San Clemente : Developers Get City OK to Submit Plans

Parts of a housing development and golf course were approved by the City Council this week as entries in an upcoming drawing for a limited number of building permits issued every year.

In a 4-1 vote, the council agreed to allow developers of the Talega Valley project to submit plans for 338 homes, the first segment of a proposed 5,000-home development. Talega Valley, the city’s next major inland development, is planned for 3,510 acres in San Clemente and unincorporated Orange County.

Although the council agreed to the initial plans submitted by the Arvida Co., whether the full 338 homes will be built won’t be decided until the city doles out its annual 500 building permits. The limit was established by a 1986 voter initiative known as Measure B.

Talega Valley is separated into two projects, a 1,604-acre development in eastern San Clemente called Champion Hills, and a 1,906-acre development under county jurisdiction called Rolling Hills.

Each plan includes an 18-hole golf course, commercial sites and a mix of housing, developers said. The council on Wednesday also tentatively approved construction of three holes of the proposed Champion Hills golf course.