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 staff would ensure neighborhood-appropriate limits remain clear when the city council reviews the recommendation.

Public concerns and staff responses

Residents described repeated parking pressure, RV and overnight vehicle concerns, and neighborhood-safety incidents around the park.

Resident Larry Colton told the commission he has been following a separate short-term rental (STAR) permit at 166 Avenida Oregon, adjacent to the park, and said the permit would allow two three-bedroom units and an ADU—“So it would be a total of 17 people, 8 in each unit plus 1 in the duplex, 1 in the ADU,” he said—raising worries that conversion of nearby housing to vacation rentals will further strain parking near the park.

A speaker from the San Clemente Historical Society and other neighbors urged attention to RVs and campers that can occupy curbside spaces for days or weeks. Several residents credited recent police and park-ranger enforcement for improving conditions but urged clearer signage and continued patrols.

Signage, language and historic features

The commission heard staff say proposed park signage would follow existing city park-rule standards and be posted in English and Spanish. “We would use our existing park standards … which would include English and Spanish,” Samantha said, noting staff would avoid overly dense text and could include multiple signs so rules are visible from each approach to the park.

Katie Potts, president of the San Clemente Historical Society, asked commissioners to ensure any rehabilitation of fountains or historic features be guided by a qualified historic consultant. Staff said a community development block grant (CDBG) project is funded to support fountain preservation and that a full historic-preservation study has been completed to identify the documentation needed to restore fountains to their historic character.

Parking and municipal code

Several speakers noted that Maxburg Plaza Park is specifically referenced in the city’s commercial-vehicle and trailer parking restriction code (municipal code section cited at the meeting as 10.28.023), and one resident urged the commission and staff to make clear to the city council that the subcommittee’s recommendation did not include changing the city’s overnight parking restriction (10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.). Staff and multiple speakers clarified parking policy and enforcement are handled through the city’s municipal code and parking/engineering division; the commission does not directly change parking restrictions.

Commission action and next steps

The commission motioned to recommend folding the Maxburg Plaza Park policy into the broader park policy and to include a signage recommendation; the motion passed (reported at the meeting as five yes, two no). Commissioners asked staff to include signage, historic-fountain rehabilitation details and neighborhood-appropriate usage limits in the recommendation that goes to city council.

Staff also agreed to post the subcommittee slides and materials on the commission’s web page and to attach them to the meeting minutes. The commission noted that if council adopts the change, signage and any required permits would be implemented through existing recreation permitting processes and municipal-code provisions.

Community context and remaining questions

Residents repeatedly raised safety and nuisance concerns (graffiti, overnight vehicle habitation, and isolated violent incidents) and asked for continued park-ranger presence and clearer sight lines. Neighborhood commenters suggested low-cost interventions — speed bumps, additional visibility, and signage with the park-ranger phone number — and urged that any increase in permitted activities preserve the park’s character as a small, neighborhood space.

The commission’s recommendation will go to city council for review; staff indicated the council will receive the packet and the park-policy recommendation as part of the normal legislative process.