Keeping Carlsbad a small town
We want our village by the sea, and we want it to stay the same.
With beach houses and tourist activities, Carlsbad attracts newcomers and expands the city.
Called the Village by the Sea, Carlsbad, while large in population, has been known for is small town vibes and homey essence.
Due to the increasing amounts of people and housing however, Carlsbad is ever expanding. At first thought, expansion might appear beneficial– as it would economically stimulate our town and allow for more people to live in our area. Looks, however can be deceiving. Rather than the beautiful beach town sprawling from the shores to the inland carrying up the coast that you might be imagining, Carlsbad is only focusing on expanding, upward. This is due to the Growth Proposition E limiting the amount of housing units in the city to 54,599, meaning Carlsbad’s population would top out at about 135,000. According to the US Census, Carlsbad’s current population equates to roughly 115,330 people. This is only 19,670 away from Carlsbad’s maximum capacity, causing a “need” to expand. However under this prop, and the legal ruling of Carlsbad being a charter city, the city technically cannot purchase more land for housing. This forces upward expansion to be the city’s only option.
This however, should not be an option. Long term residents of Carlsbad, such as myself, do not want increased traffic and other negative outcomes that follow a higher population. Last summer it already felt like State beach was at maximum capacity, and if you wanted a spot to sprawl out, you had to get to the sand before 10 a.m. I know I am not alone when I say that I miss being able to walk through the village without being stampeded by people, and running into only tourists at every local spot.
We should focus on re-upping the infrastructure we already have to benefit those who work, live and spend their lives enjoying our little village by the sea.
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Rick • Apr 27, 2019 at 10:48 am
Agree! No more development. City dosent need more revenue for existing infrastructure/programs. Operating budgets are currently suffecient to maintan current programs and roads. New delopment does bring more money. But also brings an equal amount of demand on the budget. Spoken from a current government employee.
John • Apr 27, 2019 at 9:12 am
Now Carlsbad wants to bring in dockless “Litter Bikes” to Our quaint village by the sea. Our current Infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians can barely handle what we have now. I can’t imagine hundreds of these litter bikes hanging all over the sidewalks, private property and more importantly our beach. Now We’ll have a bunch of tourist riding around in the village not respecting our residents and laws. These bikes have nothing to do with last mile transportation. I just don’t understand.
San Diego Ok for sockless bikes… Carlsbad is not a fit. We are a small beach town.
Elizabeth • Apr 25, 2019 at 9:36 pm
I SO agree. We need to limit the growth and promote the village aspect of our city. If people wanted to go a Huntington Beach Vive, they would go there. C’bad needs to remain a village, with that feel and atmosphere. The lack of planning and loose atmosphere our city elected officials have had has allowed poor decisions and increased big city development to start here and should be stopped before it is too late.