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Council pauses action on Clark Avenue apartments after fire-access, legal eligibility questions raised
Summary
Council members ordered closed‑session legal review and directed staff to seek outside counsel after residents and a council member said the 199‑unit Clark Avenue project relies on discretionary fire‑safety modifications and therefore should not have been processed as a ministerial "by‑right" approval.
The Encinitas City Council moved late Tuesday to pause further ministerial processing of the Clark Avenue Apartments project and to seek outside legal advice after residents and Council Member Jim O’Hara argued the project relies on discretionary departures from the city’s fire‑access standards and therefore should not have received by‑right treatment.
The action—approved 4‑1—directed staff to schedule a closed‑session briefing on the threat of litigation, invite outside counsel and report back to council at a public meeting on September 10. It also asked staff to evaluate whether the project meets state law criteria for by‑right processing and to compile documents related to the city’s fire‑access findings.
Why it matters: Residents and several council members said the project’s proposed four‑story buildings exceed 30 feet in height, that nearby streets measure roughly 19–21 feet of unobstructed width and that the developer’s plans call for…
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