Our objective is to stop Flower Hill Mall's (Promenade) 

excessive expansion plan and urbanization of our community!

 

Limit Flower Hill's expansion to 150,000 square feet of floor area, and 30' maximum building heights!

 

Flower Hill Promenade has succeeded as a mall offering a variety of boutique retailers.  This quaintness is what has appealed to the sophisticated and upscale area clientele.  Turning Flower Hill into an urbanized center will change the character and scale that has made it so popular.

The greater Del Mar community does not need a regional size mall.  It does need to see Flower Hill Promenade have a facelift, bringing it up to the current upscale character and standard of the Del Mar area.  Like the Del Mar Plaza, Flower Hill Promenade can be enhanced with great architectural appeal, while respecting the height and density customary to this community.  

It is our goal and objective to influence the developer, Protea Properties, and all government agencies that will evaluate and need to approve this project, to reduce the scale, density, and height of the Flower Hill Promenade expansion.  Most retail shopping centers are built to a 25% floor area ratio (FAR) of improvements to the size of their land land area.  Here are a few local examples for comparison.

Shopping Center	Sq. Ft. Improvements	Sq. Ft. Land Area	% of Land Coverage
Albertson's Shopping Center	132,804	687,811	19.3%
Solana Beach Towne Center (I - IV)	252,647	994,474	25.4%
Del Mar Highlands Town Center	272,567	1,392,613	19.5%
Flower Hill Promenade (Total proposed expansion)	246,000	647,302	38.0%
Flower Hill Promenade (Total expansion including estimated parking structure)	370,000	647,302	57.2%

All data compiled from the San Diego County Assessor's records, and site plans published by Flower Hill Promenade..

As shown in the above table, Flower Hill Promenade is proposing an improvement density of 40.33%, as a percentage of the total land area.   At a 25% land area coverage, customary improvements for Flower Hill would be just 152,460 square feet.  That amount is 93,540 square feet less than their proposed density of 246,000 square feet.   Even worse, is the total amount of square footage of ALL IMPROVEMENTS.  Including the parking structure with an estimated 120,000 square feet of area, Flower Hill will be in excess of 370,000 square feet!   What is the visual difference to a passerby of whether there are people, or cars within a structure - it is still an overall building of huge, oversized, out of character, bulk and mass.  

Flower Hill has proposed nearly three times the amount of total improvements, as exist on the Albertson's Shopping Center across the street, but on less than the same amount of land.   Take a look at the Albertson's and ask yourself if their density is already intense enough for this neighborhood.  Now imagine three times as many building improvements on the Flower Hill property!

When Protea purchased Flower Hill Mall in 2002, the former owner promoted a "developable vacant pad area" where the former Armstrong Garden Center was located.  That area would support approximately 10,000 square feet of new improvements.  Apparently, Protea Properties had a different idea.

In 2004 the City of San Diego Development Services Department reviewed the proposed expansion plans for Flower Hill Mall (Promenade).  This Preliminary Review outlined 15 pages of significant issues, conditions, requirements and concerns that would need to be addressed, mitigated, and met, by Flower Hill prior to allowing this project to move forward. 

(Click here to see the complete City of San Diego Preliminary Review report.) .

 

Public opinion will definitely have a bearing 

on the final scale and scope of this development.  

Flower Hill Promenade will need to present their final plan for public review and comment at:

• The Carmel Valley Planning Board ⁽¹⁾

• The City of San Diego Planning Department

• The City of San Diego Planning Commission 

• The San Diego City Council

Additionally, the California Coastal Commission has stepped in to the middle of this controversy, and has advised the City of San Diego that the Coastal Commission has jurisdiction over any development on the Flower Hill property.   The Coastal Commission has sent a letter to the City of San Diego a jurisdiction letter (click here to view the entire letter), also advising the city that they are aware of a number of development violations already in existence at Flower Hill.   Specifically, the recently opened Paradise Grille Restaurant, expanded into previously dry retail space (not restaurant) and has added nearly 2,000 square feet of outdoor patio dining areas, all without a California Coastal Development Permit.   This is a significant violation that must be corrected.   The City of San Diego has advised Flower Hill, that they must apply for, and be approved for a Coastal Development Permit, otherwise these illegal improvements will need to be removed.  It is unlikely that Flower Hill will be able to meet the stringent requirements of a Coastal Development Permit, for a number of reasons, including a lack of any surplus parking spaces for this expansion.   

Based on the impact this development will have on the neighboring communities of Del Mar and Solana Beach and the Interstate 5 view corridor, the Coastal Commission will require strict compliance with their development conditions.  Del Mar and Solana Beach should have significant concerns about the impact this project will have on their community, including:

• Loss of area low-rise aesthetic appeal

• Visual commercial clutter and urbanization

• Traffic impact to area regional, local and surface roadways

• Reduced transportation circulation

• Added area congestion

• A choking of traffic at the Via de la Valle - Interstate 5 underpass

• Noise pollution

• Light pollution damage to the ecological/sustainability, an increase in sky glow and a loss of our dark sky's.

• Area pollution & runoff into the San Dieguito River Valley

• Added vagrants, panhandlers and homeless

• Crime both neighborhood and on-site within the underground parking structure

• Excessive commercialism

• Lost sales tax revenue from their city retailers

• Multi-family housing (including low-income) Previously proposed as apart of this plan, but dropped due to public opposition.  No assurances are being made by the developer that this element won't be constructed in the future on the vacant portion of his site.

• Damage to the San Dieguito River Valley including biology, geology, paleontology, and water shed

• A deterioration of the area quality of life

• Loss of sales tax revenue
  

The scale of the proposed Flower Hill expansion will cast an environmental and traffic shadow on Del Mar and Solana Beach.

We expect the owners of Flower Hill Promenade 

will respect and retain our low-density, country coastal atmosphere.

Help us stop Flower Hill's expansion, as presented, and reduce the square footage, height, bulk and mass of their intended improvements to a reasonable and customary floor area ratio of under 25%, or 150,000 square feet of total improvements.  A level that is respectful of the greater Del Mar community, our lifestyles, our mutual benefit, our enjoyment, and our property values.  

(1) The Carmel Valley Planning Board - "Is a group of elected volunteers who review and evaluate proposed development plans and issues affecting the entire Carmel Valley community. Serving in an advisory capacity, the Planning Board offers specific comments, recommendations and decisions to the City of San Diego 's Planning Department, Planning Commission and City Council."  

Citizens Against Flower Hill's Expansion is a Not For Profit Organization representing the neighbors of greater Del Mar,

 Solana Beach and San Diego, opposed to the proposed aggressive expansion of The Flower Hill Promenade.