Coastal Panel Delays Vote on Marblehead

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved a cell phone tower in Seal Beach, voted to scrutinize a spa in Dana Point and delayed ruling on a contentious plan to build a gated community and outlet center in San Clemente.

The commission, meeting in Los Angeles, unanimously approved a Verizon Wireless cell phone tower on the northern corner of Zoeter Field, a baseball field at 11th Street and Landing Avenue in Seal Beach.

The six-antenna, 50-foot tower was approved with two conditions: that any future antennas be erected in the same area and that if the tower becomes unnecessary, it will be removed and the site restored.

The state panel also unanimously agreed to examine a planned spa at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Dana Point. The proposed 32,276-square-foot spa would contain a beauty salon, boutique, lap pool, sun deck, whirlpool, sauna and other amenities.

But the project would also obstruct public access near the beach and other areas, according to the commission’s staff. Its report notes that although the plan takes steps to minimize effects on public access, the city’s approval of the plan includes no measures to ensure that the efforts are implemented and maintained.

Phillip Schwartze, president of the San Juan Capistrano-based PRS Group, a consultant on the project, said his company’s plan actually improves public access by upgrading a pedestrian walkway. He has said his firm is open to adding conditions to guarantee that public access is maintained.

A public hearing on the spa has not been set.

The most controversial Orange County project on the day’s agenda--the Marblehead project in San Clemente--was postponed. Marblehead Coastal Inc. of Irvine, the project’s managing partner, asked for a 60-day delay to respond to a critical Coastal Commission staff report that recommends denying the proposal.

Developers are allowed one postponement. Marblehead Coastal wants a public hearing at the March commission meeting in San Diego, but the date has not been set.

Under the developer’s proposal, the Marblehead site--250 acres once proposed as a site for the Nixon presidential library--would become a 424-home gated neighborhood, an outlet mall and retail center.

In a Dec. 28 report, the commission’s staff recommended that the state agency deny the project because the development “would dramatically transform the natural landforms.”

The project would destroy pristine canyons and wipe out rare vegetation, violating several sections of the state’s Coastal Act, the staff report says. The staff also said the developer failed to submit sufficient information about potential environmental damage.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Up for Votes

The California Coastal Commission approved a cell phone tower in Seal Beach, voted to scrutinize a proposed spa in Dana Point and delayed a public hearing on a gated community and outlet center in San Clemente.