SAN CLEMENTE : Council to Air Appeal Against Movie Theater
Residents who object to plans for a six-screen movie theater near their hillside homes are appealing the Planning Commission’s recent approval of the project.
The City Council will consider the appeal at its Dec. 20 meeting, principal city planner Bob Goldin said.
The 43,000-square-foot project was approved Nov. 14 over the protests of people who live next to the 2.4-acre site on Camino de los Mares. They argued that the project would bring increased noise, traffic and pollution to their Sea Pointe Estates neighborhood.
“It’s an overambitious use of a very small lot,” said resident Tara Madden, who organized a petition drive against the project. “The street is already crammed full of cars. I think it’s a real danger.”
The commission maintains that the project meets city zoning requirements and that the site has been zoned for commercial use for years. “We are trying to accommodate their concerns where possible,” Goldin said.
The theater complex, to open in May, would include a restaurant and shops and would be the city’s first multiscreen cinema, with seating capacity for 1,260 moviegoers.
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