San Juan Creek Road Extension

By Phillip R. "Phil" Schwartze

I am on record as having consistently opposed the extension of San Juan Creek Road for 30 years.

I have a 30-year history of opposing opportunities to extend San Juan Creek Road. That history includes my 19 years of service on the Planning Commission and the City Council.

San Juan Creek Road terminates at the City's easterly boundary. Any extension to La Pata would be over private property into unincorporated County property. Who would pay for that extension? The City can also block that extension.

Rancho Mission Viejo has been promoting the extension of San Juan Creek Road in an effort to reduce traffic impacts at Antonio Parkway and Ortega Highway. At no time did Whispering Hills Estates or the Capistrano Unified School District ever propose an extension of San Juan Creek Road.

The issue came up as part of the City's Environmental Impact Report, as an alternative that proved to be valueless, in fact Whispering Hills Estates objected to even studying the idea.

The City Council recently approved a Vesting Tentative Tract Map for Whispering Hills Estates, including the new High School, with many conditions. There is no condition for a San Juan Creek Road extension.

Any reference to a potential extension of San Juan Creek Road is either a simple scare tactic directed at uninformed residents, or are statements made by someone who is unfamiliar with the true facts of the matter.

Knowing what I know, I was perfectly comfortable buying a new home less than 100 feet from San Juan Creek Road.