SAN CLEMENTE : Water-Use Waiver Sought to Build Park

After enacting tough water laws to stave off a potential water crisis, the City Council will be asked by the city staff tonight to relax a restriction on land grading in order to build a public park.

Staff members say that grading on the proposed 22-acre Forrester Ranch Community Park can’t wait, because the site is next to Truman Benedict Elementary School. The noise and danger of heavy equipment next to the school make construction during the school year undesirable.

“We’re kind of stuck,” said Bruce Wegener, city parks and recreation manager. “If we obey the moratorium, we’d have to wait until school is in session and it’s dangerous to have to work next to an elementary school.”

Enacted in February, the conservation ordinance restricts lawn watering and prohibits construction that requires water. The law was passed in reaction to a water crisis last summer, when water use drained almost two-thirds of the city’s reserves.

So far, the council has taken a hard line on the issue, last month refusing to lift the ordinance to allow individuals to build single-family homes.

But Mayor Candace Haggard said she will have no problem voting to grant an exception in this case.

“I think it’s more of a safety issue than a water issue,” she said. “The water for this project has been in our plans all along.”

Delaying the project until next summer would not be fair to the growing Forrester Ranch community in east San Clemente that has been clamoring for city services, she said.

“Having a moratorium that doesn’t allow new homes is different than putting off people who have been here all along and have paid taxes for these city services,” she said.

If the council permits the grading, work will start after school lets out June 22, Wegener said.