Progress is underway on plans to build as many as 359 homes on land long used for farming in Oceanside’s North Valley neighborhood.
Trumark Homes officials met with city planners in a June 26 developer’s conference to review the Tierra Norte proposal for 25.6 acres along the south side of North River Road between Avenida Descanso and Calle Montecito.
Based in Newport Beach, Trumark Homes built the Sonora Hills, Amanda Lane and Edencrest residential developments in Escondido and the Melrose Heights townhomes nearing completion at Melrose Drive and West Bobier Drive in Oceanside. Founded in 1988, the company has built townhomes and single-family homes in cities throughout California.
The Tierra Norte property in Oceanside is about three miles west of the site of a planned larger project, North River Farms, where grading has begun for up to 656 homes on 177 acres of historic farmland along North River Road in South Morro Hills.
The developer’s conference is an opportunity to review a project with city officials and make revisions before a formal application is submitted. Significant changes can be made.
The Tierra Norte site is in two contiguous parcels on the south side of the 4600 block of North River Road, just west of South Morro Hills.
One parcel is 9.7 acres owned by Jay Kawano of So. Cal. Ag. Properties, Inc., and has been home to an agricultural packing warehouse since the 1960s, with administrative offices added later. Nagata Brothers Farms Inc. owns the larger parcel, which is 15.9 acres, and more than 75 percent of that property is still used for farming row crops such as tomatoes and strawberries.
Both property owners have been North County farming families for generations.
Oceanside has some of the last large farms in coastal North County. However, agriculture in the region has been diminished by the area’s growing population and its need for homes, along with soaring property values and increasing costs for water and labor.
Trumark officials proposed last month that construction of either parcel could proceed separately if for any reason the two cannot be built together.
“Both properties are integral components of our preferred plan … which envisions a cohesive and synergistic development approach,” Eric Nelson of Trumark Homes said in a June 12 letter to city officials.
“Understanding the complexities involved in developing these parcels, we have meticulously considered the specific challenges and opportunities each property presents,” Nelson said. “To ensure project viability under varying circumstances, we have also prepared alternative plans.”
The Kawano property might face regulatory hurdles that could delay the project, according to a report the developer submitted to the city. The Nagata property might have environmental concerns that require additional mitigation measures.
These issues underscore the need for flexibility and adaptability in planning and development, the report states.
“The need for alternative plans is not merely a safeguard but a strategic imperative in a dynamic regulatory and market environment,” it states. “By preparing for various scenarios, we mitigate risks and ensure that at least one of the properties can be developed successfully.”
The Oceanside City Council approved development plans, an environmental impact report and general plan amendments in 2022 that changed the zoning on the property from from light industrial to residential.
Soon afterward, the local nonprofit Preserve Calavera filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the EIR for the project was inadequate. A year later, the two parties settled when the developer made concessions including new limits on building heights, improved landscaping and protections for native plants and animals.
The settlement also required the development to have all-electric housing with no gas hook-ups and a program to reduce the number of single-occupant vehicle trips.
Tierra Norte could bring the city more than $15 million in fees and tax revenue over three years of construction, city officials said in 2022.
