Affordable apartment complex could be built near historic mission

Construction could start early next year on a 38-unit apartment complex for low income families near the historic Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside.

The apartments are part of a 380-home development called Villa Storia that would be built by Integral Communities on a vacant 35.5-acre property just north of Mission Avenue and east and west of Academy Road.

The apartment complex project was approved by the Oceanside’s Historic Preservation Committee on Thursday and will go before the Planning Commission on May 9. The preservation makes recommendations on projects in areas designated as historical, including the area surrounding the mission.

Russ Cunningham, the city’s principal planner, said the apartments would be the first time a developer of a project of this kind that meets the city’s requirement to include affordable housing units by building them rather than paying an in-lieu fee.

“(They) are an example that we hope will be followed by other housing projects in the future,” Cunningham said.

Oceanside’s inclusionary housing ordinance requires developers who want to build residential projects of three or more units to reserve at least 10 percent of the total units for low- and moderate-income families, or pay an in-lieu fee of $4.40 per square foot. That fee would equal about $11,000 for a 2,500-square-foot home.

Nina Hammond, a spokeswoman for Integral Communities, said the developer was pleased to provide the affordable units.

“On this project, we tried to do things that were exceptional and this was one of them,” Hammond said.

The complex will include 12 one-bedroom apartments, 20 two-bedrooms and six three-bedrooms in two, three-story buildings on a 1.8-acre section at the southeast corner of the Villa Storia property. Each apartment will range in size from 550 square feet to 1,000 square feet.

One of the buildings will have 23 units and the other 15 units. The apartment buildings were designed in a Spanish Colonial style with shallow-pitch tile roofs, archways and some ceramic tile details.

The apartments will be surrounded by about 16,500 square feet of open space, including a walkway and benches. The project will also have a 53-space parking lot, which provides seven more spaces than the minimum required by city regulations, Cunningham said.

Andrew Guatelli, chairman of the Historic Preservation Committee, said he liked the project and wanted to make sure that it maintained its appeal. He said tenants should be prohibited from installing satellite TV dishes or hanging exterior decorations.

“These are architecturally very interesting, very nice and they fit into the fabric of this area,” Guatelli said.

All units will remain affordable under a 55-year agreement between the city and Chelsea Investment Corp., which will manage the apartments. Chris Earl, project manager with Chelsea, said the apartments would be wired for cable TV.

Dozens of residents flooded the council chambers in September when the City Council approved the larger, market-rate portion of the Villa Storia project. Opponents said it would bring terrible traffic and public safety problems to the quiet neighborhood, while supporters said it would create much-needed housing in the city, including the apartments for low-income residents.

No one except project and city officials attended Thursday’s Historic Preservation Committee meeting.