San Clemente : City to Put Its Measure on Growth Before Voters

The City Council voted Wednesday to place its own proposed ordinance on the Feb. 25 special election ballot to oppose an initiative measure that would limit growth in the backcountry to 500 new homes a year.

On a 3-1 vote, the council adopted a resolution putting its alternative measure on the ballot, beating the deadline for such a move by just two days. Councilwoman Karoline Koester cast the lone opposing vote, saying: “If the city were secure in its planning, it would not have to put another issue on the ballot.”

Voters will now have the chance to vote yes or no on two proposed ordinances to manage the city’s unprecedented growth surge, which at its current pace would double San Clemente’s population in a little more than a decade.

If both measures pass, the one with the most votes would become law.

The city-sponsored ordinance, based on growth-management guidelines that are established in the city’s general plan, would prohibit the issuance of building permits for backcountry development unless there is “adequate provision for necessary public facilities and services.” The ordinance would also require that the development have a positive fiscal impact on the city’s budget, to be demonstrated by an independent consultant.

It would not set a numerical limit on the number of permits that could be issued in any one year but would continue to limit density in the backcountry to about 1.5 residential units per acre. Density for the existing residential areas south of Interstate 5 is about seven units per acre.

The managed-growth initiative, which was signed by 19% of the city voters during a two-month petition drive, would limit building permits for tract development to 500 a year. The permits would be allocated by a Residential Development Evaluation Board, which would grade each proposed development on a number of criteria, including the adequacy of public services, open space provisions and architectural design features.

Proponents of the resident-spawned initiative say that city services are already overburdened and cannot keep up with the building boom.