Encinitas planning commission approves 51‑unit Santa Fe subdivision with conditions

The City of Encinitas Planning Commission on Thursday approved a proposed 51‑unit residential subdivision at 845 Santa Fe Drive, voting 3-0 with two commissioners absent. The project would demolish existing structures on a roughly 5.2‑acre site and build 35 detached single‑family homes and 16 attached single‑family units, and would reserve five units for very low‑income buyers in perpetuity, staff said.

City senior planner Christina Bustamante presented the project and told commissioners the development qualifies for the California state density bonus law and the city’s inclusionary housing requirements. “The 5 proposed very low affordable units shall be permanently reserved for qualifying very low income households,” Bustamante said, summarizing a condition of approval that makes those units deed‑restricted in perpetuity.

Why it matters: The proposal uses the state density bonus to increase allowed density while requesting ten waivers from local development standards — including allowing a private internal loop street narrower than the city standard and reduced setbacks — and asks the commission to approve a coastal development permit and other discretionary entitlements. Neighbors…