Indoor skydiving business survives neighborhood challenge

A new indoor skydiving business in Oceanside is set to take off after the City Council this week rejected an appeal from residents who said they didn’t want it in their neighborhood.

In March, the city’s Planning Commission unanimously approved plans submitted by iFly Oceanside indoor skydiving center for a 5,000-square-foot, 59-foot tall building on Vista Way, just east of El Camino Real.

A few days later, nearby residents appealed the commission’s decision, saying the building would exceed the city’s 50-foot height limit and create noise, traffic and parking problems. Those residents live in homes surrounding the El Camino Country Club just north of the property.

“We’re not saying that this isn’t fabulous for Oceanside, we’re saying it’s in the wrong place,” said Richard Gillette, who filed the appeal.

The building would be visible from state Route 78 and would go on a vacant lot between a Quality Inn Suites hotel to the west, the El Camino Country Club to the north and a four-story office building to the east.

At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, more than two-dozen people urged the council to reject the proposal; many more had submitted emails and letters stating their opposition.

Others, however, like Oceanside Chamber President David Nydegger and Visit Oceanside President Leslee Gaul spoke in favor of the project, saying it would attract visitors, create jobs and generate revenue for the city.

The council voted 3-2 to deny the appeal and let the Planning Commission’s approval stand. Council members Esther Sanchez and Jack Feller voted against the project.

Mayor Jim Wood and Councilmen Chuck Lowery and Jerry Kern, however, said iFly meets all the city’s rules and there’s no basis for rejecting the plan. Buildings can exceed the height limit with a permit, which the business applied for and received from the Planning Commission, officials said.

“The city can’t decide to tell the (business) to move to another property,” said Councilman Chuck Lowery. “We can just tell him ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on this property.”

In approving the height permit, city staff and the Planning Commission reasoned that there are several buildings on Vista Way that already exceed the city limit, such as the Pacific Gateway Towers to the west (70 feet) and an mixed-use office building immediately to the east (56 feet).

Robert Blomsness, a former Navy SEAL who co-owns the franchise, said he’s been working with neighbors to minimize the project’s impacts on the neighborhood, such as adding landscape, changing the building colors and increasing parking availability even though the business meets the city’s parking requirements.

When it’s built, the facility will be the second indoor skydiving operation in San Diego County. A similar iFly location opened in San Diego in Mission Valley in February.

The Oceanside business is expected to employ about 35 people and generate about $6 million a year in revenue, Blomsness told the Planning Commission in March.