Vista staff present draft Mar Vista Specific Plan; residents press sewer, grading and housing concerns

City of Vista planning staff presented a draft Mar Vista Specific Plan at a community meeting on 2023-12-01 in Mar Vista, outlining zoning, setbacks, uses and development standards intended to preserve the neighborhood's semi-rural character while memorializing prior County of San Diego A-70 allowances. Residents raised questions about sewer access, unpermitted grading and grandfathering, accessory-structure permitting, and statewide laws that allow lot splits.

Associate Planner Rafi Mangasirian opened the presentation, saying, "My name is Rafi Mangasirian. I'm the associate planner and the project manager for this project, P24-three 54." He told residents the draft covers about 143 acres and 108 parcels and that, if adopted, the document would create a Mar Vista Specific Plan implementation zone that largely adopts the county's A-70 agricultural standards rather than intensifying density.

The plan would set a minimum lot size of 1 acre and a minimum density of one unit per acre, with a two-story or 35-foot height limit. Staff said parking requirements would be two spaces per unit and that the draft carries through county standards for accessory buildings, including a chart that sets accessory-structure square footage by lot size and a general limit tied to a percent of a residence's living area. Setbacks described in the draft include a 60-foot front setback measured from the street centerline; side interior setbacks of roughly 10'15 feet; side exterior setbacks of about 35 feet; and rear setbacks addressed in the…