SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Zoning Change OKd for Car Dealership

Camino Capistrano’s row of car lots will soon be joined by a new Toyota dealership on the former Rosan Ranch.

The City Council voted 4 to 1 Tuesday night to change the zoning on the old ranch, now called the San Juan Capistrano Gateway, to allow the new dealership next door to the city’s oldest car lot, Barwick Nissan.

Camino Capistrano, which can easily be seen from Interstate 5, now has dealerships for Honda, Saturn, Dodge and Nissan, with Toyota, Ford and Jeep Eagle on the way.

Councilwoman Carolyn Nash cast the dissenting vote, saying the dealership should have been required to limit the number of cars displayed along the highway. Other dealerships have been asked to limit their displays to 14 cars, Nash said.

“We will have nothing but a solid parking lot,” Nash complained, adding that cars will soon line the highway from Avenida Aeropuerto to the Rosan Ranch, which is located near the intersection of Camino Capistrano and Stonehill Drive.

“The way this is laid out, there will be 183 cars for this dealership, all in front of the building and visible from Camino Capistrano and the freeway,” Nash said.

Nash said the Barwick dealership caused the city to change its General Plan to limit the number of cars visible from the highway.

“This is exactly what we didn’t want to happen,” Nash said. “I’m getting mad about the absolute lack of concern about the goals we had in the city.”

Mayor Gil Jones said there is still time to consider the design of the dealership and address Nash’s concerns.

“I’m not saying I want to see a proliferation of cars, but the Planning Commission can deal with the architecture and design of the facility,” Jones said Thursday. “I think this is a good idea.”

Jones said the city needs the revenue that the car dealerships bring in.

“We have to get some revenue to deal with the real problems we have, like gangs and law enforcement,” Jones said. “This dealership is projected to bring in $360,000 a year to the city. You can’t overlook that.”