Del Mar trying to fairgrounds as web site for brand new reasonably priced housing

DEL MAR, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — An reasonably priced housing improvement could also be on its solution to the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

On Monday, the Del Mar Metropolis Council voted to approve an unique negotiating settlement with the twenty second District Agricultural Affiliation to contemplate leasing one to 2 acres of the state-owned fairgrounds to town for the development of 61 models of low-income housing.

The negotiating settlement has been within the works for greater than a yr to assist town attain the targets it specified by its Housing Aspect, or a blueprint cities are required to undergo the state that outlines the way it plans to accommodate its residents’ housing wants, permitted final yr.

In line with metropolis paperwork, the deal the 2 sides reached lays out a two-year framework for figuring out and drawing up a possible floor lease between the Del Mar metropolis supervisor and the twenty second District Agricultural Affiliation, also called the truthful board, starting on April 15.

If the negotiations are profitable, town’s lease may last as long as 55 years and fulfill half of the 113 reasonably priced housing models it’s anticipated to create within the subsequent six years below its 2021 Housing Aspect.

“That is large and the neighborhood could be very grateful,” Del Mar Mayor Dave Druker mentioned at Monday’s metropolis council assembly. “This turns into an illustration of how the state may help.”

Nonetheless, the truthful board’s advert hoc committee on reasonably priced housing appeared to precise extra of cautious resolve heading into the negotiation interval with town of Del Mar.

“This doesn’t essentially imply we’re going to discover a web site. However this really places us ready the place we will have that dialogue and, hopefully, come ahead with some suggestions,” Kathryn Mead, chair of the committee, mentioned at a Feb. 22 assembly of the truthful board.

The board could have “first and ultimate say” over what’s going to come out of the negotiations with town, she continued. Nonetheless, members of the board expressed some skepticism of a potential reasonably priced housing undertaking on the fairgrounds.

“Is that this an appropriate web site for reasonably priced housing? That needs to be our query,” board member Lisa Barkett mentioned on the assembly. “I simply really feel like we’re getting forward of ourselves.”

“I’m very involved in regards to the housing disaster in San Diego,” mentioned board member Michael Gelfand, including that he was glad they have been negotiating with Del Mar completely. “I’d hate for the fairgrounds to be seen because the place that San Diego’s housing disaster goes to be solved.”

The settlement comes amid heightened scrutiny round Del Mar’s progress in direction of increasing its portfolio of reasonably priced housing, highlighted in a lawsuit towards town from the developer of a controversial mixed-income housing undertaking for claimed state housing legislation violations.

And SANDAG’s efforts to maneuver the realm’s prepare tracks away from the Del Mar bluffs may pose an extra barrier to any reasonably priced housing plans on the fairgrounds, as Voice of San Diego reported in November.