North County Report: Fairgrounds Suspends Affordable Housing Talks with City of Del Mar

The city of Del Mar’s plans to build an affordable housing project at the Del Mar Fairgrounds just hit a snag. 

Yesterday, the board that runs the Fairgrounds, called the 22nd District Agricultural Association, or 22nd DAA, voted to suspend affordable housing discussions with the city of Del Mar after Del Mar leaders continued to show support for an underground train tunnel route that would run underneath the Fairgrounds. 

The proposed underground train tunnel is called the LOSSAN Rail Realignment project, a plan led by SANDAG, the region’s transportation agency, to move a portion of the train tracks that run along the fragile Del Mar bluffs into an underground tunnel. 

Del Mar city leaders previously supported the Fairgrounds by adopting a “guiding principle” asking SANDAG to protect operations at the Fairgrounds. In exchange, Fairgrounds officials would continue plans to let the city build an affordable housing project on the Fairgrounds property. 

But despite that agreement, Del Mar officials have continued to advocate for the exact tunnel route that the Fairgrounds doesn’t want because it happens to be the route that would have the least impact on Del Mar residents’ homes.  

“They stabbed us in the back,” said Board Member Michael Gelfand at Tuesday’s board meeting. 

The Dilemma 

Despite objections from officials at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, a tunnel option running underneath the Fairgrounds is still on the table. 

Fairgrounds CEO Carlene Moore said at Tuesday’s meeting that construction of this specific option would make a significant portion of the Fairgrounds unusable for seven to 10 years.  

If this route is chosen, officials have said it would derail plans for an affordable housing project that the city of Del Mar is planning to build on the Fairgrounds property. The project, which would create up to 61 low-income units, is one the city is banking on to fulfill its state-mandated affordable housing requirements.   

It wouldn’t be “feasible” to have two massive construction projects on the Fairgrounds property at the same time, a Fairgrounds rep told Voice of San Diego back in June. 

After initially considering the Fairgrounds tunnel route to be a good option, Del Mar city leaders agreed at a City Council meeting in December 2023 to support the 22nd DAA and urged SANDAG not to consider a tunnel route that would impact the Fairgrounds’ operations and the potential for an affordable housing project. Then, in September of last year, Del Mar, Solana Beach and the Del Mar Fairgrounds all signed off on a joint agreement calling for a “mutually agreed upon” process to select a new tunnel route. 

Fast forward to last month, Del Mar city officials appear to still favor the tunnel route option that would run underneath the Fairgrounds, previously known as Alternative A, despite the previous agreement.  

Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland told KPBS on Jan. 23 that Alternative A would be the best option to protect residents’ homes. 

That’s because the other route options would run underneath Del Mar residents’ homes and could trigger eminent domain, which gives the government the power to take property and use it for public use, even if owners don’t want to sell.  

“About 50 homes would be right in the area where the portal is. And then about 500 homes would either be above the tunnel or laterally next door to a house above the tunnel,” Gaasterland told KPBS. “That is a lot of residential housing that would be impacted.” 

Now, officials at the Fairgrounds aren’t happy. The board voted to suspend discussions with the city regarding the affordable housing project. 

“As a member of the DAA, I know I and I think the rest of the board, really wants to work cooperatively with adjacent cities in all regards, including the issue of affordable housing,” said Board Member Gelfand. “However, we had a joint resolution that has not just been disregarded, it’s been blatantly contradicted. This is not retaliation; this is a response to a betrayal.” 

Board Member Mark Arabo echoed that same sentiment. 

“There was a deal. We had a deal, and Del Mar broke the deal. Simple as that,” Arabo said. 

The board voted 5-3 to temporarily discontinue discussions with Del Mar until the next 22nd DAA board meeting on March 25. If Del Mar officials can show that they don’t support a tunnel route that would impact the Fairgrounds, then the Fairgrounds will resume housing discussions, board members said. 

Del Mar City Manager Ashley Jones commented on the decision via email. 

“While the board’s decision yesterday was disappointing, I look forward to connecting with their CEO to determine next steps and actions needed to resume work under the ENRA [Exclusive Negotiating Rights Agreement] following next month’s Board meeting,” Jones said. “I’m optimistic that we can find a path forward.” 

We can’t forget Seaside Ridge: If Del Mar’s plans for an affordable housing project at the Fairgrounds ultimately doesn’t pan out, the city will have to consider other projects. And developers of a proposed affordable housing project called Seaside Ridge are more than ready to step in.  

Seaside Ridge is a controversial housing development that I’ve been following since May. City officials are against it, but the developer is trying to use state housing laws to override the city’s wishes.   

The project proposes 42 low-income units, 43 moderate-income units and 174 market-rate units.    

City officials argue they already have enough sites identified in their Housing Element to meet their housing goals, and they would have to rezone the site to even consider moving forward with it.   

But the developers argue that the city has no choice in the matter because at the time they submitted their application to the city, Del Mar’s Housing Element hadn’t been approved by the state, triggering the Builder’s Remedy. The Builder’s Remedy says if a city doesn’t have an approved Housing Element by the time an affordable housing project is proposed, then the city can’t deny it.  

In February 2023, the developer sued the city of Del Mar for repeatedly rejecting the project. That lawsuit was on pause while a similar case in Los Angeles County played out, but now the developers have a hearing in June.

Also: Last week, SANDAG released a new batch of tunnel routes, or paths the underground tunnel could take, expanding the options from three routes to 16 after the previous three routes, released in June of last year, received criticism from different stakeholders. 

The new options will be presented to the SANDAG board of directors at its Feb. 28 meeting, where the agency’s staff will recommend the top three or four alignments. 

In Other News 

• The YMCA of San Diego County, located in Escondido, recently announced new partnerships, new leadership and a new vision. (YMCA Press Release) Related: The YMCA’s future was uncertain in 2021 after it lost about three-quarters of its members and program participants during the pandemic, resulting in a significant loss in revenue and, subsequently, thousands of layoffs. (Voice of San Diego)  
• ICYMI: Poway City Councilmember Tony Blain received the city’s first-ever censure last week. Public records revealed Blain’s history of harassing and threatening elected officials and city staff. (Voice of San Diego) 
• Oceanside has allocated $17 million to build a new community park at El Corazon and continue flood control measures on the San Luis Rey River. (Union-Tribune) 

Clarification: This story has been updated to include that the Seaside Ridge developers have a hearing in June for the lawsuit against Del Mar.