Coastal open space is a rarity in San Diego.
A decades-long battle over planning studies, zoning changes, preservation and development could soon be coming to an end in Carlsbad.
Between La Costa Avenue and Poinsettia Boulevard in south Carlsbad, just east of Ponto Beach and Pacific Coast Highway, lies an 11-acre undeveloped property. Many North County residents know the area as the Ponto open space. While the City of Carlsbad refers to the property as Planning Area F.
A developer wants to put townhomes, commercial buildings and parking on the property.
People for Ponto, a grassroots community organization, want the Ponto property to be developed in what they say is the “right way.” People for Ponto is proposing the land be turned into a 6-acre community park, with large, grassy areas and plenty of places for families to gather.
Michael Sebahar, founder of People for Ponto, said the proposed park could be similar to Powerhouse Park in Del Mar, “An area where people can go run around with kids, people to have concerts.”
Jodi Jones with People for Ponto said she’s “talked to thousands of people and no one says I’d rather see condos here than a park. Once this land is gone, it’s gone. Once it’s walled off with condos, we’ll never get this opportunity back to do something special for future of Carlsbad.”
People for Ponto says the park proposal would fills the need because there are no coastal parks west of the Interstate 5 in south Carlsbad.
“Southwest Carlsbad is severely underserved when it comes to parks. There is not a coastal park for 6 miles, from Cannon Road in Carlsbad down to Moonlight in Encinitas. This is the last opportunity to do something really spectacular.”
The land is privately owned and was purchased for under $8 million in 2022.
Developer PI Townhomes wants to put 120 rental townhomes, more than 6,300 square feet of commercial space and 340 parking spaces on Planning Area F.
In a statement to NBC7, the City of Carlsbad said the following:
“The area known as Planning Area F is not and has never been designated as open space.
The city received and is currently processing a development application on the property submitted by a private developer, called the PI Townhomes. The site’s land use has already been established as Residential and General Commercial through previous City Council and California Coastal Commission actions and long-range planning efforts. The current project application consists of 120 rental townhomes. Additional information on the proposed project is available on the developer’s website, pitownhomes.com.
The development application is undergoing the city’s standard review process and will require approval from the City Council and the California Coastal Commission before any development could move forward. The review will focus on the proposed development application as submitted by the developer and applicable land use policies. The use of the property as a city park or natural open space is not under consideration.
While some residents have expressed an interest for the property to be purchased by the city and developed into a park or left as natural open space, that is not an option that the applicant is considering under their current development permit application.
While this property has not been designated as open space, the city has made a strong commitment to preserving open space throughout the community. Additional information about the city’s open space program and preservation efforts is available on the city’s open space webpage.”
The California Coastal Commission has the Ponto Planning Area F project on its agenda for the October 7-9 meeting in Oceanside.
Sebahar says the October Coastal Commission meeting has their attention, “we are very focused on this meeting in front of Coastal Commission because we believe their word is going to carry a lot of weight.”
People for Ponto, has the following website https://peopleforponto.com/ that includes information, documentation, background and a petition with close to 12,000 signatures from people supporting turning the land into a park.
People for Ponto is also hosting a community meeting in September 17 at 6 p.m. at the Cape Rey Hotel in Carlsbad to gather more support and provide more information on the future of Planning Area F.
In the meantime, People for Ponto is encouraging residents to make their voices hear.
Sebahar warns, “It’s now or never. Once this is gone, we’ll never get it back to open space or coast.”
“This is the last stand,” Jones said. “We aren’t against development. We just want it done right. Put the housing and development inland where there’s room and utilize this property for something truly spectacular.“