Capistrano Shores Mobile Home Park - Unit 54

On Wednesday, the Coastal Commission’s consent agenda contained an application for construction of a new mobile home at Capistrano Shores Mobile Home Park. Recent home sales records show the mobile homes are valued at the $2 - 4 million range despite already being at water’s edge. The new home would rely on an existing seawall and be subject to sea level rise hazards both present and future. While the Coastal Commission staff recommendation does include a condition that states that the new development does not have a future automatic right to a shoreline protective device; this new development will still rely on shoreline armoring, which is prohibited in the Coastal Act. The Surfrider Foundation made a request to remove the item from the consent agenda for a full hearing. Commissioners agreed and voted to remove this item from the consent agenda. It will return for a full hearing in the coming months.

San Clemente’s visitors and residents not fortunate enough to live directly on the beach deserve to have the beach in San Clemente preserved and restored as much as possible. Homes, mobile or not, should not have been placed directly on the beach in San Clemente. It’s time to phase out this pattern of development that has eroded much of California’s beaches over the past decades and threatens to completely drown them as sea levels rise. While similar permits have been issued at this location for new homes, it’s time to stop this problematic pattern of development that perpetuates erosion and disappearances of our beaches.