IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD : San Clemente: Nowadays They Call It “San Calamity”

Plagued recently by fire, landslide, wild beasts and vermin, residents in this scenic coastal town can only hope that their run-ins with nature end soon. As for the human-caused city budget deficit, they know that hope won’t cure it.

Last year’s budget shortfall in San Clemente forced $2.4 million in cuts, including layoffs of about 8% of the city’s work force. This year’s woes prompted four city council members to vote to close the 65-year-old police department and contract with the county sheriff to save money. Opposing residents have organized a recall effort against them. With a $20 million annual general fund budget, the city is so cash-strapped that it could face revenue shortfalls from $6 to $8 million each year over the next five years. The community is mobilizing to seek the types of practical compromise that will restore fiscal health.

Population:

1980: 27,325

1990: 41,100 1990 2000*: 65,000 2000

*projected

Population by race and ethnicity:

Anglo: 83%

Hispanic: 13%

Asian: 3%

Black and other: 1%

Median household income:

San Clemente: $46,374

Orange County: $45,922

Sources: U.S. Census data, programmed by Times analyst Maureen Lyons; San Clemente general plan.

The Calamities, Large and Small, of San Clemente

* May and June 1992: Three coyotes captured and killed after one nips five-year old girl

* July: Mice and roof-rats infest area homes

* September: Residents sight roughly a dozen mountain lions ranging near their homes; some pets reported killed

* February 17, 1993: City Council, facing a revenue shortage of $6.35 million, votes to disband local police department and contract with the county sheriff for service

* February 22: Landslide ruins five ocean bluff homes, blocking Pacific Coast Highway and railroad tracks that serve some 5,000 daily riders

* February 25: City’s second oldest building, the historic Bartlett, built by city founder Ole Hanson in 1926, destroyed in fire

* March 5: Recall campaign initiated against four city council members who voted to disband police department

* March 25: Resident wakes to sound of shattering glass and finds 25-pound mountain lion sitting on his kitchen counter.

COMMUNITY ACTIVIST

Sharron Gill

San Clemente resident for eight years, chairperson of San Clemente Taxpayers for Honest, Ethical Government

The tourist industry and many businesses do not look to San Clemente because of the anti-growth measures and regulations imposed in the past. We’re paying the price now for several projects in the past that have been defeated--the Nixon (presidential) library is the prime example. The town could have reaped enormous benefits from not only the library but what was in conjunction with it--hotels and whatnot.

We were a small town, and we have a lot of people who have lived here for years who resist adamantly anything to change that environment, but we’ve passed that point of being a small town because the (residential) development is already here. We cannot go back.

BUSINESSMAN

Steve Apodaca

Resident of San Clemente for 5 years, chairman of the city’s general plan advisory citizen committee

You don’t want to have development driven by the size of your wallet. You don’t want to be put in the position of having to approve development because you need the money. You want to approve development because it’s the right thing for the city. I think we would be very, very wrong to only look at “how much is this project going to pay me” and let that be the determining factor as to whether we want it in our city or not.

HOMEOWNER

Curry Kirkpatrick

Resident for 5 years, engineering and construction consultant

I moved here because of the picturesque seaside community here and the quiet and the amenities it brings for my family.

There’s a saying ‘I’ve got mine; now you go away. I don’t want you here,’ but that’s not realistic. We need to open the community to the younger persons who want to come in here. I’m for controlled, well thought out development that makes a prosperous community, like Dana Point and Laguna Beach.