OCEANSIDE: A decision by the Oceanside Planning Commission to approve a 92-acre shopping center will be considered by the City Council on Wednesday.
Attorneys for a rival mall, Westfield Plaza Camino Real in Carlsbad, appealed the commission's approval to the council.
The proposed Pavilion at Oceanside would be one of the largest shopping centers in the city, encompassing 950,000 square feet of commercial space.
It would be built on the site of the former Valley Drive-In theaters at state Route 76 and Foussat Road in the San Luis Rey River valley. The project would include a theater, big-box retailers Target and Best Buy, smaller shops, restaurants, and a fitness club.
Westfield attorneys never mentioned fear of competition as a reason for the appeal. They contend an environmental impact report for the Oceanside project is inadequate.
The council meeting begins at 5 p.m. in chambers at 300 N. Coast Highway. –L.S.
Coastal Commission
approves dredging
CARLSBAD: The California Coastal Commission approved a permit Thursday that will allow the operator of the Encina Power Station to dredge a Carlsbad lagoon and place the sand on the beach.
The power plant's owner, NRG Energy, said it will begin dredging within the next few months. The permit allows dredging 500,000 cubic yards of sand. The work must be completed by April 15.
Encina draws water into its plant from Agua Hedionda Lagoon to cool its steam-powered generators. That draws ocean water and sand into the lagoon, filling it up.
The power plant's operators dredge the lagoon every two or three years to keep the water flowing into the lagoon and to the plant, and place the sand on the beaches near the lagoon inlet. –M.B.
Massage parlor's
permit bid denied
OCEANSIDE: The City Council has overturned a recommendation by the Planning Commission to allow a massage parlor in the Town and Country Shopping Center on Oceanside Boulevard just east of Interstate 5.
Council members voted unanimously Wednesday night to deny a conditional-use permit to Yao Yu Wang for the Oceanside Health Clinic. The commission had recommended approval of the permit in August.
The Oceanside Health Clinic has been in operation for three years since the city staff discovered it had misinterpreted the codes and determined that massage parlors need a use permit from the council.
Since then, four such establishments have been reviewed. One has gone out of business, one permit has been granted and two, including this one, denied. –L.S.
Staff writers Lola Sherman and Michael Burge contributed to this report.
