DANA POINT : Bus Yard Creates Speculators’ Interest

It is the type of tract that is fast becoming extinct in South County--five acres of open land within walking distance of the beach.

The tract, just below Interstate 5 in sleepy Doheny Village, is a parking lot, repair and storage yard for 139 Capistrano Unified School District buses. But soon it could be the site of a development of some sort, since the district has indicated that it wants to move its bus yard.

The proposed move has realtors in the area salivating, said Bill Dawson, school district facilities manager.

“I’ve never had such a piece of property in my life that so many people wanted,” Dawson said.

But before speculators can fight for the treasured land, they must provide the district with an alternate site for a new bus yard, Dawson said.

“The yard is really not for sale, it’s for swap,” Dawson said.

Although developers would probably be amenable to such a swap, the problem, Dawson said, is finding another South County site of at least five acres, in an area that will not object to the traffic and the noise and pollution caused by a bus yard that operates five days a week.

“Our buses all start up about 6 a.m. I live in Dana Point, and when an east wind is blowing, I can almost smell the diesel fuel,” he said. “We don’t want to take what is viewed as a problem in one neighborhood and move it to another.”

One interested buyer is the Capistrano Bay Park and Recreation District, which owns and operates the parks in the city. Park directors have already visualized ball fields, tennis courts and a senior center for the acreage, said Dave Lewis, the district administrator.

But Lewis is aware of the constraints on the deal.

“A lot of different elements have to fall into place to make it happen for us,” Lewis said. “Our board of directors is very strong in its desire to make it happen, but we’re also very cautious.”

The park district is awaiting an appraisal on the yard. In the meantime, Lewis has proposed an eight-acre site along San Juan Creek in San Juan Capistrano for the bus yard. The site now lists for $6 million, and Lewis estimates that it could take as much as another $2 million to rebuild the bus yard facility.

But Lewis and the park district are not the only suitors with their eyes on the acreage, Dawson said.

“I realize we are sitting on one of the last of the prime acreage where you can walk to the beach,” he said. “We are open to anything that can get us out of here to (another) site.”