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Zoning administrator sends Taco Bell remodel to design review, schedules special March 5 meeting
Summary
The zoning administrator referred a proposed exterior remodel of the Taco Bell at 918 S. El Camino Real (project 25-257) to the design review subcommittee and continued the item to a special Zoning Administrator meeting on March 5, 2026, to allow more detailed review of massing, color and architectural details.
The City of San Clemente zoning administrator on Feb. 19 referred a proposed Taco Bell exterior remodel to the design review subcommittee and continued the item to a special meeting on March 5, 2026.
Planner Arceli Mejia presented project 25-257 (development permit 25-259), which proposes façade changes, trellises and a new outdoor seating area of fewer than 16 seats at the existing Taco Bell at 918 South El Camino Real. Staff recommended the project be found exempt from CEQA and adopt Resolution 26-003 with conditions; the applicant said the remodel is a franchise-required successor remodel to update the store's appearance and that the drive-through would remain unchanged.
Zoning Administrator Adam Atamian said the changes add mass and increase height in places and recommended the item go to design review so the subcommittee can advise specifically on rooflines, layering, color treatment and other architectural details — in particular the use of a purple accent — rather than resolving those subjective design issues at a single discretionary hearing. Atamian said he was "not prepared to weigh in on this at this meeting today" and asked staff to put the project on the next available design review subcommittee agenda.
Applicant Drew, who identified himself as the store owner, pushed back on additional review rounds and asked how quickly the process would move. "Why are you wasting my time when I'm trying to oblige and comply with every request you've asked?" he said. Atamian responded that the hearing is discretionary and that design review input is intended to produce clearer guidance so the project can move forward with fewer downstream revisions.
The administrator directed staff to post the project for the next design review subcommittee meeting and continued the matter to a Special Zoning Administrator meeting at 2:00 p.m. on March 5, 2026; the applicant said he would return on March 5. Staff had noted that, because the outdoor seating area is fewer than 16 seats, a minor conditional use permit was not required under the standards discussed at the hearing.
The record includes the project address (918 S. El Camino Real), the lot size (approximately 9,303 square feet), the inclusion in the architectural overlay and staff's recommendation of a CEQA exemption. No formal vote was recorded; the administrator's decision was to refer and continue for design review input.
