SAN CLEMENTE : Design Review Law Eased for Houses

Single-family homes and duplexes within 300 feet of a historical property will no longer be forced to go through an architectural design review process if owners want to remodel or rebuild, unless the property directly abuts a historical site.

The City Council last week voted 4-1 to amend the city’s architectural design review ordinance to require that only larger structures such as triplexes and apartment buildings located within 300 feet of historical sites be required to go through the review process.

The change in procedure was done in order to cut down on the amount of time city staff members spend reviewing these properties, said Teri Delcamp, assistant planner.

“The intent is to save staff time in order to allow them to use their resources on more important projects,” Delcamp said. “The feeling is that single-family homes and duplexes have less of an impact on historical properties.”

Councilman Thomas Lorch cast the lone dissenting vote. He said he objected to the zoning amendment because he didn’t think it was needed.

“My issue is not to break things that are not broken, and I think that’s the direction we went in,” Lorch said. “I don’t think it’s necessary at all. The ordinance has been in place for 10 years without any legal challenges. When you change it, people will challenge it.”