UPDATE: Their Final Fireworks Show?

Updated at 4 p.m. Tuesday with a rebuttal from Dr. Arsalan Darmal, the landowner whose building plans have come under fire.

Sitting in beach chairs and on the tops of trucks, dozens gathered along a San Juan Capistrano hillside Monday to watch the fireworks from Dana Point Harbor.

Next year, they might have to move their seats -- unless they want to be staring at a 4,096-square-foot house instead of blazing pyrotechnics.

Despite vehement opposition from nearby neighborhoods, a Ladera Ranch man plans to build a two-story home on the spot along the western border of Avenida California.

Chris Basaites, a Los Angeles County firefighter who lives in the Pacifica San Juan neighborhood of Blue Harbor, said he felt the city was ignoring the “whole playbook” of zoning regulations for the area.

“It doesn’t make sense and there’s really nothing good about the project,” Basaites said.

, a Newport Beach-based psychiatrist who lives in Ladera Ranch, purchased the tax-defaulted 0.6-acre lot for $5,000 three years ago.

The city Planning Commission But in May, the

In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon, Darmal said he followed the law to the letter in seeking permission to build, a process that took years. "They [the neighbors] just want to strip from [me] my right to build a house," he said. "They basically are obsessed with the fact that I bought the property in a tax auction."

He said the neighbors could have bought the land themselves: "This property was offered to everybody." 

He also disputed claims his house would block views of future fireworks, saying his home would be 40 feet wide, "a very small" portion of the area where people gather to watch the show. 

Moreover, he said a view study determined his house wouldn't block other property views. The nearest homes on the hill behind him are 30 to 40 feet higher, he said.

Monday's Fireworks Party

Blue Harbor residents John and Marie Walker Riddle estimated about 100 to 200 people showed up along Avenida California on Independence Day to watch the fireworks.

Not all of the revelers were upset about the proposed new house.

“Frankly, I don’t see it as a big deal,” said Fredi Emley, who showed up early to make sure she got a spot. “If he bought the property, I don’t see why he can’t build a home on it.”

Bob Butler, visiting from San Diego, had a more tongue-in-cheek response, saying he wished the property were his.

“Love to own the house,” Butler said.

In contrast, Jim Bermingham, a San Juan Capistrano resident since 1961, said he was “flabbergasted” by the proposed construction.

Bermingham, who has viewed the fireworks from the hillside for five years, said he had hoped the site would eventually become a park.

From different parts of the hillside, visitors could also catch glimpses of fireworks from Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano and even some bottle rockets shooting up from Dana Point.

The fireworks were sometimes hard to make out because of haze from the bottle rockets, but the crowd still oohed and ahhed.

One family even turned on the synchronized music for the event on 88.5 FM, and fireworks burst to the sound of such songs as "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "God Bless America."

Annmarie Powers, 3, who watched some of the show in her father’s arms, said her favorite fireworks were the purple ones. Her sister Mary, 8, liked the blue ones.

Paul Jenkinson, Pacifica San Juan resident, said neighbors will continue to oppose the project.

“We certainly haven’t given up the fight,” Jenkinson said at the neighborhood party before the fireworks viewing.