What will One Paseo look like?

After six years of fighting, some residents of Carmel Valley got what they wanted on May 21: a scaled-down version of Los Angeles–based Kilroy Realty's mixed-use project, One Paseo.

Moments before a city-council hearing to decide whether the city would rescind their previous approval or send it to the ballot, representatives from Kilroy Realty announced that they reached a compromise with three community groups and the owner of a nearby shopping center, agreeing to reduce the amount of retail and office space included in the project, thus reducing the impacts to traffic.

“Kilroy has worked to deliver a project that meets many of the goals of the community, including more shops, restaurants, homes, and public open space,” said John Kilroy in a statement issued moments before the hearing on One Paseo. “After significantly refining the project a number of times, this new project allows us to provide additional amenities to Carmel Valley without the delay of a protracted legal battle.”

Added Bob Fuchs, Carmel Valley resident and co-founder of What Price Main Street, “I believe that the coalition members, though not a party to the negotiations, will find the settlement conditions consistent with what has been advocated for many years, and will be happy to leave the controversy behind and look forward to reviewing a project the community can be proud of.”

The announcement made for a celebratory mood in council chambers.

"It's been a long few days," said Kilroy Realty's director of development in San Diego, Jamas Gwilliam. "We are pleased to be in this place. And while the revised project is not fully designed, we will be working under certain parameters to address the community concerns. We believe this is a fair compromise. After nearly seven years of near continual dialogue we are looking forward to getting this started."

As stated by Gwilliam, little is known on what the new One Paseo will look like, aside from promises by Kilroy to reduce daily auto trips by half on El Camino Real and Del Mar Heights Road; setting buildings back 30 feet from streets was another part of the compromise. Kilroy also assured community members that buildings will not be built over seven-stories.

Council president Sherri Lightner said, “I did not believe that a compromise was possible on Monday because of what had transpired up to that point. I am glad I was wrong.”

Some members of community planning groups expressed their frustration over the fact that the council approved the project despite opposition from Carmel Valley and other neighborhood planning groups.

One Paseo's new design will be shown to the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board and San Diego's Planning Commission before receiving final approval from city council.