Commission Says: Quash 3-Story Ban Downtown

The San Clemente Planning Commission Wednesday recommended that the city continue to allow for three-story buildings downtown in certain circumstances, rejecting calls for a ban on tall buildings.

The commissioners opted keep the city’s current zoning codes but agreed the city should make codes more restrictive to have greater control over the outcome of development and to preserve the “village character” of the city. But, the seven commissioners uniformly agreed an outright ban would be a "blunt instrument for such a subjective and visceral thing as village character," as Commission Jim Ruehlin put it.

Instead, commissioners wanted to control the look and feel of new construction with more stringent and specific codes such as requiring setbacks for any third story additions so buildings didn't loom over the street.

Commissioner Barton Crandell advocated that the city adopt "form-based codes," a relatively new governance tool used recently in cities like Fullerton to govern not only what buildings look like, but how they look compared to adjacent buildings, the public right-of-way and the street as a whole.

City Planner Jim Pechous pointed out that adopting form-based codes was a long and involved process. Also expensive.

Principle Planner Jeff Hook said third stories are subject to stringent review even under current codes.

In what has likely been San Clemente's most polarizing debate, route: {:controller=>"articles", :action=>"show", :id=>"3-story-ban-leads-to-heated-debate-decision-postponed"} --> since the 2011 battle over now-defunct the faction led by the