By Nathan Wright
Dana Point Times
The community has until September 16 to give feedback on a study on the proposed Dana Hills Performing Arts Center
An environmental study released last week on the proposed Dana Hills High School Performing Arts Center concludes that the project would not significantly increase light pollution, noise or traffic to surrounding neighborhoods.
The general public has until Wednesday, September 16 to review the environmental findings and submit comments and suggestions before the study is completed. If built, the project would be South Orange County’s largest performing arts facility and would include a two-story, 475-seat theater.
“We want to know if the public has any concerns that they think we missed in our analysis,” said district facilities director Cary Brockman. “We sent three copies of the report to the city [of Dana Point] and we’ll certainly send it on to any homeowner’s association that wants to take a look.”
The environmental review is part of more than a year of planning that began in March of 2008 when the district learned it was eligible for a $3 million grant to build the estimated $12 million theater. The district will need to come up with the remaining $9 million, a decision that will ultimately be made by the Board of Trustees.
The environmental report—officially called a Mitigated Negative Declaration—did not find any significant impacts and very few “less than significant” impacts that could not be addressed with mitigation. That includes light pollution, an increase the report concludes, can be avoided with shielded or recessed lighting pointed downward.
To handle noise increases, the report calls for contractors to follow specific guidelines to keep any audible disturbances to a minimum. The report found that the theater would not cause a substantial increase in traffic or traffic patterns, requiring no mitigation what-so-ever.
While the study nears completion, the district is waiting on certification from the Division of the State Architect on the theater plans, according to project architect Betty Sabol of WLC Architects. “We’re hoping to get it in the next couple months, but we can’t be certain when that will happen, unfortunately,” she said. “We’re at the mercy of the DSA right now.”
Once certified, the district will seek bids from construction companies, a process that will reveal the ultimate price tag for the center. Then comes the choice: to spend millions in district funds to build or to abandon the project and walk away from $3 million in grant money.
“The board has not indicated how they want to pay for the project if they decide to move forward,” said district Deputy Superintendent Rob Lebs. “Once we get approval we’ll come to the board with all of the funding sources we have available and they’ll look through them.”
The South Orange County School of the Arts—or SOCSA—has championed the arts center, going so far as to launch a capital campaign drive to help the district pay the hefty price tag. “I’m hopeful that by the end of the year we’ll raise $1 million for the project,” said Alan Wickstrom, a former SOCSA president and chair of the capital campaign.
Wickstrom has spoken to dozens of community groups in the past year on the merits of a new theater. “It’s been greatly proven that any good arts education develops the academic mind,” he said. “The more arts education you’ve been given, the greater your talents are in the academic world.”
While SOCSA is successful, Wickstrom said the high school’s theater was long ago outgrown. “It’s 36 years old,” he said. “It’s outlived its current form. More than 450 of our 3,000 students are in arts programs with SOCSA.”
And then there’s the benefit to the community. “A new, 475-seat performing arts center will provide the community with the largest public space this city has even seen,” he said. “This would be the largest performing arts space in South Orange County, period, and it would be centrally located in our city. It would be a beacon for the arts in South Orange County.”
Wickstrom hopes that the community benefit will garner allies from the city at large, not just the school district. “My hope is that the city leaders will be offering greater support for this project,” he said.
Project Overview
The location: In the plan, the theater would be built at the current site of the Dana Hills High School tennis courts. The tennis courts would be rebuilt on a nearby spot, on campus adjacent to Golden Lantern near Stonehill Drive.
The facility: The 30,560 square foot performing arts facility includes a 475-seat theater with a stage, lobby, dressing room, control room, practice room, scenery shop and a black box theater. The two-story building would have a maximum height of 54 feet, 8 inches for the stage area.
Public review: The general public has until September 16 to comment on the environmental report on the proposed project. The Mitigated Negative Declaration considers potential impacts caused by the planned theater including light pollution, sounds and traffic. Copies of the study are available at the Capistrano Unified School District headquarters at 33122 Valle Road in San Juan Capistrano. The district’s Board of Trustees is expected to hold a public hearing on the environmental document at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 13 at 7 p.m. For more information contact district planning director Cary Brockman at 949.234.9449.
Click here to download a pdf of the Performing Arts Center plans
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