Why this matters
The proposal calls for 59 of the 397 apartment units to be affordable for low-income families. That would allow the developer to build as high as 59 feet as opposed to the site’s previous height limit of 46 feet.
Hundreds of apartment units could come to Carlsbad if the city’s Planning Commission approves a development on Wednesday.
The 397-unit project is proposed for a 9.8-acre site along Salk Avenue between College Boulevard and El Camino Real, which sits just north of McClellan-Palomar Airport.
It will have studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.There will also be a parking garage, with 548 total parking spaces on site. The site was previously zoned for commercial use before being designated a housing element site in January 2024.
The Carlsbad Planning Commission will consider the proposal at its Wednesday meeting. The project is exempt from a full review under the California Environmental Quality Act by Senate Bill 131, a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year to accelerate housing construction when a project would qualify for an exemption but is disqualified by one factor. As a result, the environmental analysis addresses only the project’s impact on protected species habitats. If the commission OKs the project, it can proceed. It does not need City Council approval. City staff is recommending the commission approve the project, according to Wednesday’s agenda documents. The site is one of the spots designated as part of Carlsbad’s housing element, a strategic housing document, which was approved in 2021. The city is required to “designate space” for 3,900 new apartments.
How to watch
What: Carlsbad Planning Commission will hear a proposal for a 397-unit apartment development
When: 5 p.m. Wed., June 3
Where to watch: Carlsbad City Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008 or livestream here.
The developer, Hanover R.S. Limited Partnership, is seeking a density bonus under state law, which allows a developer to exceed limits on the number of units and the height of a project if it designates a certain amount of units as “affordable.”
In California, affordable is currently defined as up to $1,373 per month for a studio, $1,570 for a one-bedroom, $1,766 for a two-bedroom and $1,962 for a three-bedroom apartment. Those limits are set annually and will likely be higher when these apartments are on the market.
The proposal calls for 59 of the 397 apartment units to be affordable for low-income families. That would allow the developer to build as high as 59 feet – with architectural features up to 74.5 feet – as opposed to the site’s previous height limit of 46 feet.
The site also sits in a part of Carlsbad called the Airport Influence Area, which means the developer has to record a notice that the property is subject to overflight, sight and sound of aircrafts from Palomar Airport before getting a building permit.
The development is not high enough to require a notification to the Federal Aviation Administration, the project analysis said.
It is located outside of the area designated as aircraft-noise impacted within the airport land use compatibility plan that was last amended in December 2011. It is considered compatible land use for residential development.
Hanover R.S. Limited Partnership is a luxury developer based in Houston, Texas. It builds multi-family residential and industrial spaces.
According to its website, it has built 17,568 residential units across the country and has 55 projects in the development pipeline. Six of their existing properties are in San Diego: The Current, a 144-unit apartment complex in Little Italy; the 270-unit Hanover Little Italy; the Strata, a 163-unit project in the Gaslamp District; 13th & Market, a 264-unit development in the East Village; Hanover Mission Valley, which has 383 units, and the 374-unit Hanover Mission Gorge in Mission Valley.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
