Eye on SC
Decision Time: Measure A Pro and Con of Playa del Norte Make Final Push for March 8 Vote By Stacie N. Galang San Clemente Times
L
ongtime San Clemente residents Jenifer Massey and Joan Thompson kindled a friendship nearly three decades ago after meeting professionally and realizing they had so much in common. Massey was a real estate agent and Thompson a title closer. Each had a child in San Clemente High School’s Class of 1984. Over the years, the pair has shared similar views about life and politics, but on March 8, they will check different boxes on Measure A, the referendum vote that will determine the fate of the Playa del Norte project at North Beach. “Joan and I agree on virtually everything else,” said Massey, who opposes the project. When voters head to the polls Tuesday, their decision will come down to whether they envision North Beach as Thompson does—in desperate need of the kind of revitalization that Playa del Norte can bring, or as Massey does—largely unchanged, free of new structures and parking as it is now. Voters will choose to deny or go forward with the Playa del Norte project proposed by developer LAB Holdings, owned by Shaheen and Linda Sadeghi. The Spanishrevival design will include 48,970 square feet of retail, restaurant, office and utility space. Thompson plans to cast her ballot in favor of the project slated for the triangle parking lot adjacent to North Beach. She believes it’s a way for the city to bring back a much-neglected area, add an amenity for the masses and increase revenue to San Clemente.
Community activist Charles Mann is opposed to the Playa del Norte Project and has backed efforts to vote no on Measure A. Photo by Stacie N. Galang
San Clemente Times March 3–9, 2011
A view of North Beach from the lawn outside the Ole Hanson Beach Club. The parking area is proposed for the Playa del Norte project. Photo by Stacie N. Galang
“The other privately owned properties are in disrepair, and they’re never going to have any incentive to improve without the city taking this step of making this improvement,” said Thompson, who has canvassed the city handing out Yes-on-A flyers to residents. Massey intends to vote no to preserve the beach parking. She also questions the viability of the project and its ability to attract tenants. Massey dislikes that the property had been acquired by eminent domain four decades ago and could be purchased by the LAB. The retired real estate agent would prefer an expanded park to Playa del Norte, which will feature restaurants and food-based retail businesses. A park would benefit more people, she said. “Everybody can enjoy a park,” Massey said, who has shown up weekly at the No-on-A table at the Sunday Farmer’s Market. “Not everybody can afford those restaurants.” She believes Playa del Norte, which will take the triangle parking lot and a parcel along El Camino Real for parking, blocks the Pacific Ocean. “The problem with this project is this location,” she said. “On the beachfront, it takes away our views.” For Thompson, Playa del Norte actually adds views. “I love to go Fisherman’s and have a glass of wine and watch sunsets with friends,” she said. “I would also like to have a choice. I think having another choice of ocean-fresh wining and dining is a good idea.” The retired title closer doesn’t think a park will work on the site. The area lacks space and would cost San Clemente to create and maintain. Currently, the city has no plan for a park on the site, though the group North Beach Green Alternative has been advocating for a park. Thompson also approves of the LAB’s Spanish-revival design for the property and the company’s background as an
environmentally conscious business that appeals to a wide breadth of age groups. The Pier Bowl as it is attracts an older crowd, she said. “We have an aging population in San Clemente,” Thompson said. “You can’t forget the many other age groups also, and they like things that are little more worldly.” On the issue of eminent domain, Thompson said the property owners have their opportunity to object four decades ago. The city’s acquisition of the parcels didn’t forever pin the property down for one purpose. “I hope we don’t miss this opportunity,” Thompson said. Massey simply does not think Playa del Norte provides for the greater good. For so many reasons, she can’t support the project and hopes to preserve the site for future generations. “I feel like I’m a guardian of a trust,” she said. The Stakeholders Shaheen Sadeghi and his wife Linda Sadeghi started their Little American Businesses, or LAB, in the early 1990s. The couple, both graduates of Platt Institute, arrived in California in 1979 and worked in the surf industry before deciding to start their own business, which they dub a cultural engineering company. They opened the LAB in Costa Mesa, which would later become known as the anti-mall. The couple was hoping to tap into a disconnected youth market and bring them vibe like New York City’s SoHo or Pasadena’s Old Towne. “I ran the two largest surf companies on the planet,” he said. “These people are not into malls.” Their business would grow out of the idea, which included sustainability. Shaheen Sadeghi said the word “green” didn’t really exist in the 1990s nor was it fashionable. Across from their first project, they would later open CAMP in Costa Mesa.
Page 6
For North Beach, Shaheen Sadeghi said the company was invited by the city to apply as a developer. The LAB was one of three finalists and eventually emerged as the city’s top pick by a unanimous vote of the City Council in June 2006. “We wanted to have a sense of authenticity so it really didn’t look like chrome,” he said of their plan. Following their selection, the city held community meetings on the project and in February 2008 they began what they called master plan discussions about parking and circulation. By November 2008, the concept went to the voters as a non-binding referendum under Measure W. Based on the results, Playa Del Norte was reduced from 65,000-square-ft to a gross square footage of 48,970. The concept went to the Planning Commission last spring and was approved by a 6-1 vote and passed on to the City Council, which also agreed by a 3-2 vote. Within weeks, residents concerned about the project collected enough 7,500 signatures to bring the latest version to the voters again under Measure A. Among those collecting signatures was Charles Mann, who moved to San Clemente with his wife and children 30 years ago and in recent years has emerged as a powerful voice on development. Mann, a one-time candidate for City Council, entered the political fray in 2007 to fight the expansion of housing at Pacific Golf and Country Club. “I’m a passionate guy,” said Mann, a businessman and developer. “I love everything I do.” At the time, he objected to course owner Michael Rosenfeld’s plans to shrink the greens from 27 holes to 18 and use the leftover space to build 224 houses and 35 senior villas on 50.5 acres of land. “Open space, once it’s gone, it’s gone,” he said. He would eventually become a backer of the group Save San Clemente Open Space and play a key role in bringing the referendum Measure C to voters who nixed Pacific Golf’s plans. Mann now sees himself as a community watchdog. “We’re not going to let the City Council get away with trying to ruin the city,” he said. “You can’t do things wrong and get away with it.” On the current referendum, he estimated he would spend $30,000 of his own money to fight the Playa del Norte project. In July, he loaned his political action committee $21,114.16, according to filings with the city clerk’s office. “I am bound and determined not to let this happen,” Mann said. Advocating their side Others have sided with Mann in their fight against Playa Del Norte. Vonne Barnes, who has lived in San Clemente since 1987, created North Beach Green Alternative with her husband Tom Barnes, and the couple has been lobbying against the project. www.sanclementetimes.com