Planning Commission approves Salty Turf mini golf and snack concession at Vista Hermosa Sports Park

The San Clemente Planning Commission unanimously approved permits for a commercial mini-golf facility and snack concession proposed inside Vista Hermosa Sports Park on Wednesday, concluding a months‑long design-review process with conditions addressing parking, lighting and landscaping.

City staff recommended the commission find the project categorically exempt from CEQA under Class 1 (existing facilities) and Class 3 (small new construction) and to approve Development Permit 24-590 and Conditional Use Permit 24-591 for Salty Turf Mini Golf, a 20‑year lease to build two 18‑hole courses, a single-story Spanish Colonial–style clubhouse with a pro shop, kitchen and restrooms, outdoor dining and themed landscaping within the lease area.

David Carrillo, Associate Planner for the City of San Clemente, told the commission the site is in the park's open-space area adjacent to an existing fire station and a vacant neighborhood-commercial parcel. The project will include drought‑tolerant landscaping, an eight‑foot perimeter fence, bollard and low‑height pole lighting (with a required photometric plan to control spillage), and a trash-enclosure amendment to the…