That Urban Look for Downtown May Not Fly

A consultant’s proposal for new design guidelines in one pocket of San Juan Capistrano's downtown area show a "philosophical shift" from the historic, Spanish architectural style that exists today, city officials said Thursday.

Studio One Eleven has floated a set of design criteria for development at the north corner of Del Obispo Street and Forster Street—where an —that the Design Review Committee said would be "too heavy" to be acceptable even in a city such as Irvine or Aliso Viejo.

The proposed guidelines call for buildings to be located within 5 to 10 feet of sidewalks, to be as tall as three-stories high and to be located at the street intersection "to define the corner."

"It’s so out of character for [San Juan Capistrano] that it’s laughable," said committee member Jeff Parkhurst.

Most wouldn't consider the north corner of Del Obispo at Forster to be downtown, but that's the goal of the produced by Studio One Eleven and approved by the City Council in November. In fact, Del Obispo is set to become the main arterial that takes commuters into town once is complete.

Design Review Committee members talked Thursday night about whether having modern, urban-looking development in the historic town center is even what the City Council wants. "I don’t know if they understand the philosophical shift," Parkhurst said.

"I’m just not clear that this is what [the council] wants. If this is what they want, then maybe our comments are inappropriate," said committee member Tim Neely.

According to city staffers, Studio One Eleven intends to create numerous design standards that will be specific to different areas of the downtown. Staffers would be responsible for ensuring that developers adhere to the rules before doling out building permits.

Here are some of the other proposed guidelines:

• Building design shall promote a diversity of architectural style (minimum of 15 percent should be of at least one alternative architectural style).
• A primary building entry must face and be accessed directly from the sidewalk.
• Each project site is limited to one driveway.
• Storefronts shall comprise the majority of the street-facing facades, and no blank walls shall be visible from the street.