Oceanside voted to reduce its unlimited density cap in the downtown area to 80 units per acre. That passed the City Council vote. The Coastal Commission was going to hold a vote on it but postponed the matter. It has yet to come up on another agenda.
65% of Oceanside's housing stock is only single-family homes. Over 80% of our residential land is zoned only for single-family homes. Rooted in segregation, our exclusionary zoning needs to stop.
Whether you're a libertarian or liberal, the facts show that we need to get out of our own way. We have a Smart and Sustainable Corridors Plan, where we are allowing upzoning and relaxed parking requirements along three east/west arterials. It's a start, but if all we do is allow housing along three narrow strips, we're effectively continuing a legacy of racial and class segregation along our highest injury and most polluted routes.
We aim to upzone city-wide and eliminate pseudoscientific, costly code requirements like minimum parking requirements and large setbacks.
https://onwardoceanside.com/project-documents
MUCH delayed, the Coastal Commission approved the LCP necessary for Oceanside's density cap in the downtown area. This included modifications to the program. They required a target of 5,500 units, allowing that it will be exceeded, but the density cap makes this difficult to achieve. They also noted that Density Bonus does not supersede Coastal Commission powers, to make sure that housing can't be built and that no one can access the coast. Their dedication to hating California and making it a worse place is a true inspiration to enemies of America around the world.
https://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2026/2/Th16a/Th16a-2-2026-exhibits.pdf
This was a meeting to show their updated housing element. Their goals were solid. They addressed equity in affordability, safety and pollution. Residents and politicians are always the ones to stymie any progress.