Council upholds planning commission on North City subdivision, clearing path for 202 additional multi-family units

The San Marcos City Council on June 23 denied an appeal and sustained the Planning Commission's approval of Tentative Subdivision Map TSM-24-0004, which subdivides roughly 19.83 acres in North City West to create three lots for future multi-family condominium development (about 202 units). Staff said the subdivision is within the 2,600-unit allocation in the University District Specific Plan and that previous approvals allowed the larger buildout.

Principal planner Scott Nightingale said the TSM would create three multi-family residential lots, new public streets and rights-of-way, stormwater facilities, landscape parkways and internal private drives. Future site development plans for the units will require separate approvals by the planning director and engineering staff. Staff also said the tentative map and associated street vacation are within the scope of the certified UDSP EIR under CEQA section 15162.

Appellant Elizabeth Santos argued the council should stay entitlements until private litigation over nearby property rights is resolved and raised site-hazard and safety allegations tied to other incidents recorded in dispatch logs. Staff and the city attorney told council the private litigation does not provide a legal basis to freeze unrelated entitlements and that the cited incidents did not show deficiencies in required public facilities related to the TSM.

After discussion the council voted to deny the appeal (motion carried by a 4-0-1 vote with one recusal recorded) and uphold the Planning Commission. Staff noted objections to any right-of-way abandonment could be raised when the street-vacation item is separately agendized.