San Clemente : Council Faces Decision on Growth Limitation

The City Council must decide on Wednesday whether to adopt as an ordinance or hold a special election on a initiative that would limit construction of new homes to 500 a year.

Petitioners to place the initiative on the ballot gathered 3,287 verifiable signatures--or 19% of the city’s 17,000 voters--according to the county registrar of voters. Dr. Brian Rice and Jim Lorch, initiators of the “managed-growth” petition, needed the signatures of only 15% of the electorate to force a vote.

The council may simply choose to adopt the ordinance, but that is considered unlikely since the city’s growth plan calls for about 1,000 homes to be built annually over the next 10 to 15 years. Building fees from the back-country construction boom are underwriting essential city services, according to Greg Hulsizer, assistant to the city manager.

The council’s only other option is to set a special election for Feb. 25, City Clerk Myrna Erway said. The election will cost the city about $25,000.

Builders and some city officials who oppose the 500-home limit say it would prevent them from developing a good mix of commercial property and medium- and higher-priced homes. Instead, they say, developers would be forced to concentrate on building expensive, high-profit homes.