SAN CLEMENTE : Redevelopment Was Limited to Pier in ’90

Redevelopment in this seaside city over the last year was limited to repairing the city pier after plans for a project to restore a historic home fell through, according to a recent city report.

The city’s relatively small redevelopment area includes the bluff-top Casa Romantica, built as a private residence for San Clemente’s founder in the mid-1920s, and the area just below it, known as the Pier Bowl. This includes the parking area and residential streets surrounding the municipal pier on Avenida Victoria.

Although lofty plans to upgrade both areas were expected to be in place by now, the city was forced to put them on hold when Ratkovich Co., a Los Angeles-based developer selected to restore Casa Romantica, dropped out of the project after its reconstruction plans drew public opposition. The city purchased the home in 1989 for $2 million with the intent of preserving it as a landmark.

Delaying the plans for Casa Romantica also delayed a Pier Bowl Master Plan that proposes to redesign city parking areas and provide more commercial opportunities near the pier. Also on hold are plans to expand the Fisherman’s Restaurant at the base of the pier.

Previously discussed plans for the Pier Bowl included a small hotel and a restaurant on the hillside just below Casa Romantica, as well as a multilevel parking structure. But a public outcry against such drastic changes forced city officials to scale back the plans.

Redevelopment agency profits of $915,000 from the 1989-90 fiscal year are projected to increase by only $100,000 in fiscal year 1990-91, because the city does not plan on acquiring more property, according to the report.

“Based on the revenue picture for next year, most of the (profits) will be from tax-increment funding,” said Assistant Financial Director Mike White.

Required property taxes in the redevelopment area are frozen at 1975 levels, when the redevelopment agency was founded, White explained. The city profits from the difference between 1975 and current-year property values for the land, he said.

The agency also sets aside 20% of its funds to assist with home improvements for low-income families, White said. The agency so far has collected about $640,000 for this purpose, according to the report.