San Clemente : Palizada Complex OKd but Not Canyon Parking

Plans for a 13-unit apartment complex to be built at the edge of a San Clemente canyon received Coastal Commission approval, but the 12-member panel rejected a proposal to fill part of the canyon to provide room for a 29-space parking lot.

“The intent of that condition was to prevent any sort of filling or overhanging structures in the canyon area, which is consistent with the canyon preservation provisions of San Clemente’s local coastal plan,” said Chris Kroll, a Coastal Commission staff consultant.

The developer, Palizada Properties of San Clemente, will be required to return revised site plans for the development, to be located at 248 Avenida Palizada, to the commission for its approval, Kroll said.

The parking requirement still has to be met, he said, but because the number of parking spaces are tied to the number of apartments, Palizada Properties may have to “scale down their project.”

Frank Germick, one of the owners of the site and the contractor who will be building the complex, said he hopes to begin work on the project within two months. When work is completed, probably in a year, the entire development will be set aside for low-income residents, with the one- and two-bedroom apartments renting for between $550 and $650 a month.