Proposed at 1690 Via Cancion · Case CUP26-0008
A two-level, 16,100 sq ft assembly building with a parking lot is proposed for the old nursery at the entrance to Via Cancion, a small private dead-end street of two-acre homes. The City is reviewing it now. Neighbors who speak up early, with facts, shape what happens next.
We are not opposed to any church, faith, or congregation. We are opposed to a 16,000-square-foot assembly building and the parking, traffic, safety, and fire-evacuation impacts it would bring to a small private dead-end street of two-acre homes.
The issue
The applicant has asked the City for a Conditional Use Permit, special permission to put a use in a zone where it's only allowed if the City finds it fits. The site is zoned A-1 Agricultural, which the code describes as "low-intensity."
Every fact on this site links to its source in The Case File.
Why it matters
This isn't about who would use the building. Any 16,000 sq ft gathering place at this spot would raise the same problems.
The whole site, and most of our homes, sit in the state's Very High fire hazard zone. In a wildfire, everyone on Via Cancion and everyone at the building would leave by the same single exit while fire trucks try to get in. City fire code calls for 24-ft-wide fire access roads.
Rancho Santa Fe Rd carries about 28,100 vehicles a day at 45 mph. Our street's only exit is one traffic signal onto that four-lane road, and state records list 12 collisions naming the Via Cancion junction. Event traffic would push arrivals and departures through that one signal in the same few minutes.
City code sets parking by the room space usable for seating. Big events overflow. Via Cancion is a narrow private street with no legal place for overflow parking, and it's our only access.
The A-1 zone is meant to be "low-intensity" and "consistent in character with larger residential areas." A building this size, with lit parking and evening and weekend use, changes that.
Sources: State Fire Marshal 2025 hazard map; San Marcos Municipal Code §§ 17.64.120, 20.210, 20.400.160; City traffic data; state collision records (SWITRS). Every source →
How it's decided
A Conditional Use Permit is "not the automatic right of any applicant." The Planning Commission can only approve it if it finds all three of these are true, based on objective evidence. Our job is to put clear, factual evidence in the record about each one.
It won't cause "detrimental impacts to adjacent properties or the character and function of the neighborhood."
SMC 20.520.040.C.1It's consistent with the General Plan and the purpose of the A-1 zone, which the code calls "low-intensity."
SMC 20.520.040.C.2It's compatible with existing and future uses in the zone and the general area: two-acre homes and agriculture.
SMC 20.520.040.C.3What you can do
Volume matters, but specific, factual, personal comments matter most. Here's what makes a difference, from five minutes to hearing night.
How we win
Neighbors in other places have won fights like this, and lost them. The difference was usually how they argued. Federal law strongly protects places of worship, so comments about who would use the building can hurt our case and even help the applicant in court.
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Go deeper
Everything we've found, with receipts. Every fact links to its source and carries a Verified Reported or Unverified label, so you can check it yourself.
Questions
No. We are not opposed to any church, faith, or congregation, and we'd raise the same concerns about any 16,000 sq ft gathering place at this spot. Our concerns are land-use impacts: the single dead-end access, fire evacuation, traffic on Rancho Santa Fe Rd, parking, and the rural character the zone is meant to protect.
Yes. Most Via Cancion homes are in the County, and anyone can comment to the City. Owners within 500 ft of the site can also appeal a Planning Commission decision, whether they're in the City or the County. County residents can also ask County Supervisor District 5 to weigh in.
A Conditional Use Permit is discretionary: the Commission can approve, approve with conditions, or deny it, and it must base its decision on evidence. Outcomes elsewhere range from denial to approval with strict limits (attendance caps, hours, access only from Rancho Santa Fe Rd). The stronger and more specific the record, the better the outcome. The Case File has dozens of real examples.
It isn't scheduled yet. The Planning Commission meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 6:30 PM. The hearing notice can arrive as little as about 10 days ahead, which is why we're organizing now. Sign up above to get the alert.
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