Carlsbad Takes Lesson From Anaheim

Cheap motels cheek to jowl. Liquor stores. Thickets of tacky signs. The city of Carlsbad, where Legoland California opened in March, knows exactly what it doesn’t want to look like: parts of Orange County near Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. “Not to pick on anyone,” senior city planner Eric Munoz said. “But it’s kind of a good place to see what happens when you get a magnet and accelerated growth.”

Adopting rules drafted by Munoz, the Carlsbad City Council recently barred drive-through restaurants, stand-alone liquor stores, outdoor displays of retail goods and campgrounds in the area near the new theme park. Motels must be 600 feet from other motels and residences. Gas station locations and access are restricted. Restaurants must have more parking. And controls apply to building designs, height, landscaping and signs.

The City Council OKd the Legoland-area restrictions on a 3-0 vote, with abstentions from two members who own property in the area. Members said the rules fulfill a promise to preserve the beach town’s quality of life, made when the council approved the 128-acre park featuring buildings and characters constructed of plastic toy bricks.

Opponents of the tourist development sweeping the north San Diego County coast were unimpressed. “So they put restrictions around Legoland. It just forces the developers out a little bit further,” said Carlsbad dentist Geoff Bell, adding that local drivers already have been forced off the freeway and onto the coast highway on days of heavy park attendance. “It’s completely out of control with hotel development anyway,” Bell said. “It’s bonkers here.”