Carlsbad Village's Container Corner Goes to the City Council With Fewer Ways to Say No

In 2018, the Carlsbad City Council turned down a five-condo building planned for the northwest corner of Carlsbad Village Drive and State Street. Its reason was that the building didn't fit next to the one- and two-story buildings around it. This fall, a taller version with seven condos is headed back to the same council. In August the Planning Commission recommended approving it on a 6-1 vote, and several commissioners said they didn't think the city had much choice.

Today the corner is home to Choice Juicery and Crackheads. Both run out of modified shipping containers in a small plaza with plank decks, artificial turf and outdoor seating. The San Diego Union-Tribune called it one of the busiest intersections in downtown Carlsbad, a few blocks from the beach. The council can't do much to change whether a building goes up here. What fills the ground floor once it does is still undecided.

Same Corner, Bigger Building

The project is called Carlsbad Village Square, at 430 Carlsbad Village Drive. Its first version reached the city in 2016, so it has been in the works for close to ten years. The plan the council turned down and the plan coming back to it look like this:

The seven units break down as four one-bedrooms, two two-bedrooms and one three-bedroom, all on a lot of 0.172 acre. Most Village rules cap density at 35 units per acre. This plan works out to 40.7. The developer submitted the revised plan in March 2025, after California passed several more laws meant to speed up home building.

The One Unit That Changes the Council's Math

The difference between the two plans comes down to one condo. In the current plan, a single unit is reserved for a low-income household earning up to 80% of the area median income. Because of that unit, the project qualifies under California's Density Bonus Law. The Coast News reported that the developer is using that law to ask for five exceptions to Village design rules:

• Setbacks
• How much of the ground-floor street frontage is commercial
• Commercial parking requirements
• Garage dimensions
• Stepbacks on the upper stories

According to city staff, state law lets the city deny those exceptions only under narrow findings involving public health and safety, state or federal law, or historic resources. Parking is affected too. The site is within half a mile of the Carlsbad Village Coaster Station, and state law allows a project that close to waive all of its parking. The applicant still plans nine spaces for residents and is asking to waive only the commercial parking requirement. Eight of those spaces are in four one-car garages with mechanical lifts, and the ninth is an ADA-accessible space.

The commission's chair, Roy Meenes, explained the vote this way to the Union-Tribune:

"Not only is the public in Carlsbad frustrated, but I think the commissioners and I'm sure the City Council are frustrated with the imposition of the state of California in regard to the housing and the impact it's having on our Village."

Commissioner David Hubinger told ABC 10News the city's hands were "tied so much" that it loses some ability "to have our heritage prevail." Commissioner Kiley Fitzgerald voted no. She was concerned that the plan has no parking for people with disabilities.

The Health-and-Safety Question Has Been Asked

Health and safety is one of the few grounds that could still support a denial, so it came up at the August hearing. A resident pointed out that the property was a gas station and auto service center from the early 1920s until the mid-1980s.

Mike Strong, the city's director of community development, answered that the underground fuel tanks were removed in 1998. He added that soil samples taken 16 feet down showed any remaining contamination was below the level that would require more cleanup. Those were the findings in front of the commission when it voted 6-1.

Where the Timeline Stands

As of late October, nothing on the council's official record shows a scheduled vote. The action agenda for the October 20 council meeting doesn't include the project. In September, ABC 10News reported that the council's review was tentatively scheduled for November. The city's meeting calendar lists council meetings on November 10 and November 17. Neither one names Village Square as an agenda item yet.

The proposal documents are posted on the city's site, and a firm hearing date will appear on a council agenda once the item is scheduled.

What Happens to the Ground Floor

The council has little room on the building itself. The ground floor is a different matter. Village rules call for commercial uses along 80% of the street frontage, and this plan has 51%. Architect Kirk Moeller, who spoke for the project, told the Coast News that fitting the condos in while meeting the 80% rule wasn't workable. "There was just physically no way to do it," he said.

Moeller also said no tenant has been chosen for the commercial space. His team pictures something close to what's there now, a restaurant or a cafe. In January 2024, during an earlier version of the project, owner Leor Lakritz told the Coast News he was talking with the current tenants about whether they might keep operating in the new building. That report didn't describe any agreement. According to city records, Lakritz has owned the property for at least 25 years and owns other lots on the same block of State Street.

Neither Choice Juicery nor Crackheads has announced a closing date or a move. No construction start date has been made public either. For now, both container businesses and the upper dining deck are still operating on the corner.

On Grand Avenue, an Old Building Kept Its Walls

Other Village spaces have changed owners and uses this year without a new building. On Grand Avenue, the former O'Sullivan's Irish Pub in the Old World shopping center had been empty for six years. On July 2 it reopened as Carlsbad Village Books. The Carlsbad Village Association gives the address as 640 Grand Avenue and notes that the space also housed Dooley McCluskey's in its decades as a pub.

Co-owners Tim and Laura Wrisley got the keys in January 2026. They kept the Tudor-style exterior, the exposed brick and the fireplace, and they opened Marla's Cafe inside, named in honor of a mother in the family who loved books and tea. Besides books, the shop sells used books, knitting supplies and board games, and the owners keep televisions out on purpose.

At State Street, the next step is the council hearing, tentatively expected in November.

If you own near the Village and want to talk through how a project like Carlsbad Village Square might affect your street, I'm glad to go over it with you, in English or Spanish, with no pressure. Let's connect through Conchita Lopez.