Seaside Ridge is an apartment complex proposed to be built atop the north bluff above Del Mar's dog beach. The project has been stuck in legal maneuvering since 2022, and now the developer said it is planning to sue the city to get the project approved.
“It was three years ago today that we submitted our project application to the city of Del Mar," said Darren Pudgil, spokesperson for the project. "Unfortunately, despite our best effort, the city, which doesn't have any low-income housing and none in the pipeline, has continued to fight this project.”
The project proposal is for a 259-unit apartment complex with 85 affordable units, 42 of which are low-income.
The city's planning department had deemed the project’s application incomplete. Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland said it was missing key environmental reports.
“The planning department had determined that it was not complete because it lacked certain materials that were needed in order to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, and the Coastal Act,” she said.
Seaside Ridge sued in 2024, arguing that the project qualifies for a builder's remedy, which would reduce the red tape required for project approval. A builder’s remedy allows a developer to bypass local zoning laws to build a housing project with an affordable housing component.
Earlier this summer, a judge dismissed the case, saying the developer needs to exhaust all administrative options at the city level first. In July, Seaside Ridge appealed to the City Council, which denied the appeal last month.
“We unanimously determined that the planning department had determined correctly, that it was incomplete,” Gaasterland said.
Seaside Ridge now plans to refile the lawsuit, and Pudgil said the law is on their side.
“In La Cañada Flintridge in northern L.A. ... The developer took the city to court. The developer was successful,” he said.
Seaside Ridge has 90 days to file the lawsuit. It is also appealing the decision in the original lawsuit.
