Encinitas Municipal Code § 2.3 Community Goals and Objectives

The following goals and objectives were formulated especially for the Encinitas Ranch Specific Plan based on issues and opportunities identified by the Encinitas Ranch Task Force. These goals and objectives have been organized by subject matter to facilitate review.

GOAL 1: Identify and develop a plan for preservation and mitigation of valuable natural environments.

POLICY 1.1: Conduct a survey to identify valuable natural environments including biological, geological, and cultural resources.

POLICY 1.2: Assess possible impacts to valuable natural environments on-site and develop a management program to preserve the resources or mitigate potential impacts resulting from project development.

POLICY 1.3: Encourage minimal wildlife contact with inhabited areas by providing water guzzlers within wildlife open space areas.

GOAL 2: Establish categories of sensitivities for biological, archaeological, and paleontological resources.

POLICY 2.1: Require that biological, archaeological, and paleontological resources threatened by development within the project site and which have been identified by qualified professionals as significant or important are documented, preserved, or salvaged for the benefit of future generations.

POLICY 2.2: Require that the project developer work with the City to establish appropriate categories and methodologies for evaluating the number, type, and quality of sensitive natural resources on-site.

GOAL 3: Preserve the areas of steep slope and sensitive natural resources on-site and provide a natural greenspace linkage throughout the project.

POLICY 3.1: Minimize intrusion into the area of steep slopes that traverse through the center of the project site from north to south, except for pedestrian and bicycle trails, and, where appropriate, equestrian trails, that provide for interactive use of the open space.

POLICY 3.2: Preserve and incorporate significant natural features such as bluffs, rock outcroppings, and steep slopes into open space areas and incorporate these open space features into the development plan to encourage passive use or total protection if deemed appropriate. Recreational trails should use existing roads to traverse bluff faces.

GOAL 4: Provide an aesthetic and functional open space system that responds to site conditions in its configuration and provides an extensive scenic and recreational amenity for future residents.

POLICY 4.1: Designate the portion of El Camino Real adjacent to the project site and the portion of Leucadia Boulevard that will pass through the property as scenic roadway/visual corridor viewsheds.

POLICY 4.2: Preserve the bluffs that cross through the center of the project site as open space to provide an important scenic and recreational trail amenity for project and City residents.

POLICY 4.3: As feasible, provide for linkages through trail systems both north and south, and east and west, between areas of natural vegetation and all open space.

POLICY 4.4: Allow for clustering of dwellings and other innovative housing design that will increase open space preservation.

GOAL 5: Establish landscaping standards to maintain natural vegetation on undeveloped slopes, and natural vegetation on certain manufactured slopes to assure project-wide landscaping compatibility.

POLICY 5.1: Discourage the removal of natural vegetation on undeveloped slopes and establish a maintenance plan.

POLICY 5.2: Encourage the planting of indigenous or drought-tolerant materials on existing under-vegetated areas and large manufactured slopes adjacent to natural vegetation areas.

GOAL 6: Establish development standards for energy and water conservation through available technology and land planning techniques.

POLICY 6.1: Coordinate with the City's water conservation efforts and programs.

POLICY 6.2: Require the incorporation of water and energy conservation features in the design of all new construction and site development as required by State law and the City.

POLICY 6.3: Require the use of passive design concepts in accordance with State and City laws and ordinances which make use of the natural climate to increase energy efficiency.

POLICY 6.4: Encourage and plan for the use of reclaimed water for landscape irrigation and other non-contact uses for parkways, open space areas, and commercial, office, industrial, and mixed-use areas, where available.

GOAL 7: Construct and maintain an adequate community circulation network that is compatible with the regional transportation system.

POLICY 7.1: Dedicate the required right-of-way for the continuation and expansion of public streets and highways in accordance with the City's Master Plan of Highways.

POLICY 7.2: Accommodate alternative modes of transportation through the incorporation of bicycle, equestrian, and pedestrian trails and walkways into the project.

POLICY 7.3: Construct and maintain within the Specific Plan those elements of the regional transportation system that are safe, pleasant, and convenient for the community residents.

POLICY 7.4: The Specific Plan should accommodate public transportation within the site plan design.

POLICY 7.5: Whenever feasible, roads and trail systems in the project area should integrate with roads and trail systems outside the project area with the objective of integrating the communities within which the project is located.

POLICY 7.6: Provide relief to the City's circulation system by completing the Leucadia Boulevard-Olivenhain Road link as needed to relieve community circulation deficiencies.

POLICY 7.7: To improve community-wide circulation, the Specific Plan design should reduce or eliminate arterial access points, both within and outside the Specific Plan Area, where alternative road linkages using the Specific Plan system can be designed to meet community transportation needs. This may include replacing access to main arterials (such as Leucadia Boulevard) with internal collection roads, and terminating existing roads with a cul-de-sac at the main road.

GOAL 8: Determine the required project roadway capacities to safely handle traffic generated by project and vicinity build-out.

POLICY 8.1: Provide a system of streets that provides the capacity necessary to accommodate the levels and types of traffic forecasted to be generated by existing development, anticipated growth in the project vicinity, and the land use plan.

POLICY 8.2: Correlate approvals of new development with roadway improvements that would be necessary to maintain an acceptable level of service.

POLICY 8.3: Do not authorize development until measures (e.g., improvement plan, funding, inclusion in the Capital Improvement Program, collection of development impact fees, etc.) are in place to construct any necessary improvements, provided that the development is guaranteed an equitable reimbursement for improvements provided above and beyond those solely necessary to accommodate the project-related traffic.

POLICY 8.4: Require that adequate access be provided to all developments within the Specific Plan Area, and, where feasible, secondary access, to facilitate ingress and egress for emergency vehicles into the developments, and to facilitate internal circulation within the project without the need to utilize the main circulation element roads.

POLICY 8.5: Modified standards should be considered for areas such as the north Mesa area to allow for individual communities to develop in a manner and at a pace similar to that of the older communities of Encinitas, Leucadia, Cardiff, and Olivenhain. This may require, other than standard roadways, lighting, and other services, creating a community character similar to those areas.

GOAL 9: Support the provision of park-and-ride facilities in the vicinity of access points to the major regional transportation facilities.

POLICY 9.1: Promote the use of car-pools and van-pools by providing safe, convenient park-and-ride facilities.

POLICY 9.2: Provide park-and-ride facilities on-site along the extension of Leucadia Boulevard, near or along Saxony Road, and or adjacent to El Camino Real.

GOAL 10: Develop a system of bikeways and accompanying bicycle storage areas within the project, tying into the regional bicycle network.

POLICY 10.1: Accommodate the needs of bicyclists by developing a plan for safe bicycle facilities including on-street painted bike lanes and off-street bike paths.

POLICY 10.2: Encourage businesses and public agencies to provide bicycle storage areas for their employees and customers.

GOAL 11: Develop a safe and continuous pedestrian circulation system throughout the project that minimizes conflicts with vehicular traffic patterns.

POLICY 11.1: Encourage direct pedestrian connections between all development through the site plan review process.

POLICY 11.2: Require the provision of safe and adequate pedestrian access for new development projects through the site plan review process.

POLICY 11.3: Paint pedestrian crosswalks only at signalized intersections or where deemed necessary by the City Traffic Engineer.

POLICY 11.4: Encourage the installation of sidewalks and wheelchair ramps to connect residential areas with commercial, office, industrial, public uses, recreation, and mixed-uses on-site.

GOAL 12: Provide trail systems which will encourage and provide for the on-site use of alternate modes of transportation (e.g., bicycle, pedestrian, equestrian).

POLICY 12.1: Develop and promote interconnected pedestrian facilities and alternate modes of transportation.

POLICY 12.2: Provide recreational trail connections to the City's and County's regional trail network within the project area.

POLICY 12.3: Trail linkage from the open space area south of Leucadia Boulevard to the open space area north of Leucadia Boulevard should be encouraged.

GOAL 13: Reflect anticipated marketing needs and public demand by providing a diversity of housing types and locations which will be marketable within the region.

POLICY 13.1: Strive to maintain a balance of housing types in the Specific Plan.

POLICY 13.2: Strive to provide a wide variety of housing types so that a range of housing needs and tastes will be made available to existing and future residents.

POLICY 13.3: Provide design guidelines to serve as a guide to builders, designers, and developers in designing residential developments and individual homes that would encourage diversity and creativity in design to reflect the various housing types.

GOAL 14: Provide detached and attached housing to serve a spectrum of buyers.

POLICY 14.1: Support ongoing efforts of the State, County and City to enforce "fair-housing" laws.

POLICY 14.2: Promote the development of high-quality multi-family townhomes, condominiums, and apartments which convey a distinctive regional character and residential neighborhood character and are integrated within their setting.

POLICY 14.3: Provide an opportunity in the Green Valley, Sidonia East, and West Saxony areas to meet some of the needs of the City of Encinitas for affordable housing.

GOAL 15: Provide "move-up" opportunities for present residents in the vicinity and in the surrounding areas.

POLICY 15.1: Encourage developers to provide a balance of housing opportunities between entry-level and high-end housing.

POLICY 15.2: Encourage developers to provide move-up housing opportunities in the area of western-facing mesa.

GOAL 16: Provide an opportunity for lower cost housing in the immediate vicinity of the office and commercial uses.

POLICY 16.1: Allow for the provision of multi-family residential uses in conjunction with office and commercial uses within the Specific Plan.

POLICY 16.2: Explore the possibility of permitting lot sizes and development standards which are less than existing standards for single-family residential uses in order to provide for clustering around shopping and transportation areas and to allow for associated open space together with experimental housing.

POLICY 16.3: Encourage the study of alternative methods of reducing the cost of housing through the development of self-help housing programs.

POLICY 16.4: Encourage builders to provide smaller homes with less amenities to make homes affordable to first-time buyers.

POLICY 16.5: Allow for clustering of dwellings and other innovative housing designs that will reduce the cost per unit.

POLICY 16.6: Allow bonus densities for lower or very low income housing, senior and/or disabled housing, transitional housing, and student housing.

GOAL 17: Minimize land use conflicts with existing nearby residential development; design sufficient buffers.

POLICY 17.1: Incorporate landscape buffers, berms, walls, or fences where necessary to minimize land use conflicts between existing nearby residential uses and new non-residential uses. Otherwise, there should be conscious linkage and integration with nearby residential uses.

POLICY 17.2: Require that all buffers be approved by the Community Development Director and be aesthetically compatible with adjacent development.

POLICY 17.3: Linkages should be created from existing roads including cul-de-sac roads that end at the project perimeter, as a means of linking nearby residential development with development occurring within the project.

GOAL 18: Provide the necessary infrastructure and services suitable to the needs of the project.

POLICY 18.1: Require that new developments size their improvements to adequately serve the long-term infrastructure needs of future project and City residents.

POLICY 18.2: Require that the project contribute its fair-share of funds and/or improvements to meet minimum levels of service for public infrastructure and services as established by the City.

GOAL 19: Provide an adequate level of community facilities and services (e.g., schools, public parks, libraries, police, fire, etc.) and utility services and infrastructure (e.g., water, sewer, solid waste, etc.) that will be phased in accordance with development and encourage facilities and services to be provided in the early phases of the project.

POLICY 19.1: Assure that school, fire, police, park, and library facilities and services are available to adequately serve the proposed project development.

POLICY 19.2: Require that appropriate infrastructure improvements and facilities be installed and available in a timely manner to meet usage requirements and maximize cost efficiency.

POLICY 19.3: Provide opportunities for meeting major community serving needs (e.g., library, cultural, etc.) in the West Saxony and Green Valley areas. The specific planning actions to carry out this policy should be completed by 1994.

GOAL 20: Encourage design of utility facilities and roadways that will be aesthetically and environmentally sensitive.

POLICY 20.1: Promote the siting of utility facilities and roadways in areas where impacts to visual quality and sensitive environmental resources will be minimized or avoided.

POLICY 20.2: Require that roadways and public utility easements be landscaped where feasible to create attractive streetscapes, greenbelts, and pathways.

GOAL 21: Provide a balanced mix of commercial uses for the visiting public and for the community at large.

POLICY 21.1: Encourage commercial uses that provide goods or services that will benefit the project and the surrounding community to locate within the Specific Plan Area.

POLICY 21.2: Encourage commercial uses that will draw consumers from a wide service area to locate within a regional commercial center adjoining El Camino Real.

POLICY 21.3: Encourage continued agricultural production, as well as wholesale distribution and retail marketing facilities, in appropriate locations both on the mesa and in the commercial areas.

POLICY 21.4: Community serving facilities (e.g., corner grocery stores, laundries, etc.) and retail activities should be concentrated in the Green Valley area.

GOAL 22: Provide adequate office and commercial uses to meet community and regional demand.

POLICY 22.1: Encourage the provision of neighborhood-serving commercial centers which include grocery stores, shoe repairs, cleaning establishments, pharmacies, florists, and other similar uses to meet the needs of local residents.

POLICY 22.2: Provide for the development of a low-intensity, low-rise commercial center on-site which offers retail and personal service uses for local residents, is integrated and linked to adjacent planned or existing residences, and designed as a "village-like" complex of small stores.

POLICY 22.3: Provide for a regionally-oriented retail and office center in the northeast portion of the Specific Plan Area, adjacent to El Camino Real, that will attract users from throughout the City of Encinitas, as well as from surrounding communities.

POLICY 22.4: Provide the opportunity for community/regional retail services to meet existing and future demands.

GOAL 23: Assure compatibility with adjacent residential uses through specific development controls, special design standards, and separation of uses with complementary uses.

POLICY 23.1: Incorporate landscaping and/or topographic features to create buffers and transitions where commercial uses adjoin existing or planned residential uses.

POLICY 23.2: Discourage through-traffic and commercial traffic from using residential streets to enter or exit commercial developments.

POLICY 23.3: Require that neighborhood commercial centers be designed to convey a rural "village-like" environment, using materials, colors, and scale which reflect and complement the setting and nearby residential development.

POLICY 23.4: Neighborhood commercial centers should be designed in bulk and scale to convey a "village-like" environment which may include two, and possibly greater level buildings, immediately adjacent to a community center. Bulk and scale should be reduced outside of commercial areas.

GOAL 24: Encourage properly designed mixed-use projects to insure compatibility among residential, commercial, industrial, and office uses.

POLICY 24.1: Provide an activity center and/or corridor which includes an integrated mix of residential, commercial, industrial, and office uses.

POLICY 24.2: Provide for the development of multi-family residential areas near job centers to maximize opportunities for people to live and work in close proximity to one another.

POLICY 24.3: Promote the use of progressive density and increasing building heights (up to three stories) at community centers (e.g., West Saxony, Sidonia East, and Green Valley) as a means of minimizing housing costs and reinforcing community centers.

GOAL 25: Attractive exteriors of the non-residential uses should be utilized to ensure design compatibility with residential uses.

POLICY 25.1: Encourage commercial and office buildings to be designed to be architecturally distinctive and enhance pedestrian activity at their ground elevation.

GOAL 26: Entrances to the residential units should be secluded and separate from the active commercial/office areas, except for mixed-use site development where entrances to residences may be provided in conjunction with commercial or office uses.

POLICY 26.1: Encourage the siting of residential units to promote the privacy of project residents and limited visibility from nearby commercial/office areas, except as may be appropriate for the mixed-use area.

GOAL 27: Secondary roads for delivery trucks should be provided to prevent noise and congestion from bothering residents.

POLICY 27.1: Encourage the creation of a secondary road network to enable trucks to access commercial, office, industrial, and agricultural uses without creating significant adverse noise impact to project and City residents, and allow back lot commercial access.

POLICY 27.2: Require that aesthetically sensitive sound attenuation measures be provided in areas where truck traffic will create significant adverse noise impacts on nearby residential areas.

GOAL 28: In mixed-use developments, the majority of residential parking should be concentrated and separated from the commercial units to allow residents privacy and uncongested access.

POLICY 28.1: Assure that adequate parking facilities are provided for residents within the planned mixed-use development.

POLICY 28.2: Limit vehicular connections between residential and commercial parking areas.

GOAL 29: Preserve sufficient land area so as to ensure the financial viability of agriculture on the property and the continued operation of the Paul Ecke Ranch.

POLICY 29.1: Provide that an Agriculture/Open Space Preservation land use category be applied to a portion of the properties located within this Specific Plan.

POLICY 29.2: Provide that areas shown for agriculture/open space be a minimum of 40 contiguous acres in size.

POLICY 29.3: Require that new residential development be located and clustered to avoid inhibiting continued agricultural use of land reserved for that purpose, and where feasible, require that new development be located adjacent to existing development or areas planned for development. In instances where continued agricultural use is no longer feasible, encourage sensitive residential development that allows for the continued viability of an agricultural business on the site.

POLICY 29.4: In selecting areas for development, land least suitable for agricultural production shall receive preference. Land best suited for agricultural production contains Class I-IV soils on slopes under 10 percent and is currently under agricultural production.

GOAL 30: Develop a plan with a phasing program that would allow continued agricultural operation in areas not developed with urban uses prior to conversion.

POLICY 30.1: Establish a coordinated program of phased development that will enable agricultural uses to continue in select areas within the Specific Plan during conversion of other areas on-site to residential, commercial, office, industrial, and recreational uses.

POLICY 30.2: The Specific Plan and implementing actions necessary to permit planning for the reconstruction or relocation of the Poinsettia operations to the South Mesa should be adopted by 1996.

GOAL 31: Provide appropriate transitions and buffers between agricultural areas and nonagricultural areas.

POLICY 31.1: Establish buffer areas between areas designated for agricultural use and the outer boundary of the Specific Plan Area, and between areas designated for agricultural use and other uses within the Specific Plan Area, where feasible.

POLICY 31.2: Require deeds for residential lots or dwelling units within the Specific Plan located near areas designated for agricultural use to contain a clause stating that such lots or dwelling units are located in close proximity to agricultural land that is expected to remain in agricultural use, and that there could be some adverse impacts on such lots or dwelling units from agricultural operations.

GOAL 32: Provide an adequate circulation system to permit commercial activities of agricultural operation.

POLICY 32.1: Prohibit any roads, other than farm access roads, to be constructed across agricultural lands unless such road proposals include mitigation measures (such as controls on access and covenants preserving agricultural use) that assure the continued long term viability of agricultural uses.

POLICY 32.2: Permit enhanced access for agricultural facilities from Quail Gardens Road and Leucadia Boulevard, as necessary to accommodate agricultural operations in the South Mesa area.

GOAL 33: Provide adequate economic return from non-agricultural areas to support continued agricultural operation.

POLICY 33.1: Encourage the City to provide incentives for the continued viable use of agricultural activities on-site.

GOAL 34: Achieve an economic return which will permit the Specific Plan to be implemented, by supporting the infrastructure necessary for the uses and their maintenance into the future.

GOAL 35: Achieve an economic return which will permit the flower business to be sustained and grow. This must include providing a return to those common owners of the flower business and the land who will not be involved in the flower business itself, so that the flower business can be retained as a private business.

GOAL 36: Achieve an economic contribution to the City of Encinitas and school districts which will significantly enhance the financial ability of the City to sustain the level of services necessary for the community.

POLICY 36.1: Implement portions of the plan to accommodate commercial and affordable housing elements in Green Valley as soon as feasible.

GOAL 37: Assure that any commercial/office center on-site will provide a positive and substantial annual tax benefit to the City of Encinitas.

POLICY 37.1: Secure major tax increment and enhanced financial base of the City through implementing regional commercial development as soon as feasible, with adoption of appropriate City actions as soon as feasible.

GOAL 38: Consider the needs of the City of Encinitas and integrate these needs into the project where possible, provided that the resultant project is economically feasible.

POLICY 38.1: Adopt mixed-use plans for West Saxony and Green Valley to meet major community needs for affordable housing, commercial services/financial tax base, and community serving facilities as soon as feasible.

(Ord. 2019-04)