All development within the Home Depot Specific Plan area shall be in accordance with this Specific Plan, which consists of a text and diagrams. The diagrams address land uses, circulation, open space and a wide range of other site-related topics. The text further describes the allowable uses, development regulations, design guidelines and implementation of the project. This Specific Plan was adopted by the City Council of the City of Encinitas by Ordinance No. 93-17, adopted September 22, 1993. The Specific Plan was amended on July 8, 1994 to comply with the project's U.S. Army Corps 404 permit and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Section 7 Consultation. This Specific Plan establishes all development regulations and standards for the Home Depot Specific Plan area. The Specific Plan will only focus on development regulatory procedures which vary from existing procedures. Existing city policies and ordinances apply to development within the Home Depot Specific Plan area unless specifically discussed in this text and graphics. Should there be a conflict between this plan and existing city ordinances, the provisions of the Specific Plan shall prevail. The Specific Plan Overlay designation for this property on the Land Use Policy Map of the City of Encinitas General Plan calls for the preparation of this Specific Plan. The Home Depot Specific Plan shall constitute the zoning standards for all land covered by this Specific Plan. All conditions of this plan are imposed as a condition of approval of the Specific Plan. Procedures required to amend this document are described in Chapter V.
The authority for adoption of the Home Depot Specific Plan originates from the State Government Code Sections 65450-65457, the Land Use Element of the Encinitas General Plan and Section 30.34.010 of the City of Encinitas Municipal Code.
The Home Depot Specific Plan area encompasses a total of approximately
55.4 acres in the north central part of the City of Encinitas. Exhibit
I-1 is a vicinity map which illustrates the regional context of the
site and locates it within the city. The site is bounded to the north
by Olivenhain Road and the City of Carlsbad. Olivenhain Road intersects
with El Camino Real to the west, forming the northwest corner of the
Specific Plan area. El Camino Real passes along the westerly boundary
of the site. El Camino Real and the property on the west side of El
Camino Real lie within the unincorporated area of San Diego County
and are included in the Encinitas Sphere of Influence.
The southwesterly portion of the site (Planning Area 2) can
be reached from El Camino Real via Garden View Road to Starflower
Road and Scott Place. The southerly boundary of the site is adjacent
to the Garden View Plaza, an office-professional business park to
the south and the Highlands at Encinitas, a residential subdivision
to the east.
In terms of the Encinitas General Plan, the Home Depot Specific
Plan is located within the New Encinitas Community. Current Encinitas,
Carlsbad and San Diego County General Plan land use designations in
the vicinity of the Specific Plan area are shown on Exhibit I-2. Conformance
of the Home Depot Specific Plan with the City of Encinitas General
Plan are described in Chapter VI.
The Home Depot Specific Plan area is located on the east side
of Green Valley and includes Encinitas Creek, which flows into Batiquitos
Lagoon approximately 1.4 miles to the northwest. Encinitas Creek enters
the site along the easterly boundary approximately 200 feet south
of Olivenhain Road and exits the site at the northwest corner under
the El Camino Real bridge just south of the intersection with Olivenhain
Road. The drainage area beneath the bridge, which currently operates
well below its design capacity due to siltation, will be cleaned of
silt and debris as part of initial project development. In recent
years the 100-year floodplain within the Specific Plan area has been
reduced as a result of the construction of two upstream detention
basins. A third upstream detention basin, which may be completed in
conjunction with the Olivenhain Road Widening Project, will further
reduce the on-site area of the floodplain. The current boundaries
of the 100-year floodplain are illustrated by Exhibit I-3. The wetlands
area along Encinitas Creek exhibits several vegetation categories
including Willow Riparian Woodland, Salt Marsh, Freshwater/Brackish
Marsh and disturbed Diegan Sage Scrub.
The southern half of the site consists of westand north-facing
hillsides which overlook El Camino Real and Encinitas Creek. The southern
hillsides are deeply eroded, moderately steep sandstone slopes covered
by chaparral. An existing 150-foot wide SDG&E utility easement
enters the site at the southeast corner and exits at about midpoint
of the northerly site boundary. Two sets of 230-kilovolt (KV) and
one set of 135-KV overhead power lines and a 30-inch underground petroleum
transmission line are currently located within this easement. Portions
of the lowlands west of the power lines were previously used for a
native plants nursery and some areas in the northern portion of the
property appear as disturbed fields. Elevations on-site range from
approximately 78 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL) in the floodplain
in the northwest corner to about 245 feet above MSL on the hillsides
in the southern portion of the property. Exhibit I-4 is a map depicting
the topography of the site.
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The land to the north of the Specific Plan area, on the north
side of Olivenhain Road, is currently vacant and generally in a natural
state, but has been approved for development as part of the Arroyo
La Costa project in Carlsbad. The land to the immediate east of the
Specific Plan area at Olivenhain Road is a 2-acre unimproved City
of Encinitas park site. Natural open space easements and a residential
subdivision are also located to the east. Recently completed homes
on hillsides to the southeast are visible from the lower areas of
the site. Further to the west along the southerly boundary, pads have
been graded for the Garden View Plaza office-professional development.
The land to the west of El Camino Real is largely vacant and is used
intermittently for agriculture. There is a roadside flower stand at
the corner of Woodley Road. In addition, a single-family residence
on a large parcel of land exists on the west side of El Camino Real.
Within the Boundaries of the Specific Plan 14.2 acres or 25
percent of the site consists of slopes exceeding 25 percent grade.
The steep slope areas are distributed among the four Specific Plan
subareas as follows:
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• Planning Area 1 - Home Improvement Center
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0.7 acres
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4%
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• Planning Area 2 - Upland Open Space
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11.6 acres
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49%
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• Planning Area 3 - Wetlands Open Space
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0.0 acres
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0%
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• Planning Area 4 - Commercial-Light Industrial
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1.9 acres
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18%
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Total 14.2 acres
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Exhibit I-5 provides a summary analysis of the opportunities
and constraints presented by the Specific Plan area. Topics addressed
by the exhibit include steep slopes, wetlands, biological habitats,
natural drainages, viewsheds and disturbed areas.
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The following goals have been established to guide the development
of this Specific Plan. All development within the Home Depot Specific
Plan area and any future amendments to the Specific Plan shall comply
with these eight goals:
1.
An in-depth
analysis of soil conditions, slopes, biology, hydrology, noise and
viewsheds has been conducted prior to initial design development.
All planning efforts should be responsive to the opportunities and
constraints presented by the Specific Plan area.
2.
Preserve
where feasible, the environmental resources and topographic character
of the Specific Plan area.
3.
Provide
an open space system which will act as a community amenity, allow
for wildlife corridors and incorporate a wetlands restoration and
enhancement program along Encinitas Creek.
4.
Implement
a comprehensive design program which will guide the aesthetic values
of the Home Depot Specific Plan area in terms of landform alteration,
wetlands enhancement, landscape architecture and architectural style.
5.
Provide
community development standards which will regulate the nature and
appearance of all development within the Specific Plan area to meet
architectural and aesthetic standards that supplement existing city-wide
zoning and development regulations.
6.
Prepare
a comprehensive landscape program which incorporates drought tolerant
plant species, provides visual continuity throughout each planning
area and reduces any adverse effects of grading.
7.
Ensure
that all public facilities and services are available to serve the
planned development of the Home Depot Specific Plan and meet or exceed
applicable city standards and requirements prior to or concurrent
with development.
8.
Implement
a maintenance program which will ensure the proper care of all common
landscape, open space and drainage course areas.
The Home Depot Specific Plan includes approximately 55.4 acres
all located within the City of Encinitas. The Specific Plan has been
subdivided into four planning areas.
Planning Area 1 is comprised of the 9.7-acre Home Depot home
improvement center and garden shop. The one-story Home Depot building
has an area of about 102,200 square feet. The floor area of the Garden
Center is approximately 27,300 square feet. The parking lot will include
a minimum of 531 parking spaces. The drainage system for the Home
Depot site incorporates a series of oil/water separators which are
designed to capture oils and other deposits from the pavement and
other hard surfaces which might otherwise be transported by site runoff
into Encinitas Creek. The treated effluent is then routed to a nuisance
water treatment wetland area where it is further treated by marsh-type
vegetation.
Planning Area 2 consists of 23.9 acres of dedicated open space.
The upland habitat area will function as a California gnatcatcher
preserve as prescribed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit
for Home Depot which was granted after consultation with the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service.
Planning Area 3 is the 11.3 acre Encinitas Creek open space
area located between the Home Depot site and Olivenhain Road. Planning
Area 3 will include high-quality existing wetlands, enhancement of
existing degraded wetlands and newly created wetlands as approved
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit and State Fish &
Game 1603 agreement. The Home Depot Grading Plan allows for a borrow
site on the southerly portion of the planning area. New wetlands habitat
will be created in the borrow site area.
Planning Area 4 includes 10.5 acres in the northeast portion
of the Specific Plan area. Potential Planning Area 4 development areas
are located between Encinitas Creek and the north-facing slopes to
the south and adjacent to Olivenhain Road to the north. Specific development
plans are not proposed for this planning area by the Specific Plan.
The Specific Plan does provide land use regulations and design guidelines
which will be followed when actual development is proposed. Design
Review will be required for any future development in Planning Area
4.
The Circulation Plan and Open Space Plan for the Specific Plan area are described in Chapter II.
