SAN CLEMENTE : Plaza Pacifica Plan Gets Commission OK

City planning commissioners have unanimously approved construction of Plaza Pacifica, a commercial center that will be the city’s largest.

The commissioners voted 4 to 0 Tuesday night to approve the 600,000-square-foot, Spanish-themed center, which will include 12 movie theaters, a food plaza, medical offices, several other major tenants and a gas station. Commissioner Mark Schmitt was absent.

“This is the biggest thing that has ever happened in San Clemente as far as a commercial project,” said Bonnie McKenna, a senior planner.

If approved by the City Council March 1, the 142-acre center will be built on Avenida Pico in San Clemente’s backcountry.

The project also includes 20 acres on which 145 single-family homes will be built at the rear of the center. Because of the importance of sales tax revenue, the commission ordered that the residential portion be built in stages after specific parts of the commercial center are complete, McKenna said.

As a first step, the project developer, Costa Mesa-based Ramser Development Co., must deposit a $650,000 letter of credit with the city and build a new road, a bike trail and other infrastructure, and install landscaping around the perimeter of the center, McKenna said. The new road, to be called Camino Vista Pacifica, will link Avenida Vista Hermosa with Avenida Pico.