SOAPBOX
Letters to the Editor (cont.) MOVING FORWARD WITH PARK PLAN FOR NORTH BEACH Vonne Barnes, San Clemente
After a decisive defeat of Measure A on March 8, the City Council is now free to move ahead with Ole Hanson Beach Park at North Beach. North Beach Green Alternative has launched a new website, OleHansonBeachPark.com, that is devoted entirely to the new park. The new park will fulfill Ole Hanson’s vision of a seaside park at North Beach. Beachfront property will continue to be owned and controlled by the public, and park use will be consistent with (the city’s) Resolution 69-70. The triangle was taken by eminent domain in a unanimous vote of the City Council for use as …“public parking, park, and public use.” Ole Hanson Beach Park will extend the rolling green lawn on the northwest side of Ole Hanson Beach Club and replace 29 spaces of the triangle. With 46 new parking spaces on a city-owned vacant lot on El Camino Real between Ichibiri’s (Japanese Restaurant) and Kaylani’s (Coffee Company), there will be a net gain of 16 spaces. Ole Hanson Beach Park will create beautiful park and ocean views for the surrounding historic district and increase open space for light recreation. Historic coral trees and signature palms will be preserved to provide shade, beauty and to protect against climate change. Green lawns will replace shrubbery in the center of the triangle so that the public can use the area to enjoy ocean views and a picnic lunch. Visitors will be able to walk from the center of the park in any direction to the beach, Ole Hanson Beach Club, Casino, Miramar, Metrolink, bike rental, Kaylani’s, flower shop, Ichibiri, parking, two Orange County Transportation Authority bus stops and 7-Eleven. North Beach Green Alternative launched OleHansonBeachPark.com at City Council on March 15 with presentations by architect Ricardo Nicol and Tom and Vonne Barnes. If you missed it, council meetings are shown on Channel 854 on Thursdays at 2 p.m. and Saturdays at 12 p.m., and in the city’s video library at www.san-clemente. org/Videos/VideoList.aspx or to learn more at OleHansonBeachPark.com and send your park ideas to northbeachgreenalternative@cox.net
The Casino is considered to be one of several historic sites in North Beach. File photo
BE CAREFUL, SAN CLEMENTE Frank Martin, San Clemente
Measure A is history. The people have spoken. But I think everyone in San Clemente should read the letter from Charles Mann very carefully (SC Times, March 17). Good people can disagree on many issues, but I would like to think that they would keep their arguments civil and to the point. Not so with Mr. Mann. He calls his opponents “bullies.” Those on the City Council who were for (developer) LAB project, he labels “minions” of dark, out-of-town forces. He impugns the character of all the folks who worked for Measure A, has the nerve to say that we “… called them names and accused them of acts that only (we) would commit.” That is rude and insulting to every person in San Clemente who believed that the LAB project was a good idea. Be careful, San Clemente. Is this selfappointed, so-called “watchdog” someone you really want driving the fortunes of our city?
REVITALIZATION STARTS NOW Sam La Sala, San Clemente
YOU’RE INVITED!
8 a.m. Friday, April 15 at Café Calypso Please join us the first and third Friday of every month for our open community forum.
San Clemente Times April 7–13, 2011
Now that Measure A is behind us, the “urgency of now” is to finally address the revitalization of the Miramar and how this endeavor is interwoven with the proposed Ole Hanson Beach Park. Some communities have gone through much effort and expense to move their historical buildings from other locations and cluster them in or around a park-like setting. In San Clemente, we are fortunate enough to have three, prized historical structures in close proximity to one another already at North Beach. These
are the Casino, the Miramar Theater and the Ole Hanson Beach Club. The addition of the Ole Hanson Beach Park with some directional and interpretative signage will provide cohesion and connectivity to these buildings and serve to accentuate the historical importance of North Beach to residents and visitors alike. Many visitors are attracted to the historical resources of their vacation or day-trip venue. Such attractions such as historical buildings, museums and historical parks entice them to stay longer and spend more money to the betterment of local businesses and the city’s coffers. If ever there was a moral imperative to revitalize the Miramar so it can play its crucial role in this scenario, it is now. Let’s build the Ole Hanson Beach Park and revitalize the Miramar. Both of these—and let’s find a way to do it soon.
COURTNEY’S SANDCASTLE: GOOD IDEA, BAD PLAN FOR CITY Larry Culbertson, San Clemente
Courtney’s SandCastle is back in the news. On April 5, our City Council will be asked to approve the expenditure of $182,215 for a 400-square-foot, two toilet restroom to go into this special park for handicapped children. You may recall that last May our City Council authorized the expenditure of $658,000 to build phase one of Courtney’s SandCastle. I have argued unsuccessfully over the past several years that what they were proposing to build was far too elaborate. The park will have: Wind chimes ($3,500), a raised tide pool ($8,000), sound panels ($10,000), an interactive water feature ($10,000), raised circular garden plants ($23,000), sensory garden plants ($25,000), a floating marble ball fountain ($75,000) and much more.
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I say their design is far too elaborate because we have visited all of the universally accessible parks we could find from Shane’s Inspiration in Griffith Park to Pittsford Park in Lake Forrest. None of them have the expensive, high-maintenance elements listed above. They all have simple, off-the-shelf, play structures like you see at any playground. The accessible capability is incorporated in subtle ways. The structures have bright colors and interesting shapes to stimulate the visual senses of children. The surfaces around the equipment are rubberized, so that wheelchairs have access. Ramps go up to catwalks for wheelchairs. They also have plastic panels with Braille letters, interesting shapes and moving parts for sight-impaired children. When you combine the $658,000 for phase one, the $326,000 for phase two and the $182,000 for that tiny restroom, the total comes to $1.17 million. That sure seems like a lot of money to build one little park. For what the proponents want to spend on Courtney’s SandCastle, we could have retrofitted five existing parks to have universally accessible equipment. The $182,215 restroom on the agenda Tuesday night is ridiculously overpriced, may not be necessary, and should not be built at all without a funding source, which it does not have now. That price works out to $455 per square foot. Don’t we have hungry contractors who will build for $300 per foot? There are restrooms located in the pool house and at the baseball and soccer complexes near Courtney’s SandCastle. Wouldn’t it be prudent to wait to see if we have enough money left after the rest of the sports park is built before we charge forward? It is not as if the builder is going to give us a good deal; it seems just the opposite. Please let the City Council know that we are watching the way they spend our money. We just do not have enough for them to cavalierly throw it at fancy castles.
AVAILABLE: A GLOBAL VACATION EXPERIENCE JUsT DOWNTOWN Lou Leto, San Clemente
With the rapidly rising costs of fuel impacting personal budgets already penalized by a challenging economy, expenditures for vacation plans may be limited. Daily, newscasters report the security shakedown hassles of air travel and increasing baggage charges. This time of the year, families tend to try to solve the mystery of where to go? This year, be creative and imaginative. Did you realize that you could take advantage of a budget-friendly adventure to explore the cultures of Ireland, England, Italy, Egypt, Japan, France, Thailand, Mexico, Spain, China, France, and other foreign destinations? Surprisingly, travelers from San Clemente will not need a passport for a multi-cultural tour, can avoid long security lines, will eliminate packing and unpacking, still taste exotic foods, discover unique (Cont on page 18) www.sanclementetimes.com