DATE: November 5, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Development Services Department
TITLE: RESOLUTION CONTINUING THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF LAGOON VIEW DRIVE WHILE RESERVING ACCESS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE VEHICLES AND ACCESS FOR STORM DRAIN AND OTHER MAINTENANCE
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution continuing the temporary closure of Lagoon View Drive while reserving access solely for emergency response vehicles and various maintenance activities.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Spanning approximately 0.35 miles between the cities of Oceanside and Carlsbad, Lagoon View Drive was originally part of Route 14 prior to the construction of Highway 78. The area is bounded by Highway 78 to the north, Jefferson Street to the east, and the protected waters of the Buena Vista Lagoon to the south and west. Lagoon View Drive is not open to through traffic; however, it is used occasionally for helicopter evacuations of crash victims from the surrounding highways and as a means for emergency response vehicles to access the lagoon during fires, hazardous spills, and rescues. The road is also used to maintain a dual 72-inch City storm drain outfall that serves the Fire Mountain community. There are no other public utilities in Lagoon View Drive.
In prior years, the proximity of Lagoon View Drive to the protected waters of the Buena Vista Lagoon and seclusion from surrounding neighborhoods raised concerns about illegal littering and the dumping of waste from RVs and homeless encampments. Law enforcement data showed a substantial increase in transient and illegal activities prior to its closure.
Vehicle Code Section 21101.4 authorizes the temporary closure of highways by local authorities when, after a public hearing and based on the recommendation of the police department, the local authority finds and determines that serious and continual criminal activity or illegal dumping exists along the portion of the ...
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