CARLSBAD: City moves to change agricultural area's zoning

By BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:05 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- City staff members can start the process to redo the zoning of the flower and strawberry-growing lands along Cannon Road, the City Council decided Tuesday.

"I think we have a very good idea from the community of what should be on that beautiful piece of property," Councilwoman Julie Nygaard said after a city-appointed citizens' group gave the council a presentation on the topic.

The citizens' group, created last year, has spent months collecting residents' views on what should happen to the some 300 acres of privately owned agricultural land just east of Interstate 5 and south of Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

The topic first became a matter of public debate in early 2006, after word surfaced that a developer was buying up land in the area with plans to build hundreds of homes. Those plans later were dropped, and residents passed a ballot measure in November 2006 declaring that the area was to remain as open space.

Open space is a broad category of zoning in Carlsbad --- everything from sports arenas to public trails falls qualifies. The job of the citizens' committee has been to identify what land uses the public would be comfortable with in the Cannon Road region.

City planner Gary Barberio said Tuesday night that residents' suggestions emphasized that agricultural use should be the primary goal. Agricultural research facilities, a floral trade center, a tree farm and vineyards made the list.

If agriculture stops in the area, then the permitted uses ought to include an amphitheater, an aquarium, an art gallery, a community meeting center, a dog park, museums, a performing arts center or a sports facility, residents have said.

It could take the city roughly a year to rewrite the zoning for the area and put those proposed changes through the city's regular approval process, Barberio said. Then, the city must seek the approval of the state Coastal Commission because the region is near the coast, he added.

Two men --- Carlsbad residents Charles Watry and E. S. Mason ---- told council members Tuesday that they ought to add public boating access to the permitted use list.

In fact, the city really ought to take over stewardship of the entire lagoon and give the area public park status similar to what San Diego has done for Mission Bay, Watry said.

Mayor Bud Lewis said the state controls the lagoon and its surrounding tidelands. He added that the city has avoided taking ownership in the past because it doesn't want the insurance liability.

Land ownership also is an issue for the agricultural areas in the hills above the lagoon. That region is privately owned, and any plans the city has for it will need to win acceptance from the landowners.

Chris Calkins, chief executive officer and president for one of the companies that owns land, said the city needs to realize that the process to keep agricultural production in the Cannon Road region isn't over yet.

"None of the ideas here can be realized by the stroke of a pen ---- or a pat on the back," he said.

The city must continue to work with the landowners and must offer special accommodations, such as reduced water bills, to allow the flower and strawberry-growing companies to stay in business, he said.