The preparation of a Cardiff-by-the-Sea Specific Plan is identified
in the Encinitas General Plan in recognition of the unique character,
opportunities, and needs of the Cardiff-by-the-Sea specific plan area.
In 2002, the City Council affirmed the desire for a Specific Plan
for Cardiff's specific plan area and supported the idea that future
development reflect the strongly-held community concern for retaining
local identity and community character. Figure 1, Location
Map, shows the Specific Plan Area relative to the Cardiff-by-the-Sea
community and the rest of the city. Overriding goals for this Specific
Plan are:
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To protect the character and identity of the Cardiff-by-the-Sea
community;
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To define land use to ensure long-term compatibility among the
many land uses found in the specific plan area;
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To provide development standards that reinforce and maintain
desirable characteristics of the Cardiff-by-the-Sea specific plan
area;
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To involve the local residents, business owners, and property
owners in determining the future of their community;
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To prioritize reinvestment in public infrastructure; and
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To have the intent to maintain ocean views through the policies
of the Specific Plan.
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The Cardiff-by-the-Sea Specific Plan has eight chapters.
Chapter 1: Introduction and Summary. This section
describes the intent and major recommendations of the Plan.
Chapter 2: Community Vision and Specific Plan Goals. Community objectives for the Specific Plan are provided here, including
the goals and policies that become the foundation for the Specific
Plan.
Chapter 3: Use and Development Regulations. All the uses within the Specific Plan area fall within residential, office professional, and general commercial zones. This section starts with a description of how portions of the area are used in different ways. Then, based on those differences, coupled with the goals and objectives identified in Chapter
2, zone regulations and development standards are described.
Chapter 4: Design Recommendations. Recommendations
for the physical design of the Specific Plan area are provided covering
a range of design concerns such as streetscape, alley design, and
landscape. Criteria are provided for identifying development that
is subject to design review.
Chapter 5: Circulation and Parking. Vehicular,
pedestrian, and bicycle routes are described, as are the results of
recent parking studies.
Chapter 6: Infrastructure. An evaluation of existing conditions for water, sewer, storm drain, and street surfaces is provided, along with an assessment of the relevance of those improvements to the policies and objectives identified in Chapter
2.
Chapter 7: Implementation. This chapter charts
a strategic approach to incremental implementation of the Specific
Plan and identifies the relative importance of Plan administration
and capital improvement.
Chapter 8: General Plan and Local Coastal Program Compliance. The relationship between this Specific Plan and the Encinitas General
Plan and Local Coastal Program is described.
This Cardiff-by-the-Sea Specific Plan focuses on a small but
highly visible and highly valued portion of the Cardiff community.
Generally considered the "business district" or sometimes "Downtown
Cardiff," the area is principally a mix of low rise retail, office,
institutional, and residential uses. Parts of the area have a beach
town character and parts seem entirely commercial or residential.
Mostly, it is an eclectic blend of land uses and architectural styles,
of structures that are both new and showing their age, and of pathways
and streets improved at different times over several decades. The
casual quality of the area, the mixture of architecture and the difference
in building sizes and periods, and the primarily pedestrian scale
of the entire area combine to foster a sense of small town familiarity
and welcome.
Boundaries of the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Specific Plan are irregular
but generally include properties between the west side of San Elijo
Avenue and the west side of the alley between Newcastle Avenue and
Manchester Avenue; and from the south side of Mozart Avenue to the
north side of Orinda Drive. The project area also includes the office
properties fronting the north side of Birmingham Drive to Montgomery
Avenue.
In the event the following three sites change their current
use, the sites would be subject to the General Plan and Specific Plan
Amendment process in order to be included as part of the Cardiff Specific
Plan.
3. North
County Transit District (NCTD) Right-Of-Way
Figure 2, Specific Plan Aerial View, depicts
the planning area boundaries.
Overall:
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The principal objective of this Specific Plan is to retain the
beach town character while enhancing the quality of life for residents
both within the area and surrounding it and to improve the business
setting.
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Distinct planning sub-areas are identified. Four areas within
the specific plan area have developed a distinct personality and,
as a consequence, future development is intended to reinforce the
established uses and character within these four planning areas.
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Development standards are established. Setbacks, heights, streetscape
design, and lot size standards are generally established as minimums
or maximums.
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Design review guidelines are established. Since all major new
development will go through a design review process, Design Review
Guidelines describe desirable ways to deal with a host of topics,
ranging from the location of parking to the use of materials and colors.
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Views are respected. Maintain ocean views by limiting heights
of buildings through the policies of the Specific Plan. Encourage
the use of view sensitive landscaping through Design Review Guidelines
to look at preserving the view corridors within the Cardiff-by-the-Sea
specific plan area.
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