The history of how required Growth Management Open Space (i.e. unconstrained/developable land) that should have been dedicated Open Space was, and is now being proposed to be, inappropriately converted to Residential land use by a Perpetuating a False Exemption of the Open Space Standard provided Ponto Developers. This False Exemption needs correction and restitution. Ponto’s False Exemption of the Open Space Standard and the ‘amendment shell-game’ GM Open Space history is a critical warning sign to the Carlsbad Tomorrow Growth Management Committee, Planning Commission and City Council. Ponto is a critical warning that a strong, accountable and accurate Open Space Standard needs to be established for Carlsbad Tomorrow, AND a Growth Management Open Space restitution plan needs to be established and funded that corrects the False Exemption for Ponto Developers. If Ponto Developers were required like other similar developers at the time (Aviara and Poinsettia Shores, “urbanizing La Costa Zones 11 & 12, etc.) to provide the required Growth Management Open Space some of the critical Coastal Recreation and Coastal Park issues and extensive Carlsbad Citizen needs/demands/desires at Ponto could likely have already been addressed.
How citizens found out about the False Exemption provided Ponto Developers:
In 2017 for the 1st time the city provided the GIS maps/data base accounting of Open Space in the City. The City did this a part of settlement to a North County Advocates citizens’ lawsuit. The City Open Space maps/data base allowed Carlsbad Citizens for the 1st time the ability to see and confirm what Open Space was produced by Growth Management (GM). The City’s Open Space map/data based for Ponto (LFMP-9) documented that about 30-acres of GM Open Space was missing (see; Carlsbad Official Public Records Request – PRR 2017-164). As required by GM, and as Staff has said, to count as GM Open Space it must be dedicated and ‘unconstrained/developable land’ to meet the GM Open Space Standard. Being able to see for the 1st time the missing GM Open Space was one of the key awakenings that started People for Ponto Carlsbad Citizens. Below is the City’s Open Space Map for LFMP-9, with notes. We have the City’s parcel-based Open Space data base that confirms all the numerical data in the notes.