The California Coastal Commission’s approval of Dana Point’s Doheny Village Plan on Thursday, Feb. 9, marks the final step in bringing the plan to fruition.
The Doheny Village Plan works to “preserve and enhance the eclectic combination of commercial light industrial and residential mixed uses in the Doheny Village area,” the city said in a media release.
The process to draft this latest version of the Doheny Village Plan began in 2017, after the city received complaints from the community on a prior draft, explained Belinda Deines, principal planner.
The city worked with residents and other stakeholders to develop and write the plan, as well as the Doheny Village Merchants association, which was formed in late 2016 to address concerns with a proposal on parking, zoning and development standards for the area.
“The plan itself consists of the zoning code update, as well as a capital improvement plan,” Deines said. “The zoning code update essentially wrote a new chapter in the Dana Point zoning code, which created all new development standards, seeks to honor and recognize legal nonconforming conditions and existing patterns of development down in the village.”
Development in Doheny Village predated the city’s incorporation, which created new development standards, making many structures, properties, and light industrial use in the area no longer permitted in the city’s zoning code.
“A big component of our effort was trying to identify what’s out here in terms of the land uses, the development of the structures and try to legalize what had been previously allowed under county jurisdiction,” Deines said.
With light industrial use in the area considered legal nonconforming, Deines explained that the city’s zoning code hasn’t allowed for industrial use for the past 30 years.
“However, there have been several businesses that have existed and those businesses have light industrial types of uses—the surfboard shapers, the metal workers,” Deines said. “All of those are currently uses that are not permitted under our zoning code.”
Deines explained that the impetus behind the zoning change was to ensure that “we could keep businesses that have been our longstanding businesses to continue into the future.”
The plan changes land use designation, development intensity and residential density allowances, according to the Coastal Commission’s staff report. The zoning changes also authorize “existing nonconforming, residential uses” and “existing nonconforming marine uses.”
The zoning code update amends the Dana Point Zoning Map to include three new zoning districts: Village Commercial/Residential, Village Main Street and Village Commercial/Industrial.
Village Commercial/Residential zoning only allows residential use in mixed-use development and does not allow standalone residential density to be increased.
Commercial/Main Street zoning allows for residential, retail and service uses within the same building or lot. The residential density is limited to 10 units per acre south of Victoria Boulevard and West of Doheny Park Road, and 30 units per acre for mixed use projects north of Victoria Boulevard and east of Doheny Park Road.
The Village Commercial/Industrial zone allows for a mix of commercial, office and light industrial uses, along the western border of Doheny Village.
The Doheny Village plan, developed by the community, emphasizes the preservation of the area’s character and adopts zoning that aligns with and respects existing uses, explained Deines.
The plan aims to incentivize new development and rehabilitation, improve connectivity and beach access, “to consider options for traffic calming and explore parking opportunities and ultimately invest in beautification,” Deines said.
When the Coastal Commission approved the plan last week, it did so under its Consent Calendar—a grouping of routine items passed through a single vote.
Councilmember Jamey Federico, who represents parts of Doheny Village in District 3, said that the vision for the plan is to encourage smaller investments in the area “so that a lot of the existing uses and businesses and residents can stay while investing in their properties, and not encouraging only large development and aggregation of lot parcels.”
Federico added that the fact that the item was approved under the commission’s consent calendar is “evidence of the fact that it was a really well-done plan and their staff were confident that there wasn’t going to be anything contentious about it.”
“It addresses all the issues that the Coastal Commission would care about, which is access to the coast, to the beach,” Federico said. “And when you combine it with our Capital Improvement projects that we have planned down there for pedestrian connectivity, it’s really going to change the face of that neighborhood for the better.”
The city also received two planning awards from the American Planning Association for Awards of Excellence in Public Outreach on the Doheny Village Plan.
“I think it was successful because we took the time, city staff took the time to listen to the community members and seek their input and really give them the ability to not just engage or inform them of the process but ultimately empower them to create a plan that works best,” Deines said.
Deines added that city staff engaged stakeholders throughout the development process, “not just starting with informing them of what the plan is and how it affects them, but taking them through every stage of engagement.”
“I believe that’s why we received recognition in Orange County and on the State level,” Deines continued.
In the city’s media release, Mayor Mike Frost applauded city staff and the local community for working together and establishing “a benchmark for community outreach not just in Dana Point but across the state.”
“That collaboration and spirit of community is what makes Dana Point a great place to live and work,” Frost continued. “It’s evident in so much of what we do here and why this city has a bright future.”
The Coastal Commission’s approval of the Doheny Village plan under the meeting’s consent calendar without modifications meant “that staff supported the zoning code update exactly how the community wrote it,” Deines said in the release.
“That is a significant feat and testament to the success of everyone’s hard work and dedication to develop this exceptional plan for the village,” Deines continued. “Our collaboration made a difference and this vote from the Coastal Commission confirms the crucial value of public participation. Now we can put our plan into action.”
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