San Clemente commission moves to fold Maxburg Plaza Park policy into citywide park policy amid neighborhood concerns about parking and safety

The San Clemente Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission voted June 10 to recommend that the city fold the Maxburg Plaza Park policy into a broader, citywide park policy after receiving public comments about parking, short-term rentals, safety and historic features.

The recommendation, approved by a recorded tally described at the meeting as five yes to two no, followed a staff presentation and more than a dozen public speakers who urged protections for the neighborhood around Maxburg Plaza Park and for preservation of the park’s historic elements.

Why it matters: Maxburg Plaza Park is a small, neighborhood park with a history of special rules and heightened local interest. Residents and the historical society told commissioners they want measures that preserve the park’s historic elements, reduce overnight parking and limit large or intrusive events that do not fit a neighborhood park.

Commission staff member Samantha (presenter for the subcommittee update) said the subcommittee recommended removing the park’s separate annual policy and incorporating the key protections and uses into the city’s general park policy, because much of the Maxburg policy’s rules are now covered elsewhere in the municipal code. “We want to bring Maxburg Park into the broader park policy,” Samantha said, adding the…