San Clemente : Officials Trying to Meet Nixon to Push Library

San Clemente officials are trying to set up a meeting with former President Richard M. Nixon to convince him that San Clemente is still the best site for his long-stalled Presidential Library.

San Clemente Mayor Holly Veale said Friday that she and Councilman Brian Rice are seeking the session with Nixon because City Council members are concerned about a meeting last month between Nixon and Yorba Linda City Manager Art Simonian. The two discussed putting the library on a site adjacent to Nixon’s birthplace on Yorba Linda Boulevard.

Earlier this month, after protracted talks, the San Clemente City Council approved a 253-acre development by the Lusk Co. of Irvine that would include the library. However, officials have said approval of zoning and design requirements could take another year.

“We know that this time lag upsets proponents of the library,” Veale said. “We know that President Nixon wants the library approved quickly. We want to meet with him to personally let him know that we want the library here and that we are making good progress in the approval process.”

Veale said that she did not know when she and Rice would meet with Nixon in New York but that arrangements were being made with the resigned president’s staff.