Community Corner

Commissioners Aim for Compromise in 3-Story Debate

Downtown property owners can apply to add a third story to their buildings, but they would face increased scrutiny and would have new incentives to make one- or two-story buildings economically viable.

That is, if the draft of San Clemente's Centennial General Plan is adopted as approved by the San Clemente Planning Commission Wednesday.

In a bid to build a compromise between warring factions, the commission in its review of the plan's Urban Design Element stopped short of implementing a three-story building ban in the city's historic downtown. But, their plan would make it more difficult to add a third story than it is now.

For instance, the draft plan requires any three-story building to include upper-floor setbacks from the street and sidewalk-facing patios on the ground level to "reduce the apparent scale and mass," of the building, according to the text of the draft.

Also, any plan for a third-story addition would have to be approved by the San Clemente City Council. In addition, property owners who own more than one adjacent lot -- though they could still develop a single building that covered all the lots -- would have to include design elements to break up the street frontage "so you don't get massive, monolithic facades," said city planner Jeff Hook.

Additionally, planner Jim Pechous included a provision by which the city could develop a streamlined design process or parking waivers to make developing one- or two-story buildings economically viable. He mentioned the now-defunct three-story Olen project planned for El Camino Real -- the developer pulled out after fierce opposition by the San Clemente Historical Society.

"One thing that was driving that Olen project to be so large was the requirement for public parking," Pechous said. "Part of this is driving one-story and two-story projects to make economic sense."

The general plan, a massive package of zoning, land use and other decisions that will shape development in San Clemente for decades, is in the final public review phase. Other elements of the plan will be up for final public debate over the next month, and it will then go to council for final approval.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here