Del Mar could lose local control over new housing development if it fails to satisfy state officials by Monday, Nov. 16.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sent the city a letter Oct. 16 stating Del Mar "has failed to implement Program 1E," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Program 1E refers to backup zoning on north and south bluff properties that the city committed to in its state-certified housing element.

The warning follows the Del Mar Fairgrounds board's August decision to end negotiations on a proposed 61-unit affordable housing project on fairgrounds property. The city had been counting on that project to cover about half of the 113 lower-income units it must accommodate under the state's sixth Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).

Without the fairgrounds deal, the city's housing element lists north and south bluff upzones as the fallback. According to the HCD letter, as quoted by the Union-Tribune, the city "did not confirm implementation of the requisite 'by-right' provisions to satisfy the lower-income RHNA shortfall." The agency said the city's housing element currently shows a shortfall of 54 lower-income units.

What decertification would mean

If HCD revokes Del Mar's housing element compliance, new development applications would need to meet only objective state criteria, not local zoning requirements. That shift, known as by-right development, would strip the city of discretionary review over projects.

North bluff property owner Carol Lazier, the applicant behind the 259-unit Seaside Ridge housing proposal, already has a pending Superior Court petition arguing the property should be eligible for by-right development, the Union-Tribune reported. Lazier contends she submitted her predevelopment application before the city received state approval for its housing element.

A timeline gap

The council approved a contract Sept. 22 with consultant Moore Iacofano Goltsman (MIG) to begin environmental review and planning work for the north bluff rezone. That process targets a council vote in October 2027, with public drafts expected by May 2027 and Planning Commission review by July 2027, according to a council agenda report cited by the Union-Tribune.

The gap between the Nov. 16 state deadline and the October 2027 rezone timeline is roughly 11 months. What interim steps the city plans before Nov. 16 to satisfy HCD remains unclear from available public records.

Del Mar Mayor Tracy Martinez said in a statement that the city "takes our certified Housing Element requirements seriously and will work with HCD to ensure the City remains in compliance." She added the city would provide "a formal and timely response" to the state's letter.

HCD said it would consider the city's response before taking enforcement action.

Broader housing picture

The city on May 19 directed staff to create a new "RM-North" zone on 6.2 acres of privately owned parcels on Border Avenue at Camino Del Mar, at a density of 20 dwelling units per acre, according to a city news release. That zone would also build capacity for the seventh-cycle housing element beginning in 2030.

Separately, the council postponed a vote on an exclusive negotiating agreement for up to eight affordable units at the city-owned 10th Street lot. The council will consider that item at its next meeting in November. Del Mar resident Jason Powers wrote that committing $500,000 in predevelopment funding "before North Bluff up-zoning capacity is resolved is premature."