Council Approves Spending $104,000 on Study of Trail

Even though City Council members are skeptical about whether a coastal trail can be built along San Clemente’s shoreline, they’re spending $104,000 in grant money to find out.

Proponents say the trail will stimulate beach-side business, encourage future commercial development and offer safe crossings over the railroad tracks that lie between the beach and Pacific Coast Highway.

The stability of the bluffs is a concern if the trail is built there, while the threat from storm-driven waves and tides will arise if the trail is built on the ocean side of the tracks, Associate City Planner Jim Pechous said.

Talk of building such a trail has gone on since the 1960s, he said, but $1.4 million in state and federal grant money to plan and build one became available only within the last year. The cost of the engineering study on the trail’s primary section is coming from that pool, and the work will take until about June, Pechous said.

But San Clemente residents have expressed concerns that once the trail is built, their already cash-strapped city will have to find money to maintain it.

And last week, Councilwoman Lois R. Berg said she fears the city will be vulnerable to huge repair costs if some sections of the trail are submerged or damaged in storms.

“I think the timing is so poor on this from a financial standpoint,” Berg said. “I think this trail is asking us to face up to liabilities that are unimaginable.”

San Clemente Mayor Patrick M. Ahle acknowledged the city has no idea if it will be able to pull off the project.

“But we’re not going to know unless we find out,” he said. “The money we’re investing right now is going to find out if we’re going to be able to do this.”

The council ended up approving the study, 3 to 1, with Berg opposing and Councilman Jim Dahl absent.