Supporters of a proposed lagoon-adjacent development in Carlsbad have set up a community information center near the project site, ahead of a February special election.
A statement from supporters of what is now known as Measure A, sponsored by developer Caruso Affiliated, said the center has been established at Carlsbad Strawberry Co., 1050 Cannon Road. The center was scheduled for an official opening Dec. 17, after an open house on Dec. 16.
The center will be staffed primarily by local residents and community volunteers, and provide renderings, site plans and informational videos of the proposal formerly referred to as the 85/15 plan. It calls for nature-preserve elements on 85 percent and a Nordstrom-anchored retail center on 15 percent of a 203-acre property near the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
“The information center is the next phase of community outreach, and we look forward to meeting and speaking to as many Carlsbad residents as we can to share the unique attributes of the plan,” Caruso Affiliated founder and CEO Rick Caruso said in the statement.
Caruso Affliated backed a group, known as Preserving Carlsbad Open Space the Right Way, that put forward the development proposal through an initiative process. The plan was then approved by Carlsbad City Council.
An opposing citizens group known as Citizens for North County launched a successful referendum campaign to have voters decide on the project, with Measure A to appear on the city’s special election ballot on Feb. 23.
Opponents recently received a $75,000 donation from mall operator Westfield Inc.
