The City of Del Mar is a desirable location on the coast of San Diego County.
A mixed-income housing development proposal in the seaside city is facing hurdles, according to the project’s spokesperson.
The developer of Seaside Ridge wants to build 259 apartment units, 42 of which are slated to be affordable housing units.
In 2024, NBC 7 reported on the property owner suing the City of Del Mar and City Council over the project application not being processed.
The City of Del Mar was among eight cities in San Diego County not in compliance with state housing laws at the time of NBC 7’s report on Seaside Ridge in March 2023. Two months after the report aired, the City of Del Mar met the state’s minimum housing plan requirements.
“It was recently heard. The judge asked us to go back to the city though and get a final determination on the project, a yes or no. So, either the city must deem our project complete, or it must reject our project. So, we’ve asked the city to rule on our project within 60 days, either move forward or reject the project,” Seaside Ridge, Spokesperson, Darren Pudgil said.
Pudgil said there are signs pointing towards future success in the court system.
“The lawsuit that we’re filing is very similar to a successful lawsuit that was filed against the city of La Canada, Flint Ridge, just north of LA, in which the city lost and now must allow a housing development up there to proceed,” Pudgil said.
Affordable housing is based on a percentage of a county’s area median income. In San Diego County in 2025, 80% of AMI was $132,400 for a family of four.
“I think the project’s going to get built. It may take a year. It may take some time to wind its way through the courts,” Pudgil said.
NBC 7 reached out to the City of Del Mar for more information about the project’s approval process but has not received a response at the time of publication.