The former campus of Pacifica Elementary School, which closed in 2007, will get 164 townhomes under plans supported unanimously Monday by the Oceanside Planning Commission.
A few residents of the surrounding neighbood objected, saying it’s too many homes for the old schoolgrounds on Macario Drive in the North Valley neighborhood near Libby Lake Park. But commissioners said the project will help address the region’s housing crisis, and that it’s one of the best-designed developments they’ve seen in recent years.
“This one is a quality project,” said Commission Chair Tom Rosales. “Yes, there are some issues … but overall it’s a good project, and it meets the need for additional housing.”
The Planning Commission recommended the Oceanside City Council certify the project’s environmental impact report and approve a general plan amendment, zone change, tentative map and development plan for the project at a meeting tentatively set for Dec. 20.
Declining enrollment and seismic safety issues led Oceanside Unified School District to close the almost 15-acre campus, built in 1978 and opened in 1980. The buildings were demolished around 2004 and classes were held in temporary modular buildings until the school closed. The modular buildings were removed in 2013.
OUSD declared the property surplus in 2019 and is in escrow to sell it to the developer MLC Holdings Inc., reportedly at close to $16 million.
Aaron Talarico, vice president of land for MLC Holdings, also known as Meritage Land Co., said company officials met twice with residents living near the Pacifica site and considered their input on the plans.
“We do a lot of infill projects all over Southern California,” Talarico said. “That’s one of the things we pride ourselves on, working with the neighbors.”
The project exceeds requirements for things such as energy efficiency, landscaping and parking, he said.
There will be 61 guest parking spaces, almost twice the 32 required by the zoning on the property, and a total of 389 spaces, which is 27 more than required by the city. The three-story townhomes will be built on about 10 acres of low, flat land within the site, where the buildings will not block views from nearby homes.
The townhomes will be divided into 25 separate buildings with four different layouts, all oriented toward internal streets and sidewalks. Shared amenities will include a barbecue area, bocce ball court, fire pits, lawns, pickleball courts and an off-leash dog park.
Individual units will have two to four bedrooms and range from 1,210 to 1,791 square feet, each with a two-car garage and a balcony or patio. The primary access to the development will be from a driveway at the corner of Monica Circle and Macario Drive.
All the townhomes will be sold at market rates, with no units reserved for low-income families. As a result, the developer will be required to pay in-lieu housing fees to the city. Also, because of the site’s low-lying topography, the developer will pay the city to remove an old sewer lift station that serves the neighborhood and replace it with a larger one.
Commissioner Jay Malik acknowledged the residents’ concerns about the increased traffic the development would bring, but said the school district is selling the land, and, “It’s very difficult for us to turn back the clock.
“There are no perfect solutions, but overall the plan is well done,” Malik said. “There are going to be effects on the neighborhood … you’re going to see growth.”
