In Del Mar, Councilmember Tracy Martinez and Mayor Terry Gaasterland brought the initiative to the Council to consider endorsing it, saying that the state has passed more than 400 housing laws in the past eight years that have stripped away local control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The laws force city leaders to approve affordable housing projects that are viable and legally compliant with development standards, create and fulfill plans to accommodate for housing at all income levels, allow developers to build bigger projects if they include affordable housing and more.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mayor and I truly believe in affordable housing,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWe\u2019re advocates for that, but we\u2019re also advocates of having accurate numbers and being able to maintain some of the things that are unique to this area\u2026 and that\u2019s our community character, and I think that\u2019s under assault as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martinez and other city officials argue that the city\u2019s RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation), which is the number of units that each city is required to build, was calculated wrong because of the temporary and seasonal workers that work at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
RHNA numbers for each county are determined by<\/a> the state housing department in consultation with SANDAG. Then, SANDAG allocates specific numbers to each city. \u00a0<\/p>\n Del Mar\u2019s total RHNA allocation is 163 units, the lowest allocation in San Diego County. The city also has the lowest population in the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the new state housing laws don\u2019t provide any incentive or requirements for low- or moderate-income housing,\u201d Martinez continued. \u201cNaturally affordable homes and apartments are being torn down to put in luxury units that raise all the rents in the area.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Martinez and Gaasterland also criticized the state for not providing financial support for these housing mandates, like money for infrastructure improvements, new schools and increased water supply demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n Councilmembers approved the resolution in a 3-0 vote, with Councilmember Dan Quirk absent.\u00a0<\/p>\n I previously wrote<\/a> about how the new City Council in Encinitas, led by Mayor Bruce Ehlers, is also banking on the proposed ballot initiative to restore local control, since, by all indications, it doesn\u2019t seem like state lawmakers have an appetite for relaxing or changing those laws anytime soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, told me<\/a> back in March that the rhetoric being expressed in cities like Encinitas is not reflected in Sacramento. Blakespear is the former mayor of Encinitas. If anything, she said, there\u2019s a perspective that housing laws need to get stricter on cities because some cities are creating barriers to housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state\u2019s housing department would probably agree \u2013 they have been known to take legal action against cities that try to evade state housing laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s where this ballot initiative comes in. Ehlers previously told me that the goal is to get the initiative qualified for the 2026 or 2028 election.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n City leaders in Oceanside and San Marcos have also endorsed the initiative.\u00a0<\/p>\n One Developer Isn\u2019t Giving Up<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n In the last North County Report, I wrote about how a San Diego judge dismissed a lawsuit from the developer behind the proposed Seaside Ridge project in Del Mar.\u00a0<\/p>\n The developer of Seaside Ridge has spent the past three years trying to get an affordable housing project approved for an ocean bluff site near Del Mar\u2019s Dog Beach \u2014 but the two sides are at an impasse.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, Seaside Ridge developers filed a\u202flawsuit<\/a>\u202fagainst Del Mar for repeatedly rejecting the project. Del Mar officials say they already have enough affordable housing projects in the pipeline to meet their affordable housing goals.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n But Seaside Ridge says the city doesn\u2019t have a choice in the matter because of a controversial state housing law called the\u202fBuilder\u2019s Remedy<\/a>, which says if a city doesn\u2019t have an approved Housing Element, a housing plan required by the state, by the time an affordable housing project is proposed, then the city can\u2019t deny it.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n And when Seaside Ridge first proposed the project, Del Mar did not have a state-approved Housing Element in place.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the recent ruling, the judge said the developer needs to exhaust all administrative remedies at the city level before the courts can intervene, according to a report by the\u202fUnion-Tribune<\/a>.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n After the ruling, developers of Seaside Ridge sent a letter<\/a> to Del Mar officials demanding that city staff determine the project application to be complete, or if they\u2019re unwilling to do so, that the matter be scheduled for a vote by the Del Mar City Council within 60 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf the city council approves Seaside Ridge \u2013 either by backing a positive recommendation by staff or by supporting our appeal of staff\u2019s incomplete determination, then wonderful,\u201d said spokesperson Darren Pudgil in the letter. \u201cIf they don\u2019t, then our lawsuit against Del Mar will move forward. Either way, after nearly three years of back and forth with city administration, we are owed a decision by the Del Mar City Council.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Stay tuned, folks. The saga continues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meet the Beat: Voice in North County<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Join me, Voice of San Diego\u2019s North County reporter, on July 24 at the Escondido History Museum at 6 p.m. to talk about the stories I\u2019m watching that impact residents in North County. Seats are limited. RSVP\u202fhere<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Other News<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"View](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/untitled-01071-1024x683.jpg\")
View looking through the fence near where a potential affordable housing project could be built on Del Mar bluffs on April 25, 2023. \/ Photo by Ariana Drehsler<\/p>\n\n