A developer hoping to build 111 for-sale townhomes on what is now industrial property next to the Viasat campus in Carlsbad’s Bressi Ranch has been allowed to apply for a general plan amendment and other changes needed for the project.
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Several Bressi Ranch residents opposed the project, but the Carlsbad City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to allow it to proceed, saying there are years of planning and “offramps” ahead before construction could begin.
“What we are asking tonight is simply the opportunity to move forward,” said Eric Everhart, senior land entitlement manager for the developer Toll Brothers. “We are not asking for a shortcut. We are asking for a seat at the table.”
Plans call for a gated community of townhomes ranging from 1,459 to 2,271 square feet with attached two-car garages in a series of three-story, five-plex buildings on a vacant 7-acre parcel at Gateway, Alicante and Town Garden roads. It is next to a small commercial center and Viasat, a wireless communications company sprawled across both sides of El Camino Real south of Palomar Airport Road.
Toll Brothers has built other residential communities in Carlsbad and elsewhere in North County. The Bressi Ranch property has been owned for 25 years by Levine Investments, a property management company that also owns the Viasat campus. At one time the site was targeted for Viasat’s eventual expansion.
Several Bressi Ranch residents opposed the development, citing concerns about parking and traffic on the adjacent streets near their homes.
“My home abuts on that lot,” said Susan Ferguson. “It’s my biggest investment … where I am raising my children.”
Under the state’s density bonus law the developer could increase the project to as many as 150 homes, Ferguson said, calling it “an unjust and unfair burden on a small community.”
“We understand your concerns,” said Mayor Keith Blackburn. “This is just giving the property owner permission to bring a proposal forward. There are still offramps for this council.”
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Assistant Director of Community Development Eric Lardy said restrictions such as a safety zone around the nearby McClellan-Palomar Airport could help the city “fend off” a density bonus request.
The project needs a general plan amendment, a Bressi Ranch master plan amendment, a tentative tract map and a planned development permit from the city to change the property’s zoning from planned industrial to residential. Carlsbad requires requests for a general plan amendment to have a preliminary review by the City Council.
Processing the application will require significant staff time, although the applicant pays fees to cover the costs. So far Toll Brothers has paid the city about $75,000 in fees, Lardy said.
Councilmember Kevin Shin said residents will have multiple opportunities to comment on the plans as the application proceeds.
“Right now you guys see an open field, but just know it eventually has to be developed into something,” Shin said. “This really just is about the process of an application to be turned in. Then will be back to us in a few years … after the public has really vetted this thing through.”
Others said the townhomes would help address the region’s housing shortage.
Carlsbad requires a minimum of 15% of all new residential construction to be reserved as deed-restricted affordable housing. The minimum increases to 20% for developer-initiated zone changes.
Carlsbad’s City Council approved the Bressi Ranch master plan in 2003 for the development of 623 homes. The plan was updated Jan. 30, 2024, to allow 248 additional homes on two vacant sites.
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