Soon, at the earliest by the end of this month, the Carlsbad City Council will determine whether to put the ‘Agua Hedionda 85/15 Plan’ on the ballot or whether it will adopt the initiative, which would allow Caruso Affiliated to build a world-class shopping center near the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The plan also gives the public access to open space in the form of trails and other improvements and preserve the area’s agricultural use, including the strawberry fields, for years to come. The campaign committee that gathered signatures in support of the plan turned in more than 20,000 to the council last month. That is more than twice the 9,800 signatures (15 percent of the city’s registered voters) that were required by law to put the issue on the ballot or have the council approve it outright. The 85/15 Plan will create new public access to 85 percent (176 acres) of the land along the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and reserve 15 percent of the land (26 acres) for the shopping center, which will be anchored by Nordstrom. “I am honored by the trust the community has placed in the Agua Hedionda 85/15 Plan and the overwhelmingly positive response it has received,” said Rick Caruso, founder and CEO of Caruso Affiliated, the campaign’s primary sponsor. “We have spent nearly three years getting to know the character of Carlsbad and the people who love and cherish their community. In hundreds of community meetings with thousands of residents.”