February 2008
by Wayne Dernetz
Final part of a series on Del Mar's commercial zone
 What's happening to our downtown? In previous articles we examined some important indicators on the economic health of the commercial ("CC") zone, the land running along both sides of Camino del Mar from 9th to 15th Streets. We found the land area is divided into 63 small parcels. These parcels are owned by relatively few investors and family trusts whose interests appear limited to cash flow. These long-term owners enjoy relatively low property taxes and high rents. The CC zone generates disproportionately low property taxes compared to the balance of community. Sales-tax revenue from area businesses, reflecting total sales, has fallen steadily over several years. In economic terms, the CC zone is a drag on our community.
Signs of physical blight also are increasing within the CC zone. Many pedestrian areas and sidewalks are cracked and broken. Along portions of Camino del Mar, pedestrians and vehicles compete for the same space. Landscaped medians, installed in the 1960s, need refurbishment. Many private buildings need renovation. New development within the area has been virtually nonexistent for many years. Even the City's own administration facility adds to the blighted appearance of our downtown.
These deteriorating economic and physical conditions easily satisfy the definition of "urban blight" under California's Redevelopment Law. But with its worsening financial condition, the City can barely keep up with downtown maintenance needs, let alone undertake new improvements. Can anything be done to improve this state of affairs? Or is our downtown doomed to morph slowly into just a bleak corridor of small offices paying high rents to (mostly) absentee landlords?
The answer depends on us - the residents. Working through our city government, we hold the key to turning this decline around, albeit gradually, not suddenly. It can be accomplished by applying a more effective planning tool, the specific plan, to the area.
Specific planning was first introduced by the California Legislature in 1984. Soon thereafter, specific plans were employed to resolve long-standing community disputes over the redevelopment of the Del Mar Hotel property (now L'Auberge) and the Del Mar Plaza. But State guidelines for specific planning were not issued until after specific plans for L'Auberge and Del Mar Plaza were approved. Though effective, those early plans did not take full advantage of the available authority.
Under State law, a specific plan combines both general and precise planning with implementation measures, all in the same policy document. According to the Legislature, the exact purpose of a specific plan is to implement the general plan in a given area. A specific plan for our downtown would not change our Community Plan; it would identify ways to bring about the policies and vision of our Community Plan.
Through a specific plan, the density, height, bulk and other dimensional limitations of new and redeveloped structures in the area may be determined. The precise location and definition of uses within buildings may be defined. Needed public improvements, including new landscaping, pedestrian walkways, and other public areas may be designed, along with identifying the means to finance them. Standards for new construction, including design criteria, signing and façade improvements may be included. New regulations, enforcement measures and other programs necessary for implementation may be added. Every conceivable detail deemed necessary to carry out the Community Plan vision may be identified and included within a downtown specific plan.
An approved specific plan offers important benefits to property owners, as well. New opportunities and requirements for redevelopment of each property would be identified and the procedures for approval within the specific plan framework would be streamlined. Along with reduced time, costs and risks of the application procedures, property values would be enhanced. Private redevelopment would be encouraged. New opportunities for financing public improvements through public funding or public/private partnerships could be identified.
By law, a specific plan is prepared and reviewed in the same manner as a general plan - under direction of the City Council - and may be submitted to the voters for approval. Ideally, defining the plan's objectives and reaching agreement on implementation would involve representatives of landowners, business owners and residents, as interested parties. Depending on the scope and complexity of issues, it could take from two to five years, and competent guidance, to prepare a quality specific plan.
But as occurred during the preparation of our Community Plan in the 1970s, merely undertaking a specific plan could revitalize the community and bring about new levels of cooperation among the City, property and business owners and residents. Our choices are simple. We can continue witnessing the gradual and ongoing decline of our downtown, or we can start now toward implementing the vision for our downtown in our Community Plan.
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