But eventually the city felt enough momentum and economic vitality to go forward with the Town Center revitalization. But with the economy tanking, no action was taken for many years. This ordinance, and all its plans, which totaled about $19 million, was passed in 2008, and received approval from the California Coastal Commission, which oversees land use concerns in the state’s coastal regions. It required developers to provide parking according to existing city code (more on that later) and allowed developers to create off-site parking to meet their parking requirements or pay to offset costs of creating their required spaces elsewhere, called in-lieu fees.Īnd the last major thing the original plan determined was the building heights in the Town Center area could not exceed 40 feet and three stories, measured from the level of the sidewalk at the midpoint of the front property line. It also called to make Del Prado and PCH two-way roads.Īlso notably, the city recognized that “accessible and convenient public parking is essential to the health and the vitality of the Town Center.” The original plan said that “it is expected that the City Council would acquire land in the Town Center for a centralized parking facility(ies) funded by fees from new building construction and located in a parking district.” It laid out in policy that the city would, at least, create an off-street parking district, and would also provide “opportunities for shared parking” in the area-parking spots that users of multiple businesses and residences can use. This included the creation of pedestrian courtyards, art features, centrally located public restrooms, safety buffers between sidewalks and roads, and more. The city recognized that a “mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly environment” would encompass what they heard designers, developers and residents say they wanted. Number One was to “Keep the family-oriented, beach community character of Dana Point.” The city mailed meeting notices to business and property owners in the surrounding neighborhoods to get their insight into the process-in all, over 300 newspaper articles were published in local papers.Īnd in June 2005, the Council adopted 10 guiding principles to use going forward with the Town Center development. Over the course of a year, the Town Center Subcommittee held 30 public meetings to get input into what residents wanted in the Town Center area and to share design elements as they emerged. It also involved creating a 15-member panel, called the Town Center Subcommittee, which was established by the City Council and included two city council members and one planning commissioner, among other residents and consultants. The city initiated a planning process, which included hiring urban design consultants to study the area and make recommendations. It had long gone underdeveloped, and the city said it was hearing input from residents that it wanted a development plan. In 2004, the city of Dana Point decided it was time to redevelop Town Center-the area between Pacific Coast Highway and Del Prado, and between Street of the Copper Lantern and Street of the Blue Lantern. So the DP Times met and spoke with the proponents and writers of each ballot issue to get the answer to this one simple question: What would it mean if either ballot measure passed? But in its best light, the back-and-forth between Measure H and Measure I supporters is democracy in action. With all the town hall meetings, signs posted around town, encyclopedia-length ballots, heated letters to the editor in the Dana Point Times, videos, court rulings-well, it’s OK to be confused. It might seem like Ballot Measures H and I were created solely to confuse the residents of Dana Point. The BevMo! construction project where Del Prado meets Pacific Coast Highway.
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