factors in locating fire fighting facilities. Among these is top-
ography. A solid wall in a building may separate two rooms by only eight inches, but
to get from one room to the other may involve walking fifty feet. An area of the City
that, on the map, may appear to be only one block removed from another area may,
because of topograpical barriers and in terms of time and distance that must be
travelled to reach it, actually prove to be a half-mile or more away.
19
Another consideration is the land-use pattern established by the zoning ordinance
which, in turn, is also influenced by natural factors which the zoning map should re-
flect. Without analysis a map, even if it be a zoning map, cannot indicate the actual
problems in terms of fire hazard, building construction, proximity of buildings and all
the other services that must be rendered by a city government. However, these and
other similar factors are recognized by the Fire Chief and by the writers of this report,
and they are reflected in the recommendations herein contained.
The ultimate development of the areas comprising the El Camino Real Valley will
doubtless necessitate adding additional sites years hence. However, until the local
street system in those areas and the types and intensity of development shall have been
more clearly indicated, the selection of an additional site or sites at this time is im-
practical.
Recommendations
Following are the specific recommendations with reference to the
location for public buildings as set forth in the Public Building Element of the Master
Plan:
CIVIC CENTER
That the area bounded by Laguna Drive on the north, Elm Avenue
on the south, Pio Pico on the west and Elmwood Street on the
east be designated as the site for the Civic Center.
SCHOOLS
(1) That the present school sites be retained.
(2) That a Junior High School site be located in the area east of
the junction of El Camino Real and Tamarack Avenue extended.
(3) That a Junior High School site be located in the vicinity of
Forest Avenue northwest of Highland Drive.
FIRE STATIONS
That one additional site be acquired in the area south of the
proposed extension of Terramar Drive and east of the Freeway.
20
AREA STUDIES
A perfect crude diamond can easily be ruined in its cutting and its value thereby
destroyed. "Cut" land, as distinguished from acreage, is land that has been developed
by being "cut" into a design. The value of land can also be destroyed by improper
"cutting". Cities are composed largely of cut land that has been divided into a pattern
consisting of narrow ribbons which we call streets, and the property which lies between
these streets is divided usually into small pieces called lots. Lots without streets would
be useless and valueless because their owners could not get to or from them without M
trespassing on another's property. So, Society has devised the intervening ribbons, or f^
streets, over which all have a right to move, and which provide access to abutting
properties.
D
But all land is by no means alike; some is low and flat, some is moderately rolling l»
and hilly, and still other land is precipitous. Through generations of experience in sub-
dividing land much has been learned about the art of "cutting", or designing, it to ••
best develop the highest use and value. L
The biggest of the lessons learned is that land needs to be designed compre-
hensively. But because the land is usually in many separate ownerships it is essential A
that the design shall relate the many parts into the most useful and valuable whole. **
That need has led to city planning and to subdivision control.
Carlsbad has three basic types of land areas within its boundaries. The first is
that which is completely subdivided and largely improved; the second is represented
by "islands" of undeveloped land largely surrounded by developed areas; the third V
is open land or raw acreage which is yet to be designed and incorporated into the
pattern of the City.
This portion of this report on Master Plan pertains particularly to the second type |
of land—the undesigned and undeveloped "islands".
Because the pattern of streets and lots surrounding these islands is now set, it II
presents a problem to design such islands to best fit into what already exists. This "
problem is aggravated by multiple ownerships which need to be recognized and served
to advantage. To accomplish the best results, it is necessary to plan in advance of de-
velopment. That is here attempted with respect to the areas shown in yellow on the
composite colored map. Each area is identified by a heavy dot and dash boundary
line and a letter. In addition, this report contains, following page 22, a separate larger- •
scale map for each lettered area indicating a suggested design of streets and a lot |
pattern. j
In developing these area studies several important considerations have been rec- IP
ognized and incorporated. These include— t
1. The least amount of street to adequately serve the area,
2. Maintaining longest possible radii where curves are necessary, f
3. Keeping gradients to the minimum, *•
4. Keeping cuts and fills to a minimum,
5. Utilizing rational street widths to meet probable demands of traffic,
6. Most desirable lot pattern (eliminating key lots).
The finest possible type of land development for residential use can be produced
in rolling or hilly areas, provided the street and lot patterns are designed to fit into the
opportunities found in such types of areas. In hilly or rolling areas quality of design
is much more important than quantity of lots produced.
21
D
This point is especially mentioned here because there is always the temptation to
get as many lots as can be squeezed in, with little regard to topography or environ-
ment. It is physically possible in these days of advanced engineering ability and with
modern construction equipment to convert any type of land into lots, but experience
demonstrates that where land is other than flat there is a point beyond which it should
not be cut. There are two compelling reasons; one is that it costs more to create lots
with excessive cuts than those lots can possibly be worth; the second reason is that
the cost of servicing and maintaining lots of that type is far beyond normal, both to
the ultimate owner and to the City.
There are two additional related reasons that justify permanently withholding
topographically extreme land from development. The first is that the extreme cuts and
grading become a permanent eyesore and often lead to excessive and dangerous ero-
sion. The other reason is that by leaving areas of extreme topography untouched, the
natural landscape which makes the area attractive is permanently preserved, and its
existence enhances the quality of the balance which become building sites. This, in
turn, is reflected in a greater financial return to the developer for each lot.
The examples of preplanning offered in this report do not represent the only
pattern for any given area. It is recommended that each be separately studied by the
City and its technical staff. If found to be acceptable, then it is further recommended,
as a matter of normal procedure in such matters, that the owners of the property in
an area be invited to participate in informal conferences on the proposals. If general
acceptance is indicated, then formal proceedings would be in order to adopt each unit
as an item in the Master Plan, thus providing a pattern for future subdivision and as-
suring each owner that as his land pattern is brought into being, so too will subsequent
development around his land conform.
Recommendations
That the proposed designed area studies A, B, C, D, E, F and G be
reviewed by the City, with a view to adopting them as guides for the
property owners in developing the lands contained within the various
areas.
22
PROPOSED STREETS
DRAINAGE COURSE
PROPOSED R/W 0 200 400 600 800
EXISTING \ STREETS
PROPOSED' STREETS
COURSEDRAINAGE
PROPOSED R/W
200 400 600 800
LEGEND
EXISTING STREETS ~^
PROPOSED STREETS ~^^2
DRAINAGE COURSE
PROPOSED R/W
AREA STUDY ( D j
VISUAL SCALE
200 400 600 800
AREA STUDY( E j
LEGEND
EXISTING STREETS
PROPOSED STREETS
PROPOSED R/w
200 400 600
AREA STUDY I F
LEGEND
EXISTING STREETS
PROPOSED STREETS
PROPOSED R/W
VISUAL SCALE
200 400 600
C^ ELM
\
O AxK
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AVENUE \
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LEGEND
EXISTMO STREETS ~
PROPOSED STREETS H
PROPOSED R/W ;
VISUAL SCALE
200 400 600 800
c
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R
REDEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL CENTER
The redevelopment plan for the commercial center of Carlsbad, shown following
page 24, is specific only in that it identifies the area. The design itself is offered
more as a means of presenting certain basic principles rather than to suggest the specific
pattern that should necessarily be employed. Several good designs might be devised
that would provide'the City with a modern, useful and stable business center capable
of permanently providing the service needs of pairons that will exceed in number the
ultimate residents of the City itself.
Adequate parking facilities for automobiles are essential. But adequacy is not
measured alone by quantity. The size, shape, design and location of parking facilities
in relation to the business to be served are equally important. The grouping of business
establishments is extremely important. The entire project must be so designed as to
cater to the safety and convenience of the patron. Patrons who arrive as passengers
become pedestrians before they become patrons.
The original growth of the business area of Carlsbad was complicated by the
railroad which separated the principal concentration to the east from the ribbon de-
velopment along Carlsbad Boulevard on the west. The latter was largely induced by,
and catered to, the travelling public along what was formerly Coast Highway (old 101).
Business development westerly of the tracks now becomes marginal, and will probably
be utilized in large part to meet the needs that relate to the beach. Except for in-
adequate parking, the existing land pattern of this section can serve those needs
reasonably well.
The business area easterly of the tracks is in the most logical location to accom-
modate the major commercial center for the City. The opening of the Freeway has
given emphasis to the importance of this location. It is flat, it has both length and
breadth with adequate dimensions in all directions and, above everything else, it is
at the focal point of the street and traffic pattern that will make it most conveniently
accessible from all parts of the City. Compactness, as distinguished from elongation,
is essential for a successful business district.
Although this area is excellently located, it presently lacks the following major
essentials: (1) appropriate street pattern and property divisions, (2) sufficient off-street
parking facilities, (3) sufficient depth for a shopping center, and (4) a good selection
of merchandise.
The fourth item above is not primarily a planning matter, but it does represent
an important element which cannot be well provided unless the area is properly de-
signed to best serve the needs of merchandising. Item (4) represents an opportunity
for the Chamber of Commerce to promote, once the City provides an attractive busi-
ness environment. Therefore, the City must take the initiative.
It has already been stated that mere quantity of parking space will not completely
meet the needs of a commercial district. Patron behavior has been analyzed many times
and in many places, and it has been revealed that the distance between parking fa-
cilities and business to be served is a vital factor. Patron walking tolerance is sur-
prisingly limited. As distance between business and parking increases, parking facilities
become less attractive and less used. For patron's use three hundred feet is the maxi-
mum distance that will be willingly tolerated between parking facilities and business
enterprise.
23
The highly successful modern designed shopping centers are such because actual
business sites and service facilities such as off-street parking and loading spaces are
designed in proper relationship. It is geometrically impossible to create a successful
shopping center on land that has already been broken up into the gridiron pattern of
streets and many small lots. Carlsbad's business district is made up entirely of such
types of streets and lots so that, in its present form, the City cannot provide a business
center of the type it is entitled to have and which it will seriously need—hence re-
development. Redevelopment, in this case, means literally the consolidating of all the
many fragments and the redesign of the property into modern form.
The stabilization of a business center is as important to a city as it is to
the individual business establishments of which it is comprised. Business property
normally represents a substantial portion of the tax base of a city. Residential areas
are seldom self-sustaining tax-wise. This deficiency can be met indirectly by the resi-
dents through the concentration of their purchasing power in a high-capacity business
center. This offers good reason for a city to do whatever is practical to establish a
stable business area that will not only place the city on a firm tax foundation, but that
will make it self-sufficient in other ways too, in that all of the needs of its residents
can be provided at home. If these services are not provided at home, the purchasing
power will go elsewhere, and so too will go the tax-creating power of business.
Sales tax figures for Carlsbad are not available because of the City's recent in-
corporation. But from such fragmentary evidence as has been secured, there is serious
question as to whether the existing business facilities provide the full needs of the
community. However, an analysis of the expenditures for the Carlsbad-Oceanside area
indicates that approximately fifty percent of the dollars being spent by the citizens
of Carlsbad are not being spent in the City of Carlsbad. The potential buying power
that attaches to the existing population should support a commercial development twice
the size of the existing local retail outlets. When considering the potential increase in
purchasing power by the continuing increase in population, there is justification for
an enlargement and modernization of the business district. People WILL be served
and, if the facilities for such service are not adequately provided locally, it is certain
that the essential services will be secured away from the existing commercial area.
The proposed redevelopment project for the commercial area, whether it follows
the design submitted herewith or some other form, will necessarily require recourse
to redevelopment proceedings. Basically, this will involve the acquisition by a special
public agency of all of the properties included within the project. Specifically, this
would be done by a redevelopment agency as provided for by law which would operate
in behalf of the City, but not as the City. The major financing is not a city obligation, and
therefore is no burden upon the City's tax structure. The redevelopment agency may
borrow money, the security for which is largely the lands involved in the project
plus possible Federal aid. The cost is further offset either partially, or completely, by
the increment in value resulting from the redesign of the land and greater attractiveness
to merchandisers and patrons alike. A related feature is the authority for the redevelop-
ment agency to enter into contracts in advance of the completion of the project for
the utilization of the lands that will result. It will be possible under this authority for
present owners, should they so desire, to contract in advance for the acquisition of
business sites the equivalent of those which they presently possess.
24
STATE STREET
MADISON STREET
VISUAL SCALE
100 ISO 200 " 2M
REDEVELOPMENT
COMMERCIAL CENTER PLAN
[ 1 EXISTING BUILDINGS
TO REMAIN
Once the property has been acquired and replanned, and new sites and new
public facilities made available in the form of streets, off-street parking, etc., the re-
sulting business sites must thereafter be made available to private enterprise to develop
and use. The transfer of possession of such business sites to private enterprise may, by
law, be accomplished either by lease or sale. The modern trend among business enter-
prises favors the lease method, but that item of policy is not pertinent to the present
stage of discussion. Whether the business sites are conveyed by sale or lease, the type
of occupancy thereof may be controlled from the beginning through including, in the
instrument of transfer, covenant restrictions exactly as is customarily done by private
developers.
The comprehensiveness of such a project, necessitating as it does the consolidation
of property after acquisition, makes of it an undertaking that cannot be accomplished
privately because all of the property included must be acquired—by compulsion if
necessary—through eminent domain, and only Government possesses this authority.
The importance of this subject can be approached from another angle. The ceiling
of business volume is not determined alone by the purchasing power of a community.
Rather, it is measured by the capacity of the business facilities to serve that purchasing
power, and only so much of it can be served as can have ready, convenient and attrac-
tive access to it. In this modern day this means individual transportation and this, in
turn, means adequate, convenient and safe parking facilities. In the absence of these
modern characteristics of business center design, the City must eke out an existence
from the old-fashioned business sites that exist. These can never serve to the maximum
and, because of that, they are not attractive to the type of merchandising and merchan-
disers for which there is a demand in the City.
Incentive to business development is lacking, but even if it existed the physical
capacity to accommodate business is lacking. This same lack of incentive decreases the
inclination for individual property owners or enterprises to modernize. As a conse-
quence the inexorable process of deterioration sets in until a community finds a com-
mercial slum developing in its very midst.
The basic proposal to resort to redevelopment in no sense represents a radical in-
novation, nor is Carlsbad the only city confronted with this type of problem. One fact
has been well-established in cities throughout the land, and that is that the inevitable
deterioration of established business centers most of which has already occurred, can-
not be arrested or cured by mild palliatives such as getting a parking lot here and
there, putting new and false fronts on buildings, or resorting to dollar-day sales. This
civic disease is immune to ointments, only surgery will serve the purpose. Much is being
undertaken with this problem by many cities all over the country, both large and small.
It represents both an economic and a social problem, but it is one that gives promise
of success if boldy attacked.
The following figures pertain to the improvement and operation of the site after
it has been made available as a result of land acquisition and the installation of new
public improvements to fit the newly-designed area.
Land acquisition and proposed public improvements would need to be financed
by the Redevelopment Agency. Accurate acquisition costs are not known. Reasonably
accurate estimates for land acquisition under eminent domain have been made in many
places over a long period of time by basing such estimates upon two factors:
25
STATE
ROOSEVELT
STREET
S T R E E T
VISUAL SCALE
200 250
MA D I S 0 N STREET
LEGEND
.70-.89
PER SQ. FT,
ASSESSED VALUATIONS - LAND & IMPROVEMENTS
(1) The local ratio of assessments for tax purposes to true value; and
(2) The estimating from local records of the relationship of the assessed valuation
of properties to be acquired to the awards made under eminent domain.
This report does not presume to interpret local facts pertaining to these equations.
The purpose of the following analysis is to indicate the degree of attractiveness to pri-
vate capital in undertaking to improve and operate the redevelopment area.
The item marked ** under "Estimated Annual Expense" is a variable intended to
represent the amortizing cost of the Public's share in the redevelopment project.
This item is predicated on the present trend by private merchandising enterprises
to lease sites rather than buy them. If the local preference favors private enterprise
ownership of sites, then the identification of the cost in the following figures should
be transferred from "lease payments" to the retirement of capital investment in land.
Fiscal Analysis
ESTIMATED CAPITAL COSTS:
Professional Offices—8,000 sq. ft. at $12.00 per sq. ft $ 96,000.00]
Commercial Building—50,000 sq. ft. at $10.00 per sq. ft 500,000.00 [*
Parking area paving and lighting 60,000.OOj
Carrying charges during period of construction (12 months) 65,000.00
$721,000.00
ESTIMATED ANNUAL INCOME:
Office space 7500 sq. ft. net
at $2.75 per sq. ft $ 20,625.00
Store space 46,000 sq. ft. net
at $2.25 per sq. ft 103,500.00
124,125.00
5% vacancy factor 6,206.00
$117,919.00 $117,919.00
ESTIMATED ANNUAL EXPENSE:
**Ground lease per annum $ 16,274.00
*Taxes (based on 25% or $164,000
valuation at $6.60 per C) 10,824.00
Loan payments (based on 80% loan) 34,000.00
Insurance and upkeep 12,800.00
$ 73,898.00 73,898.00
$ 44,021.00
NET RETURN: BASED ON CAPITAL INVESTMENT OF:
20% of building costs $131,200.00
Carrying charges (during period of
construction—12 months) 65,000.00
$196,200.00 or 22% +
RECOMMENDATIONS
Following are the specific recommendations with reference to estab-
lishing an attractive and functional commercial center for the City.
(1) That the area easterly of the Santa Fe Railroad tracks be desig-
nated as the commercial center of the City.
(2) That a redevelopment plan be considered for this area and that
steps be taken to bring the plan into effect.
26
A
P
P
L
Y
APPLYING THE MASTER PLAN
Any plan is worthless except as it is materialized. Specific procedures are pro-
vided by California Law for developing, adopting and applying master plans. There
are also other State Laws of long standing which provide procedures for creating public
improvements, for financing them, and for their administration. All of them are adapted
for use by our form of Government. But how they are used depends upon local judg-
ment, and there is no law that defines good judgment. That must depend upon the in-
genuity and cooperation of the people who are the city.
As stated previously, a master plan is a guide for the use of officials and property
owners in the development of the land within the area of the city. It relates the basic
I needs in one field to the needs in another field, making sure that official determinations
shall be made in the full knowledge of the complete over-all plans for the city. Each
subject contained in a master plan is called an "Element", thus we have a Street and
Highways Element, a Parks and Recreation Element, a Public Buildings Element, and so
on. The Law provides that a master plan may be adopted all at one time, or progressive-
ly, element by element.
N
G
M
A
S
T
E
R
P
L
A
N
The State Law also specifically sets forth the procedures by which the entire
Master Plan, or each Element of the Master Plan may be adopted. Two public hearings
must be held by the Planning Commission and, subsequently, a public hearing must be
held by the City Council, in order to give the property owners an opportunity to ex-
press their desires and views with reference to the plans.
The Street and Highway Element of the Master Plan for Carlsbad has already been
so processed and adopted. The same procedures will be followed for the other Elements
of this proposed Master Plan. Those remaining to be considered and adopted are—
The Park and Recreation Element,
The Fire Station Location Element,
The Civic Center Element,
The School Site Location Element,
The Commercial Center Element.
But adopting a master plan for a city is not enough. Being only a guide, and
adopted only by Council resolution, it cannot regulate. It is important to identify specific
details that may require protection against encroachment by private improvements, as
in the case of a proposed street. Here again, the State Law provides the means by
which protection may be acquired, and the means provided is the precise plan. A pre-
cise plan is adopted by ordinance and becomes regulatory and enforceable. It includes
an accurate, detailed map which is applied to the land by feet and inches and, once
adopted, protects the land involved for public use. Here also the State Law is specific
in the procedures to be followed in adopting a precise plan. One duly-advertised
public hearing shall be held by the Planning Commission and another by the City
Council before a precise plan may be adopted.
However, regulation alone might not suffice because it is always possible that a
public project might inequitably affect some particular property. In such an event the
City should be prepared to acquire such property by negotiated or eminent domain
purchase of the right-of-way.
27
VIM*?./-:^- -Vrw
a HFI rji 11—•! I >K *1-l •) "mi i • • I rx.il m'd i i / / / r/NJ • '
/
POPULATION
DISTRIBUTION /
POPULATION
40000
YEARS
FIGURES WITH THIS SYMBOL " ARE FROM U.S. CENSUS OF l«0
IBSB FIGURE BASED ON OUR SURVEY OF THE CITY
FIGURES ON THIS«'Ml"GRAPM LINE BASED ON SAN DIEGO COUNTY SCWCftAOE SUffVCY
Illustrative of the need for adopting a precise plan is Elm Avenue. This thorough-
fare is of prime importance to the City as a whole and to the properties which will be
directly served by it. The project for consideration as a precise plan should be Elm
Avenue from the San Diego Freeway on the west to El Camino Real on the east. The
westerly portion of this project, which already exists, should be accurately engineered
to establish any necessary widening or re-alignment. The easterly portion, which does
not now exist except as a major item in the Streets and Highways Element of the
Master Plan, should be accurately located and engineered. Two major factors are in-
volved—topography and land ownerships. Emphasis must first be given to the matter
of directness of route, gradients and radii. Reconciliations may need to be resorted
to in some degree to adjust to ownerships.
With the detailed plan prepared by the City Engineer, in cooperation with the
Planning Commission, the map of the project should then be processed in the usual
manner. If approved, the map of the project is adopted by ordinance, a draft of which
has already been provided.
In similar manner, other items in the Master Plan should be processed.
28