“Commission OKs Small Apartment Complex”
Dec. 17, 2014
VISTA — A city commission on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to a proposed 35-unit apartment complex on South Santa Fe Avenue near Mar Vista, despite opposition from a handful of nearby residents concerned about growth in the busy corridor.
The complex, dubbed Nueva Vista, will be built on a 1.92-acre vacant lot near Cypress Drive and adjacent to a strip mall that is home to the neighborhood’s popular Sunrise Cafe.
It will consist of three three-story buildings, ranging from six to 15 units and with a Spanish or Mediterranean-style architecture. Developer Brandywine Homes also won Planning Commission approval to go above density limits — as allowed under state law — because it will offer four units to low-income renters. The remainder of the complex will be rented at market value.
The project is relatively small, but is one of a handful of new apartment buildings proposed along the South Santa Fe corridor — and that has led to an outcry from residents who own homes nearby. They say the projects will increase traffic, aren’t appropriate for the primarily commercial corridor, and are unlikely to command higher-end rents.
“Maybe we should slow our roll a little bit, build some apartments and get them occupied,” neighborhood resident Wendis Aposhian told the commission.
Area homeowner Sharyn Seymour said, “I’d just like to ask that you think about us, the people who live here.”
Planning Commissioners also cited density and traffic as concerns, but approved the project anyway.
“This is a well designed plan — one of the better designed plans that we have seen,” Commissioner Tom Fleming said. “I don’t see how I could not support it. … We can’t stop growth just because it doesn’t fit us completely. Reluctantly, I will be supporting this.”
Push back by neighboring residents earlier this year led the City Council to take a closer look at a larger complex slated for an empty lot on the corner of Mar Vista. The council ultimately approved that project in August, after the developer trimmed it from 114 units to 96 units and agreed to pay for a traffic circle to smooth out heavy traffic at Mar Vista and Avocado drives — which carries traffic between South Santa Fe and state Route 78.
Construction on that traffic circle could start in the spring, said John Conley, Vista’s director of community development.
Commercially-zoned lots on that stretch of South Santa Fe have sat vacant for years, but in 2012 the city changed the zoning to allow for apartment buildings. Several development proposals are now in the works.
Brett Whitehead of Brandywine said construction of the Nueva Vista complex could start in mid-2015, and take about 18 months to complete.
South Santa Fe near Mar Vista is not alone in seeing housing growth. There are a number of residential projects — roughly 2,200 housing units — in various stages of planning and construction in Vista and near its borders, including neighboring Oceanside. Vista Unified School District officials anticipate the new housing will bring roughly 1,550 new students to its schools.
The school district projects about 25 students will live in the Nueva Vista complex, at 1248 S. Santa Fe Ave.
