Why this matters
Downtown Oceanside was known for vacancies and crime until a construction boom changed it. Two tall apartment buildings would change the area even more.
In Oceanside’s latest addition to its once neglected downtown, the City Council approved a project Wednesday to build more than 370 apartments steps from the beach.
The project will bring one seven story and one eight story building to North Meyers Street separated by Pier View Way. They will each have close to 200 apartments, a combined 560 parking spaces and commercial space.
The plan presented to the council showed that three-quarters of the apartments would be studios and one-bedroom apartments, and the rest would be two-bedroom units and townhouses. Thirty-eight of the 373 total units are reserved for low-income residents who earn an annual salary of less than $92,700 for one person and $132,400 for a family of four.
Development of the spot was envisioned as part of Oceanside’s downtown master plan approved in 2000, but this three-and-a-half acre spot has served as parking lots in recent years, offering around 200 spots near the water.
The developer, Ryan Companies, previously built neighboring Spring Hill Suites and Pierside North and South apartments.
“It has been a long time coming for these two blocks,” Daniel Bertao, vice president of development for Ryan Companies, told the City Council. “We are excited to present a project that continues the great work we have started.
Several residents spoke in support of the project’s added housing and contributions to downtown on Wednesday, a sign of the developers’ community engagement efforts over a few years. Concerns surround blocked ocean views, the loss of parking by the beach and insufficient green space and an inadequate public plaza in the proposals.
Oceanside resident Joan Bockman said the developers’ neighboring apartments was one of the most beautiful new buildings in the city.
“I’m truly in favor of a real urban downtown, but it must be contained,” she said. “It won’t be urban if it sprawls out all over the place randomly.”
At the suggestion of Councilmember Peter Weiss, the developers agreed to increase the width between the two buildings in an effort to cause less disruption to the view on Pier View Way. A proposal to widen the space between the two buildings passed 3-2, which could affect the number and size of the units.
Mayor Esther Sanchez and Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce voted “no” because they wanted to continue negotiating aspects of the plan with the developer. Sanchez and Joyce both emphasized the fact that at the time the master plan was approved, people were eager to develop downtown. Sanchez said it was often empty and considered unsafe, but that’s changed. Both said city leaders had a duty to manage the growth in a way that maintains open, public space.
Oceanside’s downtown has transformed significantly in the past few decades. Joyce said the City Council has approved over 1,000 units downtown in the past year. As reported by inewsource, recent approvals include a 330-unit, seven-story development at the Regal Cinemas site, and an overhaul of the North County Transit District center that will bring 750 units.
“Decades ago, it took so much effort to get development to pull into the downtown area,” Joyce said. “We had to fight for it, but we’re not in that space right now. And no development is guaranteed, but we have to start operating in a way that recognizes a change in that, and we have to hold our standards up high.”
Bertao said his team’s project would offer Oceanside more than just a place to live or work.
He said it would remove an “unsightly” parking lot, and that components like planned outdoor restaurants would “bleed energy into Pier View Way and create a place for people to pause, enjoy music and ultimately gather to create another ‘third place’ in the city’s downtown.”
