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Council continues appeal over corner wall that staff says creates sight-line and ADA issues
Summary
The council continued to Aug. 18 the appeal of a public-right-of-way wall at 1202 Avenue de la Australa after staff said a modified wall and gate now block sight lines and narrow the sidewalk; the property owner ppellant asked for more time to respond to newly raised issues in the agenda report.
San Clemente City Council on June 16 continued an appeal hearing to Aug. 18 after staff said a recently modified retaining wall and gate at 1202 Avenue de la Australa created sight-line and sidewalk-width violations.
Assistant City Engineer Zach Ponson told the council that the property—uilt walls and columns historically set back roughly 5 feet from the curb but that recent infill between columns raised sections to 60 inches to over six feet and left the wall as close as 2 feet 4 inches into the right-of-way. "When we did a site investigation the line of sight is definitely in violation of our standard," Ponson said, noting the side-street sidewalk measures about 2 feet 4 inches wide and is not ADA-compliant.
Appellant attorney Spencer Schneider said the applicant had a one-page denial letter in March and that a new, lengthier staff report supplied the day before the hearing raised additional grounds the appellant had not had time to address. "We respectfully request a 60-day continuance so Mr. Roberts can respond to the new report and possibly retain an expert," Schneider said.
A nearby resident, Lynn Bronco, told the council she has lived on La Placentia for 41 years and that the modified wall now blocks the line of sight where it had not previously caused problems. "When they modified the wall it became an issue because it does block your sight," Bronco said.
Council members discussed whether the new items (lighting and drainage modifications cited in the updated report) were material and whether the council had sufficient evidence to rule at the meeting. The council voted to continue the hearing to Aug. 18 and to reopen the public hearing at that date to allow appellant response and further public comment.
What happens next: the council set a date certain of Aug. 18, 2026 for the continued hearing; staff will provide the full list of newly documented issues and the applicant will be given time to respond and, if desired, submit engineering or sight-line analysis for council consideration.
Authorities cited: city engineering sight-distance and front-setback provisions, and the city's planning department code limiting front-setback wall heights to 42 inches were cited by staff in the denial.
