SAN CLEMENTE : City Seeks to Buy Former Pageant Site

The city is considering buying a former pageant site that could be converted into a neighborhood park.

The City Council voted in closed session Thursday to investigate purchasing the 59-acre former site of the Cristianitos Pageant in the Forster Ranch subdivision near San Juan Capistrano, said City Manager Mike Parness.

The property is in the midst of foreclosure and the city could buy it for about $260,000, the amount of taxes that are owed to the county, Parness said.

The site is owned by San Clemente Hills Inc., a private group that has been trying unsuccessfully to develop the property into a golf course, Parness said.

But a recent announcement from the county that the land would be auctioned for the amount of taxes owed opened the door for the city, he said.

“We can as a public agency have the first shot at the property for the minimum bid,” Parness said.

The council has authorized Parness to send a letter to the county that the city is interested in the property and to conduct a title search to make sure there are no other claims on the land or geologic problems.

Property owners have 30 days to come up with the tax money or they will lose the property, Parness said. He estimated that the city should know about such a purchase “within three months.”

San Clemente would purchase the land with park acquisition funds collected from developer permit fees.

Parness called the property, located at the base of a ridgeline near the San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente boundary, “an ideal place for a neighborhood park.”

Although more than 1,000 homes have been constructed in Forster Ranch, the city has yet to develop a major park in the area.

For many years, the site was used for the outdoor Cristianitos Pageant, which celebrated the first baptism in California.