The San Diego Planning Commission on Aug. 14 approved a 380-unit apartment complex across the street from the Palm Avenue trolley station in the Palm City neighborhood.
The 14.62-acre site located at 408 Hollister St. was previously used as an arcade and go-kart track, but has been vacant since 2006. The project, called Bella Mar Apartments, will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom homes with a shared pool, playground, field and grilling area.
Of the 380 apartments, 100 will be reserved for low-income households with affordable rents, while the remainder can be rented at the market rate. All the residents will have access to the same shared amenities.
Manny Rodriguez, executive director of the transit advocacy group RideSD, said affordable housing near high-quality public transit makes it easier for the residents to travel without a car, reducing traffic, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
"This will help people save money, both on rent and transportation, which is more money that can go to food on the table, to investing in their children and also just giving back to the local businesses in the community," Rodriguez said.
Prior to last week's vote, the project required a rezoning, a community plan amendment, a change to the municipal code and a 146-page environmental review. It has gone through at least 10 public hearings before the Otay Mesa-Nestor Community Planning Group, San Diego Planning Commission, San Diego City Council and California Coastal Commission.
As a condition of approval, the developer will have to build a pedestrian and bike trail on the property's northern edge, which is adjacent to the Otay Valley Regional Park.
The long approval timeline, which was partly due to the site's proximity to sensitive habitat, is relatively uncommon in San Diego, said Colin Parent, CEO and general counsel of Circulate San Diego. The city has adopted a number of reforms to speed up approvals of housing near transit, Parent said.
"The troubling thing is that outside of the city of San Diego, this kind of really burdensome, long, multi-year process is actually quite common in California," Parent said. "Those are some things where we need to be seeing some change."
The project's approval does not guarantee it will get built, Parent added, and developers often have to wait years after approval to put together a project's financing.
"Sometimes they'll wait until broader financial circumstances will change, and oftentimes that's lower interest rates, that's the economy growing, because more people are able to afford rents in newer places," Parent said. "And of course tariffs and other things that we're seeing, that are creating a lot of uncertainty and costs for new homes, can all be factors."