San Marcos council approves temporary conversion of ground-floor retail to up to 10 housing units at Armorlite Drive

San Marcos — The City Council on March 10 adopted an addendum to a mitigated negative declaration and approved a specific plan amendment and conditional use permit to allow the temporary conversion of ground-floor commercial space into up to 10 residential units at 1045 Armorlite Drive.

Planning staff, represented by Karina Flores, told the council the mixed-use complex was built with 416 residential units and roughly 15,229 square feet of retail spread across six buildings. The amendment (SPA 24-0002) and the conditional use permit (CUP 24-0001) would allow the owner to convert about 15,000 sq. ft. of ground-floor commercial space to residential use on a 10-year term, after which the permit would be eligible for renewal following a market review. Flores said a market analysis supplied by the applicant showed persistent vacancies in ground-floor retail and…