San Clemente council extends hearing, directs HOA to pursue tree-height enforcement without needing view-obstruction finding

San Clemente City Council continued a contentious public hearing on March 18 over whether the Broadmoor San Clemente Community Association had failed to enforce 17-foot height limits for landscaping on Calle Delicata and directed the association to proceed with abatement based on prima facie violation rather than waiting for proof of a view obstruction.

The council voted to continue the hearing to Sept. 16, 2025 and to “direct the Broadmoor Association to abate the violations prima facie, not requiring a determination that a Felicidad homeowner’s view is obstructed,” a motion the council approved unanimously.

Why this matters: The dispute pits Delicata homeowners (who say a written 1974 condition of approval limited landscaping heights to 17 feet) and the homeowners on the slope below (most members of Broadmoor HOA) against each other. Felicidad homeowners say Broadmoor has long declined to enforce the height restriction; Broadmoor argues it must follow its established enforcement procedures, including alternative dispute processes, and target only view‑blocking vegetation.

City staff opened the hearing with a summary that the matter was continued from Nov. 19, 2024 and that the City had offered the HOA time to pursue its enforcement process but believed the HOA’s procedures unnecessarily require a subjective finding of “view obstruction.” Adam Atamian, the city’s community development director, told the council city staff recommended (1) a continuance to allow the HOA process to proceed and (2) direction that the HOA need not show a separate view…