SAN CLEMENTE : Residents Criticize Pier-Area Resort Plan

Planners seeking opinions about a proposed 123-room luxury resort near the San Clemente Pier received a mostly negative reaction from residents during an informational meeting this week.

More than 35 residents, most of whom were concerned about potential resort-related increases in traffic, blocked ocean views and destruction of buildings with possible historic value, attended Tuesday night’s meeting, which was sponsored by planners working on environmental impact reports for possible development in the city’s seaside Pier Bowl area.

“The traffic down in that area is a disaster, at best, now,” said Dan Huard, voicing one of the major concerns of residents at the meeting.

Others termed the proposed resort, which would be built in place of the 50-year-old Beachcomber Motel and 66-year-old Robison house, an “environmental eyesore.”

Only a handful of residents in the audience were in support of the proposal, mainly because of the additional tax revenue it would bring to the city.

The proposed Radisson resort, which is only in the preliminary planning stages, is just one part of a larger plan that will ultimately guide redevelopment and preservation in the 68-acre Pier Bowl.

The Pier Bowl, with its small winding streets and mix of older homes, businesses and recreational areas, was designed in the 1920s by city founder Ole Hanson as the blueprint for his “Spanish Village by the Sea” vision.

City officials recently hired Cotton/Beland Associates Inc. to conduct two detailed environmental studies, one for the 96,771-square-foot Radisson resort hotel proposal and the other for the larger plan that will guide development in the area.

The proposed resort, which would also require approval by the California Coastal Commission, would vary in height from two to five stories, and would include a restaurant and bar, conference rooms, a health club and four levels of underground parking, according to planners.

Two independent studies, one sponsored by Beachcomber property owner Robert Laidlaw and the other by the city, indicate that the resort would need at least 123 rooms to be economically viable.

Other potential projects in the Pier Bowl include the construction of a hotel at the city-owned Casa Romantica, expansion of public parking lots, development of a bluff top and beach walk, improvements to Linda Lane Park and changes in the Amtrak train depot at the foot of the pier.

In the studies, which will be complete in February, planners will analyze possible effects development would have on such things as air quality, traffic and historical resources. Planners will also propose solutions or alternatives for problems.

The documents, required by state law, will be used by the City Council to help make its decision about the resort and the Pier Bowl plan sometime this summer. Comments made by residents during the meeting will be incorporated into the two environmental documents, planners said.