Input sought on proposed senior living facility on El Camino Real

The environmental review process has begun for a proposed new senior living community in Carmel Valley.

The site for the planned El Camino Real Assisted Living facility is located off Camino Real between Sea County Lane and San Dieguito Road, on a 3.97-acre parcel owned by the neighboring new St. John Garabed Church. The 105,568 square feet, 105-room nursing facility will include assisted living and memory care units, operated by PMB Healthcare in a long-term lease.

The draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is meant to disclose the project’s potentially significant impacts, identify ways to mitigate those impacts and propose project alternatives.

A 13-minute scoping presentation was posted online on Dec. 15 (sandiego.gov/ceqa/meetings) and it will remain available for viewing through Jan. 14, 2022. Public comments on environmental factors that should be analyzed will be accepted for 30 days, through Jan. 14.

Once prepared, the EIR will be circulated for a 45-day public input period. The public will also have a chance to weigh in as the project goes through the permitting process with the city at the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board, San Diego Planning Commission and San Diego City Council.

The site is designated agricultural residential and under this zoning, nursing home facilities are conditionally allowed. The proposed three-story, 40-foot tall building would be designed in the Mediterranean architectural style with light-colored, adobe-like walls, dark wood details and terracotta tile roofing.

Developers propose landscaping throughout the site, with heavy landscaping provided along the southern and eastern boundaries to provide a buffer adjacent to the neighboring Stallions Crossing development. The project requires 20 feet setbacks and the developers will provide setbacks of 30 feet from homes.

Outdoor amenities would include a memory care garden, courtyard, spa, pool and a pet area.

Development would be focused on the western portion of the site, leaving 1.12 acres of the eastern area as protected Multiple Habitat Preservation Area open space.

Last year, residents of Stallions Crossing circulated a petition in opposition to the project, arguing that the development could cause traffic issues and that the structure would encroach on neighboring residences’ privacy as well as sensitive San Dieguito River Valley.

“This small parcel of land was never intended to be used for commercial development as the surrounding areas are natural ecological and wildlife preserves,” the petition states. “The impacts would be devastating for our community and would go against the local codes. The plan along our stretch of El Camino Real and Via de la Valle has always called for very low-intensity, low-density residential use.”

Comments must be received no later than Jan. 14, 2022. Letters may be submitted electronically via e-mail at: DSDEAS@sandiego.gov. The city requests that all comments be provided electronically, however, if a hard copy submittal is necessary, it may be submitted to: Sara Osborn, Development Services Department, 1222 First Avenue, MS-501, San Diego, CA 92101.