City officials have taken their first steps toward deciphering the digital mountain of data that could lead to a new high-end, destination shopping center on the shore of a Carlsbad lagoon.

The Carlsbad City Council has asked for an analysis of some 4,000 pages of information supplied by Los Angeles-based developer Caruso Affiliated to back up its proposed ballot initiative for a “specific plan” on 203.4 acres south of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon just east of Interstate 5.

The land along Agua Hedionda, Spanish for “stinking water,” and east of Interstate 5 has been used for agriculture since at least the 1920s, and is known for its popular “U-pick” strawberry fields just off Cannon Road at Paseo Del Norte.

Caruso has proposed building its shopping, dining and entertainment center on 26.7 acres, or about 15 percent of the property nearest the freeway, and preserving the remaining 85 percent of the land for open space, farming, and public trails and recreation.

Under the Agua Hedionda 85/15 Specific Plan, Caruso has said strawberry farming would continue and would likely be expanded to include other produce served in the center´s restaurants.

Caruso is the developer of The Grove in Los Angeles, where shops include Apple, Barney´s, Coach, Swarofski jewelry, Theodore and Vince designer clothing and a Nordstrom department store. The Grove incorporated a popular farmers market that had long operated on that site.

Caruso has spent years laying the groundwork for the Carlsbad project with a series of meetings with residents, trips to show people its Los Angeles projects, a May 19 presentation to the City Council and a voluminous environmental analysis posted on the city´s website.

CULTIVATING RESIDENTS
“We also continue to meet with Carlsbad residents to listen to their wishes and input several times a week through community meetings, bus tours to The Grove, at-home coffee discussions, and various other ways,” said Caruso representative Janette Littler.

Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall said last week he hadn´t seen enough information yet to take a position for or against the project, but he likes the way the developer has worked to gain residents´ support.

“It´s a different process than we´ve been through before,” Hall said. “This process involves the community in a much bigger way.”

Hall said it´s “interesting and significant” that longtime Carlsbad residents such as Jimmy Ukegawa, whose family has grown strawberries on the property since the 1950s, are strong supporters of the project.

Maureen Simons, chairman of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, also has publicly endorsed the project.

It´s also significant, the mayor said, that 48 acres of the property in the specific plan is now zoned for commercial development, and Caruso only plans to use 26 acres of it for the shopping center. The rest of the land, 176.7 acres, is to be set aside for farming and public open space.

“I haven´t seen that done before,” Hall said.

Hall said the City Council decided to proceed with its study now, rather than wait until the signed initiative is turned in, because the examination is likely to be a time-consuming process.

“We were trying to be in front of it versus behind it,” he said. “It takes time to get consultants on board and have our staff review all the documents.”

City staffers will employ as many as a dozen experts in fields such as traffic, noise and pollution to help with the work and then assemble the data for a single comprehensive report to the City Council.

EXAMINING THE ISSUES
“We´ll be looking at the analysis they (the developer´s consultants) did, the conclusions they reached, and does it meet city standards,” said Carlsbad Assistant City Manager Gary Barberio.

The city may ask the developer for more information or for the reasoning behind some conclusions, he said.

“There´s a possibility of back and forth in the normal process,” Barberio said.

While the project appears to have widespread support, a few residents have expressed concerns about drawbacks such as increased traffic on Interstate 5, competition with local businesses and some high-tension power lines that cross the property.

All those issues will be examined as part of the city´s report, Barberio said.

Caruso has agreed to pay the costs, expected to be at least $150,000, of the city´s analysis, Barberio said.

Meanwhile, Caruso is proceeding with its efforts to advance the initiative.

The developer published the title and summary as required by elections law. Caruso next has 10 days to present proof of publication to the Carlsbad city clerk, and after that the developer has 180 days to collect signatures.

The petition needs the valid signatures of 15 percent of Carlsbad´s registered voters, or about 9,800 signatures, to qualify for the ballot.

If the initiative qualifies for the ballot, it goes first to the City Council, which will have three options: to adopt the initiative as is; to place the initiative on the ballot and call a special election; or to order a report to study the effects of the initiative.

That´s the study the City Council ordered last week, Barberio said.

“It´s an information document for the council to base their decision on,” he said. “It´s our best professional analysis.”