FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Cannon Road Agricultural Lands
- What is the next step in this process?
- How will the public input be used?
- Does this land have to be used for agriculture in the future?
- What exactly is included in “open space”?
- Are the Carlsbad Flower Fields tourist attraction affected by Prop. D?
- Will a city hall complex will be built as part of the “open space”?
- Why would a city hall complex be considered “open space”?
What is the next step in this process?
The last public meeting for the Cannon Road Agricultural Lands, Prop. D, was held on Monday, June 30, 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the city’s Faraday Center. Participants were asked to comment on a draft document entitled “Guiding Principles.” These principles were drawn from all the input received throughout the Prop D public participation process. The final Guiding Principles were incorporated into a city report and will be used to amend existing land use and zoning ordinances and may be incorporated into a new zoning ordinance.
Any amendments to existing land use and zoning documents or the creation of any new zoning documents to complete the comprehensive planning process to fully implement Proposition D will require a subsequent public process. Public hearings at the Planning Commission and the City Council will be held. Additionally, any amendments to the City’s Local Coastal Program will need to be reviewed and approved by the California Coastal Commission. This subsequent, ongoing public process will provide the opportunity for continued community engagement and allow citizens, the property owners and other community members to continue to participate and provide input in completing the full implementation of Proposition D.
How will the public input be used?
Public input will be used in two ways. Input was captured in a report titled, “Creating a Community Vision for the Cannon Road Agriculture and Open Space (Prop D) Lands Final Report.” This report includes the Guiding Principles developed through the public participation process and will be incorporated into a proposed new zoning ordinance and/or any amendments to existing land use documents.
The second way input will be used is to inform the current owners of the Cannon Road agricultural lands. Most of the owners attended and participated in some or all of the community workshops. They learned valuable information about what the community would and would not like to see on their lands. Some of the owners will use the results to inform their own public participation process as they move forward with developing their land.
Does this land have to be used for agriculture in the future?
No. Prop. D specifically allows “the farming operations in the area such as the strawberry fields and flower growing areas to continue.” The preservation of agriculture in the area primarily will be decided by whether or not farming continues to be financially viable, as determined by the land owners.
What exactly is included in “open space”?
Forty percent of the land in Carlsbad is zoned for open space. The City of Carlsbad’s definition of open space includes agriculture, lagoons, parks, the City’s golf course, trails, playing fields and some public buildings.
Are the Carlsbad Flower Fields tourist attraction affected by Prop. D?
No. The Flowers Fields at Carlsbad, a well-known tourist attraction, is affected only in that Prop. D affirms protections already in place to preserve that community asset. This nearly 54-acre site is already protected in perpetuity by prior land use conditions.
Will a city hall complex will be built as part of the “open space”?
No. Having a city hall or other government complex on the Cannon Road agricultural lands was expressly rejected by workshop participants. This use was initially proposed because participants during an earlier community planning process known as Connecting Community, Place and Spirit, expressed an interest in creating a city hall that would be part of an overall complex including performance space, parkland and other amenities. During this process, the Cannon Road agricultural lands were identified as a potential space for this overall complex. Due to the clear response of citizen participants in the Prop D workshops, a city hall complex is no longer being considered for the Cannon Road Agricultural Lands.
Why would a city hall complex be considered “open space”?
Prop D directs the City to allow public use, access and community gathering places to occur in the area in a manner that does not adversely impact other open space and environmental resources located in the area. Based on this and previous public discussion, the City presented the city hall complex as an option for consideration.
CANNON ROAD-top buttons
CANNON ROAD AGRICULTURAL LANDS
On September 23, the Carlsbad City Council approved a resolution to accept and approve the final report - Creating a Community Vision for the Cannon Road Agriculture and Open Space (Prop D) Lands. In the same resolution, the City Council also resolved to amend any existing zoning and related land use documents to reflect the recommendations contained in the report and to accept and process all amendments flowing from the report.
This report celebrated the ten month public participation process, detailed the outcomes of the various community workshops listed the Guiding Principles established through the public participation process and edited by participants in the final workshop. The report also explained the next steps necessary for fulfilling the mandate of Proposition D.
Those next steps include the preparation of amendments necessary to achieve the Community vision as established in the Community supported list of permitted agriculture and open space uses and the recommended set of Guiding Principals. Once the necessary documents are amended, the comprehensive planning process will result “in achieving complete General Plan, Zoning and Local Coastal Program consistency so that the full intent of the measure can be implemented by the City” (Section 5.3 of Proposition D).
For more information, call 602-2710.
Project Overview & History
To the east of Interstate 5 along Cannon Road, Carlsbad’s strawberry and flower growing fields represent not only important open space for the City but also the location of thriving businesses, the new municipal golf course and the Agua Hedionda Lagoon’s south shore, all serving Carlsbad residents as well as the City’s burgeoning tourist trade. Much of the area is zoned “open space,” which, in Carlsbad, includes passive parks, trails, playing fields and some public buildings, such as community centers.
The Cannon Road agricultural lands also represent one of the last areas in Carlsbad for planning and ensuring the future needs of residents are met. Private parties own all of the land, and the City is interested in ensuring that visionary, sensitive and compatible development occurs there.
The City Council established a process in July 2007 to gain public participation in defining land uses in the Cannon Road agricultural lands area. That process included a number of meetings called “community conversations” and workshops.
The process began with two community conversation meetings on Nov. 15 and Dec. 3, 2007. Based on community input from these conversations, the City next held four “continuing Conversation” meetings in early March 2008. The topics of these four meetings were: Continuation of Agriculture, Passive Open Space, Active Open Space and Cultural Open Space. Information from these meetings was reported and discussed during a “synthesizing workshop” in April. The outcome of the workshop led to development of the “Guiding Principles,” which were discussed and edited with participants at a final workshop in June.
Click here to view a video on Prop. D
Click here to watch a video on "Promoting the Continuation of Agriculture"
Click here to watch a video on "Passive, Active and Cultural Open Space Uses"
To learn more about the Prop. D Citizens’ Liaison Committee, click here.
EXHIBIT A