DANA POINT:

CITY OF LEFTOVERS

By Dennis Kaiser
DANA POINT NEWS

The story of Dana Point's growth is actually that of how three communities came together to form one city. Born in 1989, the city is just under 10 years old. However, its history goes deeper to the beginnings of the Capistrano Beach, Monarch Beach and Dana Point neighborhoods. Development in Dana Point began in the early 1900s. But substantial building did not occur until the decades following World War II. Over time, three communities mentioned above emerged, each with their own character and architecture.

The city is named after Richard Henry Dana, a Boston law student who left school to seek his health and fortune on the high seas, eventually becoming a lawyer and author of the book, "Two Years Before the Mast." Covering just 6.5 square miles along the coast, Dana Point has often been called "the leftovers of Orange County," because of how it was patched together in a rush of incorporation that occurred in the 1980s in the county. As a tourist destination, the city earns the lion's share of its general fund revenues from hotel bed taxes and other tourist related income. (No one ever questions the hospitality of a tax on visitors, who are greeted upon arrival by the open palm of the city government. DP Online)

Before incorporation, the three communities that eventually became the city (of Dana Point), developed separately under the codes of Orange County. Because of its desirable climate and coastal location, by the time the city was incorporated, Dana Point was born almost "fully grown," or built out. In fact, the largest project in the city today is the $10 million Town Center Beautification in which the city's leaders are attempting to roll back the clock by creating a slower-paced, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere in the Town Center area between Pacific Coast Highway and Del Prado. (It sounds like a gigantic government imposed Master Plan that is doomed from the start, which really is an underhanded way to back-door Redevelopment into Dana Point. DP Online) Since it is nearly at build-out, Dana Point has very little undeveloped land. Efforts to develop what is left have been stymied either by the political process or a lack of interest by the property owner. (News reporter Kaiser has a lot of gall to infer that when a property owner has a design to use his property that is different from the Planning Department, that this represents a "lack of interest." DP Online)

Meanwhile, according to Ed Knight, director of Community Development (a friendly-sounding name for the Planning Department, which is in control of enforcement of the zoning code, which was formed under Knight's influence and according to his recommendations-*), "Redevelopment is a dirty word in Dana Point." (Which is only true because of Mr. Knight's sleazy role in trying to use the power of the city to condemn private property under the urban renewal laws, in the so-called Lantern District, which was derailed by a popular act of mass resistance-*: DP Online).

There are some possibilities and perhaps a need for redevelopment or remodeling in the city's Doheny Village area. The problem is that there are numerous owners for the various parcels in the village and improvements would have to be done piecemeal. Some examples of positive change are the addition of the new Doheny Hand Car Wash building and clearing out some vacant buildings that had become home to vagrants. According to Knight, redoing the village "is slow going." (Of course it is slow when your intention is to deny ordinary people of their legal rights to own property, in order to hand that land over to speculators who will make a fortune re-developing it. Additionally, who is paying off News reporter Kaiser? His re-phrasing of the much-hated word "Redevelopment" as "remodeling," may be a portent of future doubletalk from the planning department, and the portrayal of a Car Wash as an improvement is positively glowing. On the other hand, his dismissive attitude regarding homeless "vagrants" exposes his callous disregard for human life, especially of the down-and-out variety; hopefully, if Kaiser ever falls on hard times, he will encounter people who are more compassionate than he is. Ironically, if the City Council were doing its job, and providing services for the homeless, the community would be free of the nuisance of "vagrants," who instead would be in supervised programs where their activities can be accounted for, and where their energies can be channeled in a positive direction. DP Online)

Another area that could see some redevelopment or remodeling is the Palisades portion of Capistrano Beach, home to some of the oldest houses in the city. However, under current height restrictions, in place to preserve ocean views, it is doubtful that a significant amount of construction could occur that would affect the population. (Which is not to mention the $1 million PLUS homes in the Palisades community, whose occupants have the means to fight off an offensive attack by the city to condemn their property and take it under eminent domain laws. Bureaucrats don't care about fighting little people, and financing the battle with the very taxes paid by the little people; but they don't like to engage in battles they have no chance of winning. DP Online)

The Lantern District (or, Old Dana Point), is also another area that could be redeveloped. Its future is tied to the Town Center project and the improvements the city has planned for that business district. Currently housing a poorer Hispanic population, a revitalized Town Center could attract more up-scale professional people to the Lantern District, if some of the older buildings are re-done. In terms of overall population growth, it is doubtful a revitalization of the Lantern District would cause a dramatic increase in the number of people living there. (This editor feels that reporter Kaiser is coming dangerously close to making a racist assertion here. The underlying sentiment would seem to appear that Kaiser feels that if all those Mexicans - er, Hispanics - were removed, that the neighborhood would be enjoyable for nice, upscale tourists. He declines to comment on the fact that in order to make such a tourist wonderland possible, the entire current population of the area must be dislocated. Get a clue, Kaiser; and maybe you can buy a conscience. DP Online)

Regarding Dana Point's population, in 1995 it hovered around 36,456. By the year 2020 it is projected to jump to 41,779, according to the Center for Demographic Research at California State University, Fullerton. However, Ed Knight said he has serious doubts that it will even grow that much, based on many of the restraints (imposed on him by the popular resistance of the majority of the people of Dana Point. DP Online)

SOURCE: Reprinted from the 23 April, 1998, issue of the Dana Point News, a property of the Orange County Register. Reprinted in the public service of the community interest.

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