San Clemente Council Raises Issues About Military Project

The City Council on Wednesday night authorized Mayor Scott Diehl to send a letter of concern to the U.S. Marine Corps that city officials have over a proposed military residential development.

By a 5-0 vote, the council approved a letter that addresses questions about the project, including design, traffic and impact on city parks.

More than two dozen people, mostly in favor of the Marine Corps project, turned out for the council meeting.

Joe Oliver, a past commander of the San Clemente chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars, drew applause when he criticized the council over its initial draft of the letter. “We believe you are taking the low road in your response at the request of a vocal but wealthy minority,” he said.

The Marine Corps wants to build duplexes for 128 Marine officer families on San Mateo Point, a bluff top just south of the San Diego County line and across from some of San Clemente’s most beautiful and expensive homes.

Marine officials say the project is badly needed because of a severe housing shortage at Camp Pendleton, where more than 30,000 Marines are stationed.

Although not required to consult civilian authorities about the project, which is planned on federal land, the military had asked city officials for their opinions.

City Planner Jim Barnes said before the council meeting that the duplexes would not serve the “highest and best use” for the land. That phrase, which was contained in the initial draft of the letter, was deleted by the council after Councilwoman Candace Haggard suggested that the letter take “a more friendly tone.”

Barnes said earlier that the property is near large homes, and would be better suited for a development offering similar housing.

Barnes said city planners want a guarantee that certain design amenities would be made so the military housing would be compatible with the nearby civilian homes.

A few hundred residents near the proposed development have signed petitions against the project, which Marines have said will blend in with the communities of Cyprus Cove, the Breakers, Cotton Point, and Cyprus Shore.

Marine Corps officials plan to spend between $6 million and $10 million on the project, which is 7% more than is usually spent on military housing, in an effort to make it attractive.

The plan calls for two-story buildings with stucco walls and tile roofs to mix in with the city’s Spanish architecture. The units would have two and three bedrooms. There would also be open spaces, a jogging path and play lots for small children.

Marine Lt. David Steele, a base spokesman, said Wednesday that the project would take from a year to 18 months to build. It would cover 40 acres, eight of which would remain open space, Steele said.

Michael Koehn, who began building a new 2,500-square-foot house Wednesday in Cyprus Cove, said the Marines Corps could find other locations at Camp Pendleton base for the duplexes.

“One of the best things about San Clemente is that it is funky California,” Koehn said. “It is one of the last places left that is not overbuilt.”