Stop Changing the Rules Just for Developers

By Brenda Miller

We can control City expenses by simply requiring developers to live by the same rules as San Clemente citizens. That avoids legal challenges and limits unplanned legal costs.

Those back-room deals also make people angry because it establishes a separate set of rules for developers. City staff time (and our money) is spent catering to a proposed project, even though it doesn't comply with the law. When the project gets to the public eye, residents are upset at what's being proposed.

We've seen that happen with 3 major projects the last few years: Pacific Golf's conversion of open space to condos, the 3-story Ralphs on South El Camino Real, and now the L.A.B.'s project on public land in North Beach.

If a non-compliant project fails to win approval, everyone loses: the City's bank account, the City's residents, and the developer, too, because he was lured into believing his project would be approved. That's not fair. The simple way to make the system fair is to require development projects to comply with local laws. That's easy.

As your elected Council member, I will ensure that our General Plan and City codes are followed to the letter and spirit of the law. That puts residents' interests first and foremost where they should be.