Council sets May 19 protest hearing after moving to vacate small easement, declare strip surplus for sale to church

The San Juan Capistrano City Council on April 21 voted unanimously to adopt a resolution of intention to vacate portions of Rosenbaum Road and Trabuco Creek Road, declare a narrow 1,115-square-foot strip of city-owned land exempt from the Surplus Land Act and set a protest hearing for May 19.

Steve May, the city's project manager, told the council the vacation process is meant to abandon public right-of-way that is not needed for public street purposes; he described longstanding code enforcement issues, maintenance burdens and liability concerns in the area. May said staff is recommending the council adopt the notice of intent and publish and post required notices ahead of the May 19 hearing.

Jeremy Hoenbaum, city engineer, said staff's proposed vacation preserves a 60-foot-wide right-of-way for Trabuco Creek Road where needed, and that the narrow strip proposed for sale is being considered because it is not required for public roadway use. Joel Rojas, development services director, said the church's separate conditional use permit application for a campus will proceed through its own CEQA and planning review.

At the public hearing, Father Daniel Habib, senior priest and vice president of Saint John Chrysostom American Coptic Orthodox Church, said the congregation plans modest improvements, beautification and limited parking and urged the council to adopt the resolution of intention. Church board members and congregants said the acquisition would allow the church to improve pedestrian access to the Trabuco Creek trail and provide shared parking for the community.

Neighbors and property owners, including counsel for the Rosenbaum Trust, urged caution and asked the city to preserve access for large trucks, to verify record title and to consider conditions protecting neighborhood parking and ingress/egress. Resident Chelsea Mendoza requested the council require the buyer to disclose intended use in writing and to include binding deed conditions to protect street access and parking.

Staff told the council the parcel in question is approximately 0.02 acres (1,115 square feet) and that, per the Surplus Land Act rules, parcels smaller than 0.5 acres may be exempt. The staff presentation listed an appraised fair market value of $2,500,100 as the appraisal shown in the staff report; staff later indicated the sale process and numbers would be clarified in subsequent public materials.

Council members asked staff to meet with Rosenbaum representatives to resolve truck-access concerns and to consider carving out sections if necessary. The council adopted staff's recommendations and directed staff to publish the notices and return on May 19 to consider protests and any refinements to the proposed vacation.

Next steps: staff will post and publish required notices, meet with adjacent property owners to resolve access questions and return to the council at the May 19 public hearing for formal consideration of protests and any final action.