Vol. 1, Issue 13, May 2-8, 2008



By Nathan Wright

Dana Point Times



The former mobile home park on Del Obispo might become a mixed-use development



For more than four decades the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Del Obispo Street was home to a 90-space mobile home park, clubhouse and swimming pool. Today the property is barren, closed off by a wooden fence. The sign for the Dana Point Marina Mobile Home Estates remains at the property’s Del Obispo entrance, and utility boxes jut from the earth, the only remaining vestiges of the rows of coaches that once filled the park.



New life, however, might be coming.



As many as 150 homes and 13,700 square feet of commercial and restaurant space could someday occupy the prominent street corner at the city’s southern entrance, according to a recent environmental report issued by the city. The 8.9-acre horseshoe-shaped property has been vacant since 2005 when Makar Properties LLC closed the park.



The city of Dana Point released a 105-page environmental report in February investigating a change to its General Plan to allow for greater flexibility for developers planning mixed-use projects that include residential, commercial and restaurant space. The city already allows commercial/residential zoning but is restrictive, limiting residential density to 10 dwellings per acre.



In the same environmental report, the city also looks at the impacts of rezoning the Makar property to commercial/residential, a designation that would allow the developer to begin planning a project that could include up to 150 residential units, 10,000 square feet of retail space and 3,700 square feet of restaurant space. The property is zoned coastal recreation, a designation that does not allow for such a development.



The numbers listed in the report, however, don’t necessarily reflect what Makar Properties has in mind for its Del Obispo property. “At this point in time there is no project,” said Michael Gagnet, executive vice president of development with Makar. “We have not formally submitted any proposed project for that site.”



Gagnet said the number of dwellings and commercial square footage listed in the environmental report came from a conceptual study done in 2007 to determine what the property might yield and was not part of any official project plan. In fact, Makar has historically down-zoned its developments in Dana Point.



Makar built and owns the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort. They also built the 45-home Point Monarch development below Gelson’s Market, the 65-home Ritz Point development near the St. Regis, and the 45-home Bell Harbor development located in the south end of town. “I think our track record shows that we do everything above board and of the highest quality,” said Gagnet. “We’re looking forward to the city and the community working with us to come up with the best plan for [the PCH/Del Obispo] site.”



Makar will have many challenges before any project breaks ground.



Before any project is proposed, the Dana Point Planning Commission will need to approve amendments to the General Plan and zoning to allow for a higher density of housing in properties zoned commercial/residential. Next, the Makar property will need to be rezoned to commercial/residential. Dana Point City Manager Doug Chotkevys expects the Planning Commission to consider these changes in May or June.



If these changes are approved by the city, they will then be sent to the California Coastal Commission, which must also grant permission because the property is located in the coastal zone and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the state agency. Gagnet and Chotkevys both estimated Coastal Commission approval to take 12 to 18 months.



And then there’s community opposition.



Former residents of the Dana Point Marina Mobile Home Estates remain vigilant in their allegations that they were wronged by Makar after the developer purchased the property and closed it a year later. Real estate lawyer Patrick Evans represents six former mobile home leaseholders who filed a lawsuit against Makar, contending the company failed to disclose to residents that it planned to close the park. “They want damages, and they want the affordable housing they’re entitled to,” he said.



Robert Traphagen, one of Evans’ clients, sent two of his own letters in response to the environmental report, contending the property was formerly owned by an oil company and that hazardous materials might be buried in the soil. “Perhaps that is why it was a mobile home park to begin with,” he says. “I also believe this land was a landfill at one time. If Makar is allowed to build, they will have to dredge deep into this land, and I truly believe that will expose a huge can of worms.”



Former residents aren’t alone in their concerns. The South Orange County Wastewater Authority sent a letter on March 24 questioning the appropriateness of building a mixed-use development next to a sewage treatment plant, which is next door on Del Obispo.



“SOCWA’s primary concern is for potential offensive odors, intermittent or fleeting though they might be, from the Sewage Treatment Plant migrating to the Project…,” says SOCWA General Manager Tom Rosales in the letter. “SOCWA also has generalized concerns about daily noise and other operational impacts created by placing residential units adjacent to the Sewage Treatment Plant. There are daily deliveries made at the Plant site, as well as other work conducted on a routine basis, including the loading of solid sewage matter into large hauling trucks.”



The home owners association at The Village at Dana Point, a neighborhood off Del Obispo just north of the property, also sent a letter objecting to the zoning modifications. “We believe that the higher density housing, inclusion of commercial space as well as changes to building height will greatly diminish the quality of life for our 71 homeowners,” says Mark Pawlak, Karen Crowley, Chris Milonakis, Annie Yong and Roger Eld in the joint letter. “We strongly request that the Planning Commission reject the proposed changes.”



Gagnet said Makar has reviewed the public correspondence and will use it in future planning. “I welcome the constructive comments because I believe it is a process such as this that gives the community, governing agencies, community groups, you name it, an opportunity to voice their concerns,” he said. “Ultimately you end up with a better development because of it.”





Makar Property to Benefit from PCH Project



If Makar Properties LLC succeeds in building a residential development on its property on Del Obispo Street its future residents are going to love a project already begun by the city. Construction crews have started work on a widening project on Pacific Coast Highway at the intersection adjacent to the property, which will include a pedestrian bridge up and over the busy roadway.



Once completed, the bridge will allow pedestrians a safe and direct path over traffic to Doheny State Beach and the Harbor, two of Dana Point’s most popular destinations. The project is scheduled to be completed by January. A similar pedestrian bridge is already in operation on Pacific Coast Highway in Capistrano Beach, allowing visitors easy access to the coastline without crossing the highway or railroad tracks.