In an 8-1 vote yesterday, the San Diego City Council overwhelming approved Kilroy Realty’s redesign for the 23.6-acre One Paseo mixed-use development in Carmel Valley. At the intersection of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real, the 1.18M SF project is still unusually dense for a suburban market, but may serve as a model for future development throughout the city. San Diego has a limited supply of land for much-needed housing and other development due to the region’s natural barriers—Camp Pendleton, the Pacific Ocean, mountains and the US/Mexico border, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The previous plan was significantly larger at 1.45M SF. The City Council had approved that plan in a 7-2 vote last year, which resulted in a citizen's referendum, mainly due to an anticipated increase in traffic. Kilroy’s new plan, which includes 608 residential units, reduces the size of retail by 61% and office by 42%, and is expected to cut traffic trips by 40% over the previous plan. The developer is funding traffic signal optimization to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion and will provide a transit shuttle to the Solana Beach Coaster station.

The new One Paseo design, which reflects input from local residents—including previous opponents—shrinks the retail component to 96k SF from 247k SF and office space to 280k SF from 484k SF. It also pushes density inward, reducing the height of the tallest office towers from nine to six stories and providing 30-foot development setbacks from bordering streets. The changes create a town-center village effect in the commercial district, where Kilroy is planning curated shopping and dining amenities. [SDUT]