LOCAL ELECTIONS / SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO CITY COUNCIL : Balancing Business and Environment Is Primary Issue

Running for City Council here is fairly uncomplicated: Pledge to protect ridgelines, trees and the rustic charm of downtown.

But priorities on a handful of other issues are what separate the nine candidates vying for three seats on the City Council.

Voters on Nov. 8 will choose from among a field of more established city players, including incumbent Councilman Gil Jones, and newcomers to the political scene.

Besides Jones, 62, the owner of the Jones Family Mini Farm, the list of candidates includes Serge Kohan, 45, an import-export entrepreneur; Philipe Delgado Jr., 43, a business owner and consultant; John Greiner, 56, a human resources executive and Planning Commission chairman; Wyatt Hart, 58, a retired sheriff’s captain and Planning Commission member; Mario Pina, 39, a postal carrier; David Swerdlin, 51, a photographer; Steven Dallas, 43, a radiation therapist; and Carlos Negrete, 37, an attorney.

Some candidates are spending no money on the race, relying on word of mouth or neighborhood canvassing to reach voters.

One candidate--Hart--has received financial support from families whose bloodlines run deep here in one of California’s oldest cities.

Candidates say they want to lure new tax dollars into the city without detracting from its unique character.

Many also say they want to try to fight impacts from the outside, such as a county proposal to pile trash in the Prima Deshecha Landfill 80 feet above a ridgeline, or a countywide ballot initiative that calls for converting El Toro Marine Air Corps Station into a commercial airport.

On the dollar side, city officials for years have talked about turning six acres downtown into a centerpiece development, the Historic Town Center.

But the land has remained a weed-choked lot.

Jones said he is seeking a second term in part because he wants to implement a downtown plan. The city has recently unveiled five conceptual projects, ranging from a 28-room inn and 4,500 square feet of retail space to a 92-room inn and 26,000 square feet of retail.

“I didn’t get everything done that I wanted,” Jones said. “It’s not that I didn’t try. One person can’t dictate policy.”

Hart, who as of Sept. 30, had raised more than twice as much money as any other candidate, said his No. 1 concern is crime.

“San Juan Capistrano is not as bad as some of its sister cities, but for the people of San Juan, it’s too much,” Hart said of crime.

Hart said he also wants to better market the city as a destination place, which in turn would generate more retail dollars.

Greiner said the city needs to land a medium-size company that would help provide local jobs and merchandise for residents who must now drive to Mission Viejo or farther north to shop for certain retail goods.

He said the city should also help prospective businesses by taking a closer look at projects earlier in the permit process rather than kill them after the applicant has spent several thousand dollars on design work and fees.

Delgado, whose father founded Phil and Jim’s, a chain of appliance stores, agrees that the city needs a more business-friendly attitude.

“We don’t have anybody who goes out and meets person-to-person with businesses,” Delgado said. “We’ve got enough empty retail space to choke a horse.”

Pina said the city shouldn’t dither anymore on a reasonable scale of downtown redevelopment. Too many businesses stand to lose, he said.

Like Greiner, Kohan said he believes the city should court businesses that could serve as anchor tenants, provide jobs and bring more visitors to San Juan Capistrano.

Swerdlin, president of Friends of Historic San Juan, said the city must be diligent about protecting itself from urban growth surrounding it.

He said he also favors a “low- to moderate-density” development of the Historic Town Center.

The possibility of a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, has Dallas concerned, as well as the other candidates.

“If that airport goes in, our lifestyle is going to change dramatically,” Dallas said.

Negrete has been the most combative of the candidates, saying early in the campaign that he would best represent residents.

Negrete contends that an “old-guard network” of politicians has controlled city policy long enough.

“We don’t need a hotel downtown,” Negrete said. “That’s going to be a white elephant. Historic Town Center means the good old boys want to have a party.”

Longtime Councilman Gary L. Hausdorfer and first-term Councilman Jeff Vasquez will not seek reelection.