Planning commission recommends approval for Boulevard Beach commercial project with event space; parking and historic-context questions persist

The City of Carlsbad Planning Commission on Sept. 17 voted to recommend approval of the Boulevard Beach Commercial project, a three‑story building in the hospitality district that would combine retail and restaurant space with an indoor event center and outdoor terraces. The motion, described in the staff report as a “resolution recommending approval of a site development plan, conditional use permit and coastal development permit,” passed on a 5‑1 vote after more than two hours of staff and applicant presentations and public testimony.

Staff said the project site is just over a half acre within the Village and Barrio master plan area, immediately south of Magee Park and near St. Michael’s Church. The proposal would retain existing street trees on Carlsbad Boulevard, plant new parkway trees on Beach Avenue, provide three ground‑floor tenant spaces, a pedestrian plaza, 10 on‑site surface parking spaces and two upper‑level event terraces. The second floor would include about 5,100 square feet of interior event space and a 2,690‑square‑foot outdoor terrace; the third floor would provide roughly 3,000 square feet of outdoor seating and bar service and a bridal suite, staff said.

Staff told commissioners the event use is not expressly listed in the hospitality district rules but is similar to other visitor‑serving, hospitality uses the master plan anticipates and therefore can be approved with a conditional use permit if the required findings are met. Staff recommended conditions limiting event size to 250 guests, requiring a parking management plan, and setting hours for events to end by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and by 11 p.m. on other nights. Staff concluded the project is consistent with the general plan, the Village and Barrio master plan, the local coastal program and state law, and found CEQA Guidelines section 15183 applies because the project is consistent with a general plan and certified EIR.

The applicant, who identified herself as Bridal Foote, founder of Fabric Investments, told the commission the project grew out of a multi‑year discussion with St. Michael’s Church and community outreach. Foote said the developer has arranged shared parking: a 40‑stall agreement with St. Michael’s adjacent lot and access to 50 stalls at 2333 State Street (a property the applicant said she owns), plus the 10 on‑site spaces. Foote said the applicant plans to operate shuttle service for some events and retain an events management firm, 24Carrots, to operate the venue.

Public comment split on the project. Steve Linke, a Carlsbad resident and board member of the Equitable Land Use Alliance, urged the commission to reject the applicant’s traffic analysis and revise the parking assumptions. “The traffic study for this project bases vehicle trips on square footage,” Linke said. “The traffic study is kind of nonsense.” Linke argued the applicant undercounted interior and exterior event square footage in trip generation and asked staff to apply the event‑center exception to Assembly Bill 2097 so the city could impose local parking minimums for attendees rather than rely on off‑site shared parking.

Visit Carlsbad CEO Kim Sidorak urged approval, saying the city lacks ocean‑view, walkable event spaces and that a local off‑site venue would help the city attract and retain conference business. “This will really add to the Carlsbad experience,” Sidorak said, noting conference groups often shuttle to off‑site venues.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about historic resources near St. Michael’s, the accuracy of the traffic and parking calculations, event hours, loading and deliveries, and site massing and design. Commissioner Lafferty repeatedly raised concerns about whether the historic‑resources report sufficiently assessed adjacent architecturally significant buildings near Magee Park and whether the project’s scale and setbacks responded to the park and nearby Frye building. The applicant and the project architect, Brett Malkovich of Sofair Bemis Architects, said the design intentionally steps back and uses midcentury‑modern references to both complement and contrast the nearby historic context.

On parking, staff explained the city is constrained by Assembly Bill 2097, which generally prevents local agencies from imposing minimum automobile parking requirements for many residential and commercial uses within a half‑mile of a transit station. Staff noted an exception in AB 2097 for event centers that allows a local jurisdiction to require parking for employees and vendors; because the city does not have a specific event‑center parking ordinance, staff presented two approaches: (1) apply the Village and Barrio master plan “public assembly” parking rate (1 space per 5 seats or 1 per 120 square feet), which would equate to about 50 spaces for the event center, or (2) approve the applicant’s parking management plan relying on off‑site shared stalls and shuttles. Staff said the applicant’s plan would give the venue access to up to 99 off‑site spaces (39 at the adjacent church lot and 50 at 2333 State Street) in addition to 10 on‑site spaces.

Staff also responded to Linke’s critique of the trip generation numbers, explaining that some upper‑level terrace area was counted at the restaurant rate rather than the assembly rate and that the combined calculations for the second and third floors are consistent with the trip‑generation approach used in the packet.

After deliberations, Commissioner Hubinger moved to adopt the resolution recommending approval of the site development plan, conditional use permit and coastal development permit as described in the staff report; Commissioner Foster seconded. The motion passed 5‑1 (one commissioner opposed). The commission closed the public hearing and forwarded the recommendation as part of the normal land‑use review process.

The recommendation now proceeds under the city’s standard approval path for Coastal Development Permits and conditional uses; additional approvals and any appeal rights would be governed by the city’s land‑use code and the local coastal program.

Votes at a glance: the motion to recommend approval passed on a 5‑1 vote.