DEC. 9, 2016
7
T he R ancho S anta F e News
Design team reveals scaled-back Watermark plans small talk
By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — Guided more by community input than the housing element, the Watermark Del Mar development team created an additional design featuring 38 units, 10 fewer than the previous proposal. It is the fourth iteration of the multifamily project slated for a 2.37acre vacant lot at the intersection of Jimmy Durante Boulevard and San Dieguito Drive and one of two options that will be presented for approval. “The 48-unit project is still on the table as proposed,” Kitchell Vice President Don Glatthorn said. “We had a wide range of responses to the 48-unit proposal that ranged from enthusiastic support to active opposition. “There were many people who loved it and told us they thought that project could go forward, which is why we’re keeping it as an option,” he added. “And there were other people that thought it was too dense. So we really, sincerely reached out with the revised design to the people who were not happy with our first 48-unit proposal.” In addition to adding more trees, changing the building styles, creating more open space and increasing setbacks, the reduced version has a new affordable housing component. The 48-unit option provides seven affordable units, with four gifted in perpetuity to a nonprofit benefit corporation. In the new plan there will be six affordable, with three gifted. The project is included in the city’s state-approved housing element as a way to meet its affordable housing
jean gillette
Holiday cookies, a little slice of heaven A redesigned alternative of Watermark Del Mar features 10 fewer units, more guest parking spaces, increased setbacks, additional trees and wider, more spacious and functional courtyards. Courtesy rendering
requirements. The design team, which includes Kitchell, Watermark DM LP and San Dieguito Land Partners, has been working on the project for about five years. It started with 57 units and has been reduced based on community input. In creating the most recent design, which started about 10 months ago, Glatthorn said his team divided feedback from residents into categories and subgroups and addressed each one. “We said we weren’t going to let density drive this thing anymore,” he said. “We’re going to have the community concerns drive our design and that’s where it ended up. We didn’t decide to design a 38-unit project.
“We decided to take those areas of concern into account and create a project we think is an outstanding design that is not driven by the housing element density goal of 20 to 25 units to the acre,” Glatthorn added. He said people were “uncomfortable” with that level of density, including “one influential person” who thought it shouldn’t exceed the current highest permitted zoning density, which is 17.6 units per acre. The 38-unit plan has 16 units per acre, with 2.2 residences per building and a floor area ratio of .60. The 48unit proposal has 3.7 homes per building and a .67 FAR. Lot coverage went from .45 percent to .39 percent. “We said, ‘Let’s design the project and then count units and see
where it comes up,’” Glatthorn said. “ We wanted to design the right project that responds to these community concerns and comments we heard.” Some of those concerns were a lack of open space, building coverage, insufficient guest parking, traffic and noise. Most buildings are now duplex configurations with light and air on three of four sides. One building closest to the existing neighborhood on Heather Lane to the south was eliminated. “So that improves the livability and makes it a more open-feeling project,” Glatthorn said. “Creating more open space allowed us to take the air TURN TO WATERMARK ON 20
Caltrans kicks off North Coast Corridor projects with groundbreaking By Aaron Burgin
A memorial is set up at the San Marcos corral where a 15-year-old horse was mauled by two Pit Bulls on Nov. 26. The horse had to be put down due to its injuries. Photo by Tony Cagala
Two Pit Bulls that mauled horse located; will be euthanized By Tony Cagala
SAN MARCOS — Officials with the County’s Animal Control unit said they were confident on the whereabouts of two Pit Bulls that were believed to have mauled a horse on Nov 26. Steve MacKinnon, chief of humane law enforcement, said on Nov. 30 that Animal Control officers with a police officer were headed to a location they believed the dogs to be. On Dec. 1, the San Diego Humane Society released a statement saying that the dogs were located and that the owners “relinquished both dogs San Diego Humane Society last night for humane euthanasia.”
Animal Control received a tip to the location from the public. The attack, which occurred at a residence on Fulton Road, led to the death of a 15-year-old horse named Smokey. After the attack Animal Control officers and Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and searched the area. MacKinnon said the search revealed no leads on the dogs. Several hours later, a good Samaritan called Animal Control saying she had found two dogs that were “tired and wet,” MacKinnon said. While not certain they were the dogs in the attack, though MacKinnon said they were fairly sure they were, the responding offi-
cer brought the dogs to an animal hospital for treatment at approximately 1 a.m. on Sunday. However, there was some miscommunication with the responding officer that there was a hold on the two animals, MacKinnon explained, and the dogs in question were released to their owners after receiving treatment. The owners, according to MacKinnon, have received a number of visits from Animal Control with the most recent visit prior to this incident back in January. “Prior to that, in previous years, we’ve had multiple contacts with them,” MacKinnon said. At least TURN TO ATTACK ON 20
REGION — A series of highly anticipated rail, freeway, pedestrian and bicycle projects in the Interstate 5 corridor kicked off unofficially last week, as Caltrans and the San Diego Association of Governments held a ceremonial groundbreaking to celebrate the start of the projects. “Build NCC” is the name of the first package of improvements that are part of the 40-year North Coast Corridor program, a plan that took nearly a decade to approve. It is a $700 million slate of projects that includes the widening of I-5 with the addition of a single express lane in each direction between state Route 78 and Lomas San-
ta Fe Drive, double tracking the rail line across the San Elijo and Batiquitos lagoons and the construction of bicycle and pedestrian bridges and connected trails, as well as a wide range of wetlands and lagoon restoration projects. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2020. Ultimately, the $6.5 billion North Coast Corridor Program will stretch 27 miles from La Jolla to Oceanside. SANDAG and Caltrans are hosting an open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at San Dieguito Academy, where the public can learn more about the projects and discuss the project with staff members from both agencies.
H
oliday cookies from friends — they are utterly divine, but can be a bit treacherous. Either way, they make you feel loved. If you are lucky, you get one or two lovely plates, heaped with them, from friends. If you are very, very lucky, you don’t have to eat them in front of those wonderful, well-meaning friends. And if you are truly blessed, you don’t bite down on a chocolate chip that turns out to be a raisin. P-tooey. My heart leaps for joy when I see iced sugar cookies or dream bars. It gets tricky, though, when you are presented with a plate of lovingly baked confections that you just don’t fancy, yet must immediately taste and rave over. I’ve done it, but I must summon all my proper upbringing to control my gag reflex. I don’t doubt for a minute that others have done the same with cookies I have lovingly baked and shared. Nothing defines one’s individuality quite like one’s taste in cookies. I was raised by a superlative baker whose holiday was never complete without a full day of cookie baking. Cookies in my house were never store-bought and they were never burned. I really miss them. But I will also never willingly or knowingly eat a raisin, dark chocolate, walnuts, coconut or candied fruit. This can make cookie exchanges something of a minefield. Somehow I still manage to find enough fattening delicacies on which to feast. For instance, there are oatmeal cookies and then there are oatmeal cookies. They are TURN TO SMALL TALK ON 20
Get from stressed to blissed in under 1 hour
REGION — Stress is a part of everyday life. Work stress, physical stress, even emotional stress can take a toll on your body. While it isn’t possible to eliminate the stressors from your life, relief from the havoc they wreak on your body is something Dr. Qin Fu of Acupuncture 4 U can offer you.
Using a combination of acupuncture, qui kong and herbs, this third generation healer is improving the quality of life of local residents. Dr. Qin Fu was trained in China in these and other holistic treatments, and his clients know him as “the real deal.” “As a woman working with a difficult job, more than a few times I ran to his office for an emergency session,” Carole Foster of Leucadia said. “In the space of 45 minutes, he gently and profoundly
moved me from a state of anxiety, tension and fear to one of clarity, evenness and balance. I trust Dear Dr. Qin and genuinely recommend him to you.” If a transformation like Carole’s is something you want for yourself, Dr. Qin Fu is offering 50% of your first treatment if you call by Dec. 31st, 2016.
Acupuncture 4 U is located at 4401 Manchester Ave. in Encinitas. Set up a free consultation and evaluation, or take advantage of his limited time offer, by calling (760) 230-2490. Don’t suffer any longer from stress or stress-related conditions, make an appointment today to take your body and mind back and live your best life!