Encinitas Planning Commission Approves 87 El Camino Condos After the Rental Plan Collapsed
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Encinitas Planning Commission voted 3-1 Thursday night, Aug. 20, 2026, to issue a design review permit for an 87-unit, four-story condominium project on El Camino Real. Commissioner Michael Quinn opposed. Commissioner Steve Dalton recused because of a conflict of interest. The plans do not need City Council approval. This is a different story from the Aug. 19 rail-crossing grant on this news board.
What was approved
The site is about 2 acres just north of El Camino Real at Garden View, between a plant nursery and an office building. Developer Nolen Communities is proposing Camino Condos: six studios, 42 one-bedroom units, and 39 two-bedroom units. City materials describe 78 market-rate units and nine very low-income units, with density-bonus waivers. Commissioners praised the location as adding homes on a commercial stretch and flagged traffic on El Camino Real.
The footprint is close to what commissioners approved in 2024 as Camino Apartments, an 87-unit rental plan. A city staff report said the earlier developer could not obtain funding for rentals, so the file moved to for-sale condos.
Why it matters
- This is for-sale product on El Camino Real, not another rental tower.
- It does not need a Council vote, so the design-review permit is the live entitlement.
- Condo financing, HOA, and warrantability will decide who can actually close, not the commission vote alone.
Sources: San Diego Union-Tribune on El Camino condo approval; City of Encinitas Camino Condos design review / tentative map materials.
Related on this site: Encinitas rail-crossing grant; Ocean Bluff 27 homes.
More Encinitas mortgage help and the Encinitas news board.
For a buyer in Encinitas, 87 new for-sale condos on El Camino Real are an FHA or conventional condo-warrantability question, not a detached-house file. See FHA loans in Encinitas and FHA condo approval.
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