ATTACHMENT I
PUBLIC COMMENTS
From: [email protected]
To: Garcia, Chris
Subject: Re. Northside of Capalina Rd. APN: 219-115-33-00 Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2023 1:05:26 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Mr. Garcia, Fakhimi Family Trust is the owner of the property located at 1605 W. Mission Rd., San Marcos, CA 92069. I am writing to you as Trustee of the said Trust and am in receipt of your circular “NOTICE OF APPLICATION” for PROJECT NUMBER: GPA22-0003.
The said project as described in your letter will comprise 119 residential unit and 4000 sq. ft. of commercial units with only 149 parking spaces. My objection and comment is the ratio of parking spaces to the total units. The ratio is far too low and obviously there is a mismatch. Is the question of increasing the parking spaces going to be considered by your department? Each of the residential units will have at least two vehicles if not more. I do not know anything about the nature of business units to project the parking space
requirement for them. Considering the business owner and employees parking need as well as the walk in shoppers, will cause the pour over of the said development into the
neighborhood parking, which will result in undue frictions.
Best regards,
Dr. S. Fakhimi – Trustee
Fakhimi Family trust
858-459-0821 Home
281-658-8924
From: Shannon <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, May 5, 2023 7:49 PM
To: Sean del Solar <[email protected]>
Subject: Capalina Apartments
Shannon Doyle
1515 Capalina Road
Space 33
San Marcos, CA 92069
(714) 783-8746
Atn: Sean del Solar, Senior Planner for Chris Garcia City of San Marcos Planning Division Re:
Re: Response to NOP for proposed Capalina Apartments:
While I can certainly see the advantages to this development, I have some concerns regarding this proposed project. Please note the following:
* No street lights or crosswalks on Capalina from Rancho Santa Fe to Pacific. * Traffic: Conges�on on Rancho Santa Fe with offramp ac�vity to and from the 78 freeway. Pacific cut through turn is in an industrial area with a severe right curve and has a hard le� unregulated turn onto Capalina right before 7-11 parking entrance. * Noise: Will new tenants be advised considering Sprinter train, and 2 Nightclubs with loud music up to 2am?
* El Dorado Mobil Home Park at 1515 Capalina is a SENIOR PARK with owners and tenants needing to live in a quiet, safe environment. Please don't disregard us in the name of progress or profits.
Finally, when the construc�on is complete, the success or failure of the project will depend on the quality of the management. Hopefully, the owners and the City of San Marcos, will recognize this.
Thank you for your �me.
February 1, 2024
Comments for the February 5, 2024 San Marcos Planning Commission Meeting RE: Capalina Apartments Landscaping Plan
Planning Commission Members,
My name is Carrie Alidaee, and I’m a Wildlife Biologist with a Master’s degree in Biology from Miami University and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. I specialize in the ecology of plants and animals of San Diego County.
As a resident of San Marcos since 1994, I’m pleased with the plans for the development of apartments on Capalina Road. However, when I reviewed the plans for landscaping, I was highly dismayed. There are plants from Africa, the Mediterranean, China, India, and Mexico to name a few. Of the 46 plants listed, only five are from California. These non-native plants, some of which, like the Blood-red trumpet vine and Heavenly bamboo are invasive (harmful) and create a sterile, sometimes hostile habitat for native animals like birds and insects such as butterflies.
I’m sure that you are all familiar with the news of massive losses of biodiversity, especially here in San Diego County, leading some to say that we are in the “Sixth Extinction.” This is human caused, a result of development of natural habitats into urban developments. It is important that we balance the loss of habitats by planting native plants wherever possible. California native plants provide our native animal and insect populations with the food and shelter that they require to exist and thrive. Native butterflies can only feed on native flowers, and birds can only feed on the seeds, fruits, and insects that native plants provide. A recent study found that in order for birds to be able to feed their chicks, at least 70% of landscape plants need to be native plants (Narango, Tallamy, and Marra, 2017). California native plants are drought tolerant and fire resistant (yes, really!). They require very little water and maintenance once established.
Some suggestions for California native alternatives to the existing plan that are evergreen and native to San Marcos are:
California Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) – supports over 3,000 species of wildlife and is highly trimmable for shape and size
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) – white, bell-shaped flowers in summer and red berries in winter
Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis) – can be trimmed and shaped into topiary! Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina) – fast growing, trimmable, ideal for screening Lemonadeberry (Rhus integrifolia) – ideal for screening, edible fruit White Sage (Salvia apiana) – attractive shrub and ground cover Sticky monkey-flower (Mimulus aurantiancus) – beautiful, flowering shrub with yellow, orange, or red blossoms
Canyon Sunflower (Vengasia caresioides) – attractive yellow sunflower plant These are just a small number of the many alternative plants that would serve well as landscaping. There are innumerable sources of information about California native plants for landscaping, such as professional landscaper Heaviland’s PDF that can be found on the web, Calscape.org, and the California Native Plant Society webpage.
If you love our San Marcos wildlife and want to see it thrive, if you want to San Marcos to be an example of sustainable and eco-friendly environmental planning, you will revise the landscaping plans of this apartment complex (and hopefully all plantable areas within San Marcos) to California native plants.
Thank you for your time,
Carrie Alidaee, M.A.
Narango, D.L., D.W. Tallamy, and P .P . Marra. 2017. Native plants improve breeding and foraging habitat for an insectivorous bird. Biological Conservation 213:42-50.