DATE: November 18, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Development Services Department
TITLE: CONSIDERATION OF A VESTING TENTATIVE MAP (T25-00004), DEVELOPMENT PLAN (D25-00014), HISTORIC PERMIT (H26-00001) AND DENSITY BONUS (DB25-00009) FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MIXED USE PROJECT CONSISTING OF A CONDOMINIUM SUBDIVISION AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF 88 ATTACHED RESIDENTIAL UNITS PROVIDED WITHIN 17 BUILDINGS WITH TEN UNITS PROPOSED AS LIVE-WORK UNITS AND 13 UNITS RESERVED FOR MODERATE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ON A 4.7 ACRE SITE LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF DOUGLAS DRIVE AND HIGHWAY 76. MISSION FLATS MIXED USE – APPLICANT: MISSION FLATS, LLC
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff and the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution confirming a statutory California Environmental Quality Act exemption and approving a Vesting Tentative Map (T25-00004), Development Plan (D25-00014), Historic Permit (H26-00001) and Density Bonus (DB25-00009) to develop a mixed-use project with 88 dwelling units (13 affordable units), including ten live-work units on a 4.7 acre site located at the northeast corner of Douglas Drive and Highway 76.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
The project site is a 4.7-acre triangular shaped parcel located at the northeast corner of Douglas Drive and Highway 76 (APN 160-020-54-00) within the San Luis Rey Neighborhood Planning Area as designated within the General Plan. The site has a land use designation of Special Commercial (SC), and is zoned Special Commercial Limited with a Historic Overlay (CS-L-H). Surrounding land uses include the Mission Douglas Plaza Shopping Center and Mission View Manor mobile home park to the north, Highway 76 and open space to the south, undeveloped property and Caltrans right of way to the east and the Mission Plaza Real Shopping Center and Caltrans right-of-way to the west (Attachment 3 - Figure 1)
In October of 2020, a mixed-use project was approved at the subject property consisting of 137 apartments and 3,500 square feet of commercial area, also named Mission Flats. At the time of that proposal there were a number of structures remaining on the site that were once part of the Jones Ranch. The Jones Ranch was first recorded as a resource in 1977 and included three buildings over 50 years of age. A historic assessment prepared for the project reviewed the subject site under the historic significance criteria in Article 21 and found that none of the criteria were met. The study further examined the historic integrity of the structures and indicated they were not historic resources and that their removal would not result in a significant impact. Since the 2020 approval, all the original Jones Ranch buildings have been removed from the project site.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project application is comprised of four components: a Vesting Tentative Map, Development Plan, Density Bonus and Historic Permit as follows:
Vesting Tentative Map (T25-00004) represents a request for the following:
To allow a condominium subdivision of 4.7 acres for 88 units, private roadways and other common areas. The vesting map provides an additional level of certainty for the applicant as it generally limits the City to applying only those ordinances, polices, and standards in effect on the date the application is determined to be complete.
Development Plan (D25-00014) represents a request for the following:
To allow the development of a mixed-use project consisting of 88 residential units (townhome), including ten live-work (office) units. Section 3042 of the Zoning Ordinance requires the submission of a “Mixed-Use Development Plan” for any proposal to establish commercial and residential together as a single project. The submitted plans (architecture, grading, landscaping) and Description and Justification document together comprise the Mixed-Use Plan for the project.
Project Layout and Design
The layout of the project is largely driven by the site’s configuration with a majority of units on the west half of the property. Homes are laid out in clusters with two rows of buildings, each building containing between three to seven homes. A majority of the units are positioned around a common courtyard that connect to individual private courtyards at the front of each residence. The development includes five distinct floor plans ranging from approximately 1,471 to 1,892 square feet, all configured as three-story units with two-car garages. Plans 1 and 2 provide three-bedroom layouts, while Plans 4 and 5 offer larger four-bedroom configurations with additional bathrooms. The project layout is depicted in the site plan shown in Attachment 3 – Figure 2.
There is one point of ingress/egress to the project site located on Douglas Drive. Vehicular access to the site is restricted by existing medians on Douglas Drive to permit only right turns in and out of the project site. Internal circulation through the project site consists of one main corridor with a turnaround terminus and smaller drive aisles to individual buildings. Within the vehicular drive aisles are pedestrian walkways. A new sidewalk along Douglas Drive will link the project site to adjacent commercial centers and nearby bus stops located on Mission Avenue. Each home will have a 2-car garage with 20 additional open stalls provided along the main driveway running through the center of the site.
The commercial component of the mixed-use project consists of 10 live-work units within Plan 3. The live-work units are intended to support flexible occupancy and small business activity within the residential setting. The unit mix for the project consists of 47 three- bedroom units and 41 four-bedroom units. Three-bedroom units range in size from 1,471 square feet to 1,628 square feet and four-bedroom units range in size from 1,730 square feet to 1,892 square feet. For a more detailed discussion of the project unit mix and other aspects of the project (parking, landscaping, walls, fencing, and grading) please refer to the Planning Commission Staff Report of October 12, 2026 (Attachment 5).
Parking
The project parking requirement will be subject to the California Government Code 65915, State Density Bonus Law (SDBL). Per the SDBL standards two-bedroom units require one and a half parking spaces and four, or more bedroom units require two and a half parking spaces. The commercial/office space is subject to the zoning code Article 31, parking is required at a rate of one (1) space for every 300 square feet. Based on these standards the project is required to provide a total of 183 stalls. The project is providing 196 parking stalls in the form of two-car garages for each unit (176 stall total) and 20 surface parking spaces.
Architectural Design
The applicant proposed a 17-building residential (mixed-use) community with Spanish style architecture designed to be consistent with the Mission San Luis Rey Design Guidelines utilizing materials, colors, accent elements, and façade details. The architectural design is comprised of sand finished stucco building walls in white and soft pastel earthtone colors, 4:12 shallow pitched “s” tiled roofs, recessed varied standard and arched front entrances with decorative light fixtures, wrought iron balcony railings and wood accents at bay windows and exposed wood rafter tails. Additionally, a majority of buildings include enclosed individual front courtyards with vinyl courtyard fences within the interior of the project. The varied combination of elevations - floor plan between building types provides for building articulation through the stepping and recessing of wall surfaces, especially along front elevations. Building articulation, and the use of accent materials is carried over to the other elevations providing 360-degree architectural treatment to all sides of buildings. The buildings also provide vertical and horizontal articulation in the roof lines following the stepped and recessed building surfaces through alternating use of gable shed, and hipped roofs. Please see Attachment 3 Figures 3 and 4 for sample renderings of project architecture.
Density Bonus (DB25-00009) per SDBL represents a request for the following:
To reserve 13 dwelling units for moderate-income households in exchange for obtaining unlimited waivers from applicable development standards for the proposed project. California’s State Density Bonus Law (SDBL) promotes the construction of affordable housing units by allowing for increased residential density in exchange for reserving a percentage of dwelling units for very-low, low, or moderate-income households. The waivers remove the requirement for development standards that would physically preclude the project at the density being proposed if the standard were applied. Similarly, a limited number of incentives/concessions are available to the applicant to utilize in a manner that will result in identifiable and actual cost reductions to a project.
With an area of 4.7 acres and a base density of 29 dwelling units per acre the applicant may develop 136 dwelling units by right. In this case the applicant is proposing only 88 units and will reserve 15% of the units for moderate-income households. The reservation of 15% of the units (88 x .015 = 13.2 units) satisfies the minimum 10% of reserved moderate-income units required for a density bonus (8.8 units rounded up to 9 units) and the 5% of moderate income units (4 units) plus payment of the applicable Inclusionary Housing In-Lieu fee for the fractional 0.2 units to satisfy the City’s inclusive housing requirement. In exchange the applicant is requesting an incentive-concession in the form of relief from affordable unit mix requirements standards and eight waivers including relief from landscaping standards, active open space standards, maximum wall height standards. Pursuant to the density bonus statue the applicant is not required to develop beyond the maximum density under the General Plan, but is allowed to make use of the incentives/concession and waivers available.
Article 30 of the Oceanside Zoning Ordinance (OZO) provides additional standards on Density Bonus affordable units requiring that affordable units must be proportional to the project’s market rate units in terms of unit mix, floor plan/bedroom count and square footage, and must be reasonably dispersed throughout the development. In addition, the project’s income restricted units must be at least 80 percent of the average square footage of all market rate units with the same bedroom count.
The developer is entitled to all benefits of SDBL including incentives and/or concessions, waivers from development standards that would physically preclude the development of the project in attaining the density proposed, and reduced parking ratios. The granting of waivers does not reduce the number of incentives/concessions allowed for a project, and the number of waivers that may be requested and granted is not limited. State Law prohibits the City from denying any requested incentives/concessions or waivers unless findings are made that granting the requested incentive/concession or waiver would result in a “Specific Adverse Impact.” State law defines this term as “a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.” State law also provides that “the receipt of a density bonus, incentive, concession, waiver, or reduction of development standards shall not constitute a valid basis on which to find a proposed housing development project is inconsistent, not in compliance, or not in conformity, with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision . . ”
The project is entitled to one incentive/concession by reserving 15% of the project units for moderate-income households. The applicant is requesting for its incentive/concession relief from OZO Article 30 density bonus standards for a proportional mix of three and four-bedroom affordable units. The project consists of 47 (53%) three-bedroom units and 41 (47%) four-bedroom units. Instead of providing the proportional required mix of seven three-bedroom units (53%) and six four-bedroom units (47%), the applicant is proposing thirteen affordable moderate-income three-bedroom units.
An incentive/concession must result in an identifiable and actual cost reduction to a project. For density bonus projects, there is a financial obligation from the developer offsetting the cost of the affordable units in the form of lost revenue from a reduced sales price. This financial constraint is absorbed by the overall project and can determine if a development is economically feasible. Each affordable unit contributes to this cost with larger units constituting a larger loss in financial capital available to develop the limited affordable unit price. Additionally, there is a cost per square foot associated with each unit. Inherently, larger units with greater square footage will financially require more to build and constitute a larger unrecovered expense over the cost of affordable units.
As explained by the applicant the average three-bedroom unit will have an estimated market price of $740,000 to $750,000 and the four-bedroom units will have an estimated market price of $900,000. The affordable price for the three-bedroom units is estimated to be $445,000 resulting in a subsidy of $295,000 that has to be absorbed by the developer per three-bedroom unit. The moderate-income four-bedroom unit is estimated to be $484,000 resulting in a subsidy of $416,000 that would be absorbed by the developer. The difference between the three-bedroom subsidy and four-bedroom subsidy is $121,000 with the concession resulting in a savings of $726,000 ($121,000 x 6 = $726,000) to the project by providing only three-bedroom affordable units. The savings can also be quantified on a cost per square foot basis. Market rate units sell for $500 to $510 per square foot. Because four-bedroom units are 250 to 270 square feet larger than three-bedroom units the additional cost to construct four-bedroom units ranges from $125,000 to $137,700 per unit. The savings based on the average cost per square foot ranges from $750,000 ($125,000 x 6 = $750,000) to $826,200 ($137,700 x 6 = $826,200) for the project. As such, the concession requested would result in identifiable and actual savings in the form of reduced loss of revenue to the project.
The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has provided technical assistance to the City of El Cajon on this topic of proportional affordable units. In the letter they note that SDBL does not contain an across-the-board requirement that the design quality or attributes of the affordable units match those of the market-rate units (i.e., a comparability requirement pertaining to floor area, bedroom count, interior finishes, etc.), nor does it require that the affordable units be physically dispersed among the market-rate units (i.e., a dispersal requirement) for new and existing units. As such, the request for relief from local proportionality requirements does not violate state law.
Although affordable units will consist of solely three-bedroom units, the proposed project still complies with 80 percent average square footage requirements. The three-bedroom units proposed for the project consist of Plan 1 (1,471 square feet), Plan 2 (1,540 square feet), and Plan 3 (1,628 square feet) homes. All three plans will be used for both market rate and moderate-income units having an average size of 1,546 square feet. The project will reserve two Plan 1 homes and eleven Plan 2 homes for moderate-income households. With an area of 1,471 square feet, the Plan 1 home is 95% of the average size of market rate homes and the Plan 2 home is essentially equal to the average market rate home size. In addition, the affordable units would be dispersed throughout the project as shown on the site plan. In conclusion, the requested concession will result in a substantial saving to the project while still providing affordable units of sizes proportional to market rate units meeting the general intent of the City’s local density bonus standard.
Waivers: In order to accommodate the proposed mixed-use project, the project cannot physically comply with all of the development standards that apply to non-density bonus projects. The applicant has requested waivers from the following development standards pursuant to SDBL:
Minimum required yard landscaping
Minimum number of large common open space areas
Maximum residential space within live/work unit
Maximum retaining wall height
Minimum usable open space requirements
Minimum common open space requirements
Courtyard requirements next to windows
Maximum fence or wall height
Please refer to Table 1 below for additional details regarding the proposed waivers:
Table 1
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Historic Permit (H25-00001) represents a request for the following:
To develop a mixed-use project with 88 residential units (townhomes) including ten live work residencial units within the Mission San Luis Rey Historic District. The Historic Permit is required pursuant to Chapter 14A of the Municipal Code (Historic Preservation) and Chapter 21 of the Zoning Ordinance (Historic Overlay District), which establishes that proposed entitlements for properties located within designated historic areas are subject to review by the Oceanside Historic Preservation Advisory Commission (OHPAC).
The project site is designated with the Historic Overlay District and is located within the Mission San Luis Rey Historic Area, but outside of the Historic Core Area. Mixed-use development is permitted in the Historic Area with the approval of the Development Plan and compliance with the Mission San Luis Rey Development Program and Design Guidelines. These guidelines establish policy direction for development and architectural design of project proposals.
The Historic Permit application was presented to the Oceanside Historic Preservation Advisory Commission on June 30, 2026 and recommended City Council approval of the Development Plan and Historic Permit. The Cultural Resources Inventory Report prepared for the previous Mission Flats project dated October 2019 is provided for the City Council’s Reference (Attachment 7).
After the project was presented to the OHPAC, the applicant requested staff evaluation of cost reducing changes to project architecture. The request included the elimination of decorative wrought iron and pot shelves to building elevations and replacing masonry and wrought iron courtyard fencing with vinyl fencing.
The removal of wrought iron pot shelves would not be considered a substantive change as the building maintains its attractive overall design and may also be considered an improvement in simplifying the building elevations. As for courtyard walls, although the original design is preferred, these walls will not be visible from outside of the project and will therefore not detract from the Historic District. Moreover, the project is providing 13 moderate-income townhouses at a substantially discounted price that has to be absorbed by the project as a whole. Given the absence of any impact to the appearance of the Historic District and the benefit provided by the project to the community, staff is not opposed to the change and would have recommended approval of the updated elevations had they been proposed prior to the project being presented to the OHPAC.
The changes to project architecture were presented to the Planning Commission. The Commission did not object to the changes and expressed their overall approval of the proposal and project design.
Key Planning Issues
1. General Plan Conformance
The proposed mixed-use project is consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan as follows:
Land Use Element
Goal 1.33 Historic Areas and Sites
Policy A: The City shall utilize adopted criteria, such as the “Mission San Luis Rey Historic Area Development Program and Design Guidelines,” to preserve and further enhance designated historic or cultural resources.
This policy establishes the basis for the City to adopt and administer the Mission San Luis Rey Historic Area Development Program and Design Guidelines. These guidelines serve to ensure that the development within the Mission Historic District complies and complements the Mission’s historic setting. The proposed land use has been reviewed and analyzed to assure the project would be consistent with the development program and would not conflict with surrounding land uses and is therefore consistent with this policy.
Housing Element
The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) for the Sixth Housing Element Cycle (2021-2029) estimates that the City of Oceanside would experience demand for 5,443 new dwelling units, including 883 moderate-income units, over the next eight years. By contributing 88 dwelling units, including 13 units reserved for moderate-income households, to the City’s existing housing stock, the proposed project would help to meet the projected housing demand and provide an opportunity for much needed work force housing. The project is consistent with the following goals and polices of the Housing Element:
Goal 1: Produce opportunities for decent and affordable housing for all of Oceanside’s citizens.
The proposed project would develop 88 new townhouses, with 13 units reserved for moderate-income households. The proposed 13 moderate-income units would be comprised of thirteen three-bedroom units. Although the project is requesting a concession/incentive for relief from the City’s Density Bonus Ordinance proportionality requirement for bedroom count, the affordable units will still be proportional to the overall project in terms of being at least 80 percent of the average size of market rate three-bedroom units. There is no distinction between the size of three-bedroom market and affordable units, thus size requirements are met and decent and affordable housing will be provided.
Policy 3.7 Encourage the disbursement of lower and moderate-income housing opportunities throughout all areas of the City.
The proposed project would aid in the disbursement new moderate-income housing opportunities for all age groups in the San Luis Rey Neighborhood. By proposing townhouses and by including affordable units, the project would provide new moderate-income townhouses in an area of the City (north of Highway 76) that is largely developed with aged mobile home parks.
Zoning Ordinance Compliance
The project site is zoned Special Commercial Limited with a Historic Overlay (CS-L-H) and is subject to the land use and development standards within Article 11 of the Zoning Ordinance. Mixed-Use developments are permitted in this district as well as residential uses as part of the mixed-use development project. Per Article 11, dwelling units shall be subject to the standards for height limits, maximum density, court provisions, and outdoor living areas for the RM-A District, as prescribed by Section 1050 of Article 10 of the Zoning Ordinance. The proposed mixed-use development of 88 townhouses including ten (10) live-work units is consistent with the provisions of CS-L-H district. The project also complies with the development standards of the City’s Zoning Ordinance, except for the requested concession and where the applicant is proposing to use a waiver of the development standards consistent with State Density Bonus Law.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The project is eligible for a Statutory Exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as recently enacted as part of California Assembly Bill 130. Public Resource Code section 21080.66 provides a statutory exemption from CEQA where, as here: (a) The site is not more than 20 acres; (b) The project is located in the incorporated municipality of the City of Oceanside; (c) The project has been developed with an urban use; The project site was previously developed with the Jones Ranch which included a residence, agricultural buildings and a fueling station(d) The project is consistent with the applicable general plan and zoning ordinance as well as any applicable local coastal program; The Special Commercial land use designation and Special Commercial Limited District both allow for mixed use projects that include residential development. (e) The project will be at least one half of the applicable density specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2 of the Government Code; (f) The project satisfies the requirements specified in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 65913.4 of the Government Code; (g) The project does not require the demolition of a historic structure that was placed on a national, state, or local historical register; and (h) No portion of the project is designated for use as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging.
AB130 Native American Tribal Consultation
Under the provisions of Public Resource Code 21080.66 (AB 130), Native American Tribal consultations are required as part of the review. The San Luis Rey and Rincon Tribes both requested to consult on the project within the time frame required, and both requested to be a Tribal Monitor. Staff concluded consultation after exchanging proposed conditions of approval within the designated consultation period. However, Staff recently learned that there was a miscommunication with the applicant regarding the Conditions of Approval for tribal monitoring of ground disturbing activities that were presented to the Planning Commission. AB 130 mandates specific statutory conditions of approval that can only be modified if the parties reach an “enforceable agreement” that itself will become part of the conditions of the project. The “enforceable agreement” is defined as an agreement between the local government, project proponent, and any California Native American tribe that has engaged in consultation pursuant to this subdivision regarding the methods, measures, and conditions for tribal cultural resource identification, treatment, and protection, including consideration of avoidance.
The applicant does not contend monitoring under AB 130, and staff have included conditions 36-42 to address tribal cultural resources collectively. However, the applicant contests the City’s authority to compel multiple tribal monitoring agreements as a condition of approval, and has not reached an “enforceable agreement” on this point at this time. Staff attempted to resolve this miscommunication following the Planning Commission meeting on October 12, 2026, where the proposed resolutions were unacceptable to the respective parties. Because there is not an enforceable agreement, the statutorily mandated AB 130 conditions have been placed on the project, which constitutes a limited revision of Condition 37 as considered by the Planning Commission. This revised condition continues to require Tribal monitoring by a consulting Tribe but does not mandate a specific monitoring or pre-excavation agreement. The City understands the applicant will have ongoing pre-grading coordination with the San Luis Rey and Rincon Tribes to fulfill the statutory mandated site access and monitoring as conditioned and in fulfillment of the Tribes’ timely request for monitoring.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
In accordance with City Council Policy 300-14 “Enhanced Notification Program,” a “Notice of Application” sign was posted and maintained on site and the City mailed a “Notice of Application” letter to the property owners within a 1,500-foot radius and tenants within a 100-foot radius of the property boundary. Notices were also sent to individuals and/or organizations requesting notification, the applicant and other interested parties.
In addition to satisfying notification requirements, an outreach meeting was held at the El Corazón Senior Center September 15, 2026. Four individuals attend the outreach meeting. No written public comments have been received on the project during processing of the entitlement.
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant has paid all development processing fees required for the consideration of this application.
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
On October 12, 2026, the Planning Commission was presented with the proposed project. The Planning Commission voted unanimously 6-0 to recommend approval of the project. A Commissioner expressed some concern with the single point of access into and out of the project. The applicant explained that they had tried to possibly gain an easement from the property to the north but were unsuccessful. One Commissioner inquired about the possibility of making some of the four-bedroom units affordable but the applicant explained that the requested concession to require only three-bedroom affordable units was necessary to make the project financially viable. Several Commissioners expressed favorable opinions of the project design and also stated that the new project was an improvement over the previously approved mixed-use 137-unit apartment project.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
The City Council is authorized to hold a public hearing in this matter. Consideration of the matter should be based on the testimony and evidence presented at the hearing. The supporting documents have been reviewed and approved as to form by the City Attorney.
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Prepared by: Manuel Baeza, Principal Planner
Reviewed by: Lillian Doherty, Development Services Director
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
City Council Resolution
Reduced Plan Sets
Staff Report Pictures and Tables
Application materials (Description & Justification, Incentive/Concession Letters, Community Outreach Summary)
Planning Commission Staff Report dated October 12, 2026
Notice of Exemption
Cultural Resources Inventory Report dated October 2019