CARLSBAD: Commission approves zoning request for Scripps facility

Medical complex being built on El Camino Real

By BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 20, 2008 10:23 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- It took three tries in two months, but the Carlsbad Planning Commission has backed a zoning change that will allow the second half of a Scripps medical complex to be built.

In July, commissioners had a tie vote on the plans. A second vote, initially scheduled for early August, was delayed at the request of the developers. The third appearance before the commission, which took place Wednesday night, resulted in a 6-0 vote with Commissioner Bill Dominguez absent.

Several commissioners said Wednesday that they continue to have reservations about the extra traffic the project would bring to Carlsbad's business park region, but that the benefit of having a large medical complex in town outweighed that.

Next it's on to the City Council. The council vote could occur in about a month, then the architectural plans will need to go through the city's review process, said Bill Hoffman, a consultant working for the landowner.

The structure could open in three years depending on how things go, he added.

The facility is proposed to go on part of a 50-acre parcel on the west side of El Camino Real between College Boulevard and Faraday Avenue. Another Scripps building ---- one housing family practice physicians and a laboratory ---- is already under construction on a separate part of the property.

Work on that structure is expected to be done in November, Scripps Clinic Chief Executive Larry Harrison told the commission Wednesday.

With the addition of the second building, Scripps will have a medical center offering everything from an urgent care clinic to high-tech body scanning equipment. The only thing that the place won't offer is in-patient, hospital-style care, Harrison said.

Commissioners said the city could use the Scripps facility ---- Carlsbad doesn't have its own hospital.

"It's a nice project ... (but) traffic concerns me as it does other commissioners," Commissioner Michael Cardosa said before voting in favor of the proposal.

Cardosa was absent when the commission had a 3-3 vote on the zoning request in July. Commissioner Marty Montgomery, who initially voted against the request, said Wednesday that he would support it now, but said his concerns about traffic congestion remain.

The developer's traffic study indicates that the project would add 218 vehicles to surrounding roads during the peak morning commute and 575 vehicles during the early evening.

Commissioner Julie Baker, who voted in favor of the plans the first time around, said that the complex would reduce traffic issues in other areas, commenting that she sometimes drives to La Jolla for Scripps Clinic services.

"I have no reservations about the project at all," she said.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.

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