SAN CLEMENTE : City Says WHOA to Tire Shop Plan

Faced with overwhelming opposition from residents, a divided City Council this week rejected a bid from a local tire shop to move into a vacant bank building on El Camino Real.

About 100 people crowded into the council chambers Wednesday night, most of them opposed to Winston Tire Co.’s proposal to expand its repair and sales shop by moving from 2310 S. El Camino Real to the former Wells Fargo Bank building at 724 S. El Camino Real.

Residents who live on Avenida Cadiz and Trafalgar Lane near the bank building--many of whom were wearing badges reading WHOA (Winston Has Our Attention)--said they believed the tire shop would bring unwelcome noise and traffic into their quiet neighborhood, one of the oldest in San Clemente.

“We certainly are not anti-business,” said Russ Calisch, who owns a historical 1928 home on Avenida Cadiz next to the bank building. “We’re not discouraging Winston Tire from being in San Clemente--they’re already here. We just don’t feel it’s appropriate for them to put (the shop) here.”

“It will drastically change the character of the neighborhood,” added Ed Lesneski, owner of Lesneski Mortuary on South El Camino Real. “The noise level would be intolerable.”

Like other residents in the neighborhood, Dan and Annette Bowman said they would have no problem with the bank building being used by another similar professional business. They said the tire shop, which would have been open seven days a week starting as early as 7:30 a.m., was just the “wrong store in the wrong place.”

“We bought our home here almost eight years ago. Banks have been (on the corner) from the beginning,” Dan Bowman said. “If there had been a tire store there, I doubt we would have bought here.”

However, Winston Tire representative Jack Hunter said the shop would generate less traffic than the bank did, and the noise wouldn’t be nearly as bad as the neighbors believe. “We try to be good neighbors,” he said. “We’re not an evil empire.”

After hearing lengthy testimony from about 20 people, the council voted 3 to 2 to overturn a Feb. 16 Planning Commission decision allowing Winston Tire to move in the vacant building.

“I just can’t see this business being compatible in that neighborhood,” Councilman Joseph Anderson said. “It’s not just the noise, it’s the type of noise. The hours of operation are not compatible with a residential neighborhood.”

Anderson also said he was worried about noise from the tire shop interfering with funeral services at Lesneski Mortuary, located one door down from the bank building.

Councilman Scott Diehl voted in favor of the move, saying Winston Tire’s plan met all city codes and steps had been taken to lessen potential noise problems. Mayor Truman Benedict also joined Diehl in the dissent, saying he wanted to delay a decision until a sound study could be done.

Councilman Thomas Lorch, who voted against the move, said he hopes that Winston Tire officials will meet with the city’s Economic Development Committee to find another location in San Clemente.

The tire shop proposal had passed through the Community Design Commission and Planning Commission without opposition before residents mobilized in early March and filed an appeal with the City Council.

Residents said they didn’t know about the proposal earlier in the planning process because initial notices sent to them left the impression that Winston Tire was planning to expand at its current location.