On July 25th, the long-awaited OceanKamp Resort project was approved by the City of Oceanside’s
Planning Commission. Chamber CEO, Scott Ashton attended the meeting to express the Chamber’s support for the project slated for the old drive-in theater/swap meet site on Hwy 76 in Oceanside.In his remarks, Ashton emphasized the importance of the project with regarding to supporting tourism. “As we have developed more hotels, and visitor serving businesses like restaurants, breweries and experiential retail, we have put Oceanside on the map as a destination and not just a place to pass through. In fact, Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is the 3rd biggest source of revenue for the City of Oceanside, generating over $7M to provide essential services to our businesses and residents. Oceanside was the beneficiary of approximately $507 million dollars in visitor spending in 2021, with about $140 million of that spent on accommodations and the remainder benefitting our restaurants, retailers, arts & entertainment venues and other local businesses. This generated $17m in tax for the City of Oceanside. There are almost 3,500 jobs in Oceanside that are heavily supported by travel. Adding a one-of-a-kind attraction like OceanKamp will further solidify Oceanside’s growing stature as a Southern California Destination and will provide additional jobs and tax revenue that enhance the quality of life for all Oceanside residents.”
Ashton also noted the importance of the housing that is planned for the project. “Oceanside’s share of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) for the current cycle is approximately 5,400 housing units. As the RHNA report shows, we need housing of all types to meet the needs of a wide variety of income levels of our current and future workforce. OceanKAMP will help make housing more accessible by developing multifamily units and allowing for a broader range of housing at a variety of market rates. This project goes a long way in meeting our City’s housing needs, with up to 700 housing units planned.”
