San Clemente : 500 in Capistrano Beach Opposed to Annexation

A petition signed by nearly 500 residents of Capistrano Beach opposing annexation of a 3 1/2-mile strip of the community by San Clemente was delivered Thursday to the head of the county Local Agency Formation Commission.

Although San Clemente has not annexed any of Capistrano Beach for the last decade, save a 3.3-acre parcel for a resort hotel site last July, many residents of the unincorporated area believe San Clemente is an “annexation-happy” entity bent on gobbling it up.

At a town meeting in Capistrano Beach last week, some 250 residents met to discuss strategies for removing the option San Clemente holds on the strip.

Some residents of Capistrano Beach argue that whatever they would get in exchange for becoming part of San Clemente would not be worth the trouble it would entail.

Robert Siedel, president of the Capistrano Beach Chamber of Commerce, said the sewer and water services San Clemente could provide Capistrano Beach would not give residents anything they did not already have and would only cost them additional taxes.

Other residents complained that San Clemente’s often stormy political scene has caused them to think twice about becoming part of the city.

Siedel cited the numerous recall drives against city officials as one reason for concern.

San Clemente City Manager Jim Hendrickson said Thursday, “We stand ready to take on the area if and when the residents are ready for it . . . but we’re not going on a land grab.”

Ken Scattergood, assistant executive director of the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission, said many of the complaints Capistrano Beach residents have go back nearly two decades, when San Clemente aggressively annexed much of their town.

“Back in the 1960s there were annexations,” he said. “Those objections are largely historical.”

On June 5, the Local Agency Formation Commission will hear public testimony and take a vote to determine whether the city can continue to to keep a 3 1/2-mile strip of unincorporated county land on the coast south of Camino de Estrella.