City Manager's Update: Dec. 16, 2011

Youth Advisory Board: The City Council declared an adult adviser vacancy on the Youth Advisory Board, which serves as a liaison between the youth of San Juan Capistrano and the City Council concerning matters related to the city’s youth.  The Youth Advisory Board consists of a maximum of 16 and a minimum of nine youth members who are voting members; two adult advisors who are non-voting members; and, a Community Services Department staff member. Applications are due to the city clerk by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20.  Applications are available at the city clerk’s Office or the city’s website. 

More Youth Advisory Board: The board adjacent to the Regency Movie Theater the . Members sold $154 in cotton candy and water and also received $59 in donations. This fundraiser will assist them implement several events over the next few months

Special Events:   Letters to Santa Claus have been arriving at the Community Center daily. Volunteer letter writers – adults and teens – respond to the letters and wish lists that children in the community send to Santa Claus in care of the Community Services Department. Each letter sent back to a child receives a small holiday trinket.  

More Special Events: Staff is in the process of scheduling new seminars for 2012 that focus on health, safety, exercise and the well-being of seniors.  Typically one free seminar will be offered each month at the Community Center.  A complete list of seminars will be available in late January. Businesses or non-profit organizations interested in scheduling a seminar for seniors should contact the Community Center.  

2C Ranch/Trabuco Creek Habitat Restoration Plan: Work continues on the first phase of the habitat-restoration plan which has been fully funded with a $1.5 million Orange County Transportation Authority environmental mitigation program grant. Several cycles of invasive plant removal have occurred and a city consultant is working on completing the irrigation plans with installation scheduled for early February. The Orange County Conservation Corps, employing a number of local youth, have been completing the invasive removal on the 2C Ranch site and removing debris from the Trabuco Creek riparian corridor.

Historic Town Center Master Plan: With the 74-day public review period for the draft environmental impact report scheduled to end on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, the department has now tentatively scheduled two work sessions with the city’s Design Review Committee to review the draft master plan and form-Based Code. One was Thursday and the next is scheduled for Jan. 5.  The Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled to begin formal public hearings on Jan. 24. Staff anticipates City Council public hearings to begin in March.

The master plan can be viewed here and the draft EIR here.

Villa Montana: In the coming weeks, the city anticipates that Woodbridge Development will submit a proposed 100-dwelling-unit, residential-apartment project for a vacant 4-acre site situated on the north side of Vista Montana and on the east edge of . The project will include primarily market-rate housing, but will also include a workforce-housing component with apartments affordable to those entering the job market, including young teachers, service workers, paraprofessionals and similar workers.

Business license renewals: Were mailed this week to 3,400 current license holders.  These renewals represent not only those businesses here in San Juan Capistrano, but also business entities that come into town to do business.  Business owners have until Jan. 31 to renew their business license for the 2012 calendar year. 

Del Obispo Street Bridge Widening : The contractor removed the temporary sheet piles for shoring from the creek. Pile driving equipment was also removed from the creek permanently. The contractor cleaned and removed Baker tanks used during dewatering. They removed existing bike-trail underpass concrete on the east side of the channel, as well as constructed the concrete swale at the top of the wall along Paseo Adelanto, south of Del Obispo Street. They removed forms for the west abutment and completed the concrete channel lining to complete its transition. Finally, they built scaffolding for construction of the pier cap forms.

San Juan Creek Road Sewer Upgrades : This project upsizes overburdened sewer lines on San Juan Creek Road and Camino Lacouague. The new sewer is in and operational. The contractor, FYDAQ Construction, has completed trench rehabilitations. The final phase will be the restoration of pavement markings and plants disturbed by the work. It is expected to be completed in two weeks.

Library Roof Repairs: The library roof repairs project completes a three phase maintenance upgrade project to the located at the corner of El Camino Real and Acjachema, adjacent to the . This phase provides for the installation of a new single ply PVC roof system and new parapet wall copping. Removal of the existing roof rock was completed. Installation of the underlayment has commenced. Weather permitting, work shall be completed prior to the winter holidays.