SOAPBOX
GUEST OPINION | The Business Buzz by Jim Wynne & Arrow Santos
Old Dirt, New Neighbors T
he El Camino Real off-ramp is one of our city’s major southbound entry points. Drivers exiting the freeway are currently greeted by shuttered buildings and abandoned land on all corners of the intersection of West Avenida Valencia and El Camino Real. The southwest corner is an empty, fenced-off lot that hasn’t been used since functioning as a gas station in the 1990s. The former automotive service center Top Tune on the southeast corner has been vacant since 2013 and has been fenced up and slowly falling into disrepair since 2015. And on the final corner to the northwest, Tommy’s Restaurant has sat shuttered since its abrupt closing at the end of 2019. A red-carpet entrance to our beautiful city, this off-ramp intersection is not. Soon, all three corners will have separate building projects underway simultaneously. All three projects adhere to the city’s specific Spanish Colonial Revival architecture requirements and will uphold the iconic San Clemente image we all know and love. Unrelated, aside from the coincidental timing after the yearslong wait, these developments are slated to bring new business venues and living spaces to this current dead zone. The Valencia Building will replace Top Tune at 1502 S. El Camino Real. This finished redevelopment will be an approximate 5,072-square-foot, two-story commercial building with a restaurant on the first floor and office space available to lease on the second floor. The restaurant will feature an interior dining area of approximately 2,999 square feet and an outside patio of 750 square feet. Total seating will allow for about 92 patrons. Surface and underground parking will be available, with a drive-around access ramp for exiting through the back alley.
Letters to The Editor STREAMLINING LARRY CULBERTSON, president of the San Clemente Historical Society On March 8, the Planning Commission will be considering a proposal to streamline the process for getting a building San Clemente Times February 23-March 1, 2023
Twenty parking spots, plus bike racks, will be available on-site, along with overflow shared street parking. Intricate design elements adorn the property throughout, and a city-approved landscape plan ensures this entire project will have high curb appeal from all directions. The Caldava Mixed-Use Project will be constructed on the empty lots at 1430 S. El Camino Real. This approximately 23,545-square-foot, two-story mixed-use building will hold 10 apartment units on the top floor, office and retail space on the first floor, and subterranean parking for 49 vehicles. One of the resiTHE BUSINESS BUZZ dential units will BY JIM WYNNE be designated as “affordable at the low-income level” and must adhere to strict ongoing governmental standards for this designation. Unlike the other two develTHE BUSINESS opments mentioned BUZZ here, this is the BY ARROW SANTOS only project that runs just across the line of the Coastal Commission zoning boundary and will have to seek additional permissions for the construction. On the final corner, Tommy’s Restaurant will be torn down and replaced with the new Shoreline Dental facility. This will be an approximately 6,000-square-foot, two-story commercial building with a dental office on the first floor and general office suites upstairs. Shoreline Dental’s San Clemente location is currently at 122 Avenida Cabrillo. By revitalizing these yearslong unused
permit. The San Clemente Historical Society is concerned about the parts of that proposal that would diminish or remove the protection that historic buildings currently have. City Council gave city staff and the Planning Commission a directive to modify the Zoning Code to make getting a building permit faster and easier. But we do not think it was the intention of council to remove the safeguards that are in place to protect historic resources. The Zoning Code has evolved over
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HOW TO REACH US MANAGING EDITOR Shawn Raymundo • 949.388.7700, x113 sraymundo@picketfencemedia.com SPORTS Zach Cavanagh • 949.388.7700, x110 zcavanagh@picketfencemedia.com ADVERTISING Lauralyn Loynes • 949.388.7700, x102 lloynes@picketfencemedia.com DISTRIBUTION Racks, Driveways, Subscriptions Inna Cazares • 949.388.7700, x111 icazares@picketfencemedia.com GENERAL MANAGER Alyssa Garrett • 949.388.7700, x100 agarrett@picketfencemedia.com
PICKET FENCE MEDIA spaces along a significant transit corridor, these projects will provide crucial opportunities for living and working in San Clemente. As the SC beach kids of the 1990s and early 2000s begin to have children of their own, preparations are imperative now to meet the generational needs of future housing and employment options. Keep an eye on southwest San Clemente in the coming years. With a still bountiful harvest of unused land, a smattering of seriously declining older structures, and many original real estate owners aging out, we are sure to see additional infill housing and live/work projects thrive in this area for the next generation to continue the legacy of Ole Hanson’s dream. SC Jim Wynne, president of WynneCRE, is a San Clemente local, San Onofre Surfing Club president, and father of five, who serves as the immediate past chairman for the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce. Arrow Santos is a San Clemente native, professional writer/photographer and marketing director of WynneCRE. PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@sanclementetimes.com.
the years. There was a time, not long ago, when a permit to bulldoze an Ole Hanson Era building could be obtained “over the counter.” Today, not only are historic buildings protected, but the area of protection has been extended to include projects in the neighborhoods surrounding those buildings. The proposed amendment would allow many projects that now must go to the Planning Commission for approval to be rubber-stamped by Planning Department staff.
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San Clemente Times, Vol. 18, Issue 8. The SC Times (sanclementetimes.com ) is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the Dana Point Times (danapointtimes.com) and The Capistrano Dispatch (thecapistranodispatch.com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. San Clemente Times is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, 34932 Calle Del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at San Clemente, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: San Clemente Times, 34932 Calle Del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624.
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