The Spanish word “adelante” means forward, and now the Adelante Townhomes project in Bird Rock is moving forward after the San Diego City Council upheld the city Planning Commission’s approval of the plan.
The council’s decision Jan. 27 denied an appeal seeking to have the project redesigned and reduced in size.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project in September. Soon after, the appeal was filed by San Diego land-use attorney Julie Hamilton representing area residents. The appeal asked the City Council to overturn the approval and send the applicant team back to the drawing board.
However, the council voted unanimously to reject the appeal and affirm the commission’s decision.
The Adelante Townhomes proposal from developer Murfey Co. seeks to demolish an office building and replace it with a multi-story building with 13 townhouses and ground-floor retail space at 5575 La Jolla Blvd., at Forward Street. The project would total 21,485 square feet and include a basement, covered parking and roof decks.
The townhouses are to be offered for sale, with one considered affordable for lower-income residents.
Because Adelante Townhomes includes the affordable unit, Murfey Co. requested a waiver to a requirement in the La Jolla Planned District Ordinance (a blueprint for development) that 50% of ground-floor space in new developments be reserved for retail in Zone 4, which includes La Jolla Boulevard.
The project was first proposed in fall 2022 with a lack of ground-floor commercial offerings. That turned into an issue of contention in community hearings as opponents questioned whether the waivers and incentives being used to by the retail requirement were being applied correctly.
In September 2023, the applicant team announced it had revised the project to include about 1,100 square feet of ground-floor retail on the corner of La Jolla Boulevard and Forward, as well as to redesign the residential unit at that corner to be one story over the retail space. The company also designed an entrance to the retail space at sidewalk level that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The project was given density bonuses and waivers to allow it to be built to the proposed size and specifications, despite deviations from local building codes. One of those waivers centers on having an affordable unit that is comparable to the others.
Speaking to the City Council, Hamilton echoed some of the concerns stated in earlier hearings.
“Our fundamental concern with this project is the minimal commercial space. … The commercial space is very limited at the left corner,” she said. “The rest of the project is about six feet above the street level for the first floor … and provides an imposing image on the pedestrian environment.”
She added that the project does not comply with the of the waivers because the affordable unit isn’t comparable to the others and is “in a bad location” because of its proximity to the trash enclosure.
Other speakers said mixed-use projects have been built in La Jolla without deviating from building codes or using waivers.
Former Councilwoman Sherri Lightner expressed concern that the project could set a precedent for the area and “destroy the commercial district continuity [by] permitting a looming building … which encroaches into the pedestrian right of way.”
However, Russ Murfey, representing the applicant, argued that “the opposition’s comments are unfounded” and said his team had “done our homework” to make sure the project complies with applicable codes and that waivers are being applied correctly.
He called the project “architecturally iconic” and said it would provide walkability for residents to shop at local businesses.
Bird Rock resident Harry Bubbins, who is president of the La Jolla Community Planning Association, spoke in of the project. He said housing is needed in the area and thanked the applicant team for its “extensive public engagement … responding to questions and suggestions” during meetings.
City Council President Joe LaCava, also a Bird Rock resident, said he found the issues raised in the appeal to be without merit. While there is no argument that some of the project doesn’t comply with applicable codes, that has been addressed with waivers, he said.
“The era of holding each project to the strict standard of the community plan, land development code and even a planned district ordinance is over,” LaCava said. “The era of the density bonus and affordable housing regulations is the law of the land.”
Background
The proposal has been heard by La Jolla boards and at the city level for more than two years.
The Bird Rock Community Council was introduced to the Adelante Townhomes plan in November 2022 but did not vote. In the months afterward, the proposal was approved by other La Jolla planning groups.
The Development Permit Review Committee held two hearings on the project in December 2022. Some speakers said the Planned District Ordinance requirement for retail on the ground floor should be honored, while others said the number of vacant storefronts along La Jolla Boulevard indicated that more retail is not needed.
The DPR voted to the development at the second hearing.
The Planned District Ordinance Committee voted the following January to the plan, though it determined it did not conform to the PDO because of the lack of ground-floor retail.
The Community Planning Association board voted 9-2 in February 2023 to the development, but it took back the approval a month later after hearing new objections from community and asked its subcommittees to review the project again.
Upon re-review in March 2023, the PDO Committee again decided the project did not conform to the PDO, but it did not take a position of or opposition.
The proposal then went back to the DPR Committee, which again gave its in April 2023.
The Community Planning Association voted in favor of the proposal again in May 2023 and submitted its findings to the city of San Diego.
After Murfey Co. added the ground-floor retail space, the Bird Rock Community Council held two lengthy meetings about it in September and October 2023 before deciding the following month to take no position on the project. ♦
