Del Mar's Seaside Ridge developer and her attorney are demanding the city rezone a North Bluff property for housing. In separate letters, they accuse officials of quietly pursuing a lower-density workaround to dodge a state mandate.

Attorney Brooke Miller of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton and property owner Carol Lazier sent the letters to Mayor Tracy Martinez and the City Council on Monday, Aug. 24, according to Voice of San Diego. Both demand the city immediately implement Program 1E of its state-certified housing plan: rezoning the 12.39-acre North Bluff site at 929 Border Ave. to allow 20–25 dwelling units per net acre.

The letters land one week after the 22nd District Agricultural Association voted 5-3 on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to terminate its Exclusive Negotiating Rights Agreement with Del Mar for roughly 61 affordable units on Fairgrounds property. That vote triggered the city's backup obligation under its 6th Cycle Housing Element.

Allegation: city pursuing a workaround

Miller's letter identifies what she calls a quiet end-run. Del Mar's City Council on May 19 directed staff to begin planning a new "RM-North Zone" designation for the same North Bluff parcels. The new zone would allow up to 20 units per acre "in preparation for the 7th Cycle Housing Element," according to the council's May 19 agenda.

The city's own staff report described that effort as "a different approach and circumstance than identified in the 6th Cycle Housing Element Program 1E," according to documents submitted to the council's Aug. 25 closed session.

Miller wrote that the city "should immediately pause the 'RM-North Zone' effort and comply with its legal obligations" under the current housing element.

Financial exposure

Miller warned that noncompliance exposes Del Mar to a minimum fine of $10,000 per unit under state law. With 259 units proposed for Seaside Ridge, the math from her letter yields at least $2.59 million in potential fines. She also cited monthly civil penalties under Senate Bill 1037, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Under the required Housing Element Implementation Overlay Zone (HEI-OZ), multifamily housing would be allowed by right with staff-level approval and no public hearing, exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.

Lazier: 'Seize this opportunity'

In her own letter, Lazier told the council the debate has moved past the Fairgrounds strategy.

"This is no longer a question of whether the city should pursue the Fairgrounds strategy. Nor is this simply a question of what Del Mar might want to do in its next Housing Element as suggested with the discussions considering a new 'RM-North Zone' for the 7th Cycle," Lazier wrote. "The city has already received clear direction from HCD and state officials on what must happen after termination of the Fairgrounds agreement."

Lazier warned of continued litigation and state penalties if the city delays.

Mayor seeks Fairgrounds rehearing

Mayor Martinez sent a letter to the Fairgrounds board on Saturday, Aug. 22, urging it to reconsider the termination at its next meeting on Sept. 15. Martinez called the board's decision a "waste of public resources," saying the agency spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in state grant funds studying the project before ending it.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development warned Del Mar in a Jan. 15 letter to City Manager Ashley Jones that Program 1E rezoning "is required" if the Fairgrounds agreement is suspended or terminated. HCD set a November 2026 deadline for the city to secure a lease agreement.

Voice of San Diego reported that a city spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the Fairgrounds termination. No public response from Del Mar officials to the Aug. 24 letters has appeared in available records.

The Fairgrounds board meets next on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The Del Mar City Council held a special closed session on the housing element on Tuesday, Aug. 25, as we reported that day.