Planning Commission approves Palomar Aviara medical office project after updated traffic and CEQA review

The Carlsbad Planning Commission on Feb. 5 approved a site development plan and coastal development permit for the Palomar Aviara office project, a proposed three-story, 62,600-square-foot medical office building at the southeast corner of Palomar Airport Road and Aviara Parkway. The commission voted unanimously 7-0 to adopt staff’s recommendation, including the CEQA consistency determination and the two permits.

Staff told commissioners the project would locate all improvements in the north portion of the lot, leaving the south quarter—within the Laurel Tree Lane Preserve and the Encinas Creek buffer—undisturbed. Associate Planner Lauren Izagiri said the proposal includes a 42-foot building height with a 52-foot architectural tower, surface parking, and 2,702 square feet of outdoor eating area. Izagiri said the project as presented complies with the Palomar Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) floor-area limits and that the FAA reviewed and raised no obstruction concerns.

Why it matters: commissioners were asked to make the environmental determination required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the project relies on a previously adopted mitigated negative declaration (MND) from February 2007 for a larger office building on the same…