“I saw, on my first visit when I came to see my space, I saw that the street was not pedestrian-friendly, was not business-friendly, but I looked over that, knowing that Dana Point and the population, the demography, the pluses were all there, kind of encouraging me to give it a try,” Le Vettet said.Īs new development plans got approved, Bishop added that “some people had heartburn about the heights. When he opened Bonjour Cafe in 1992, he saw potential in the area. That same year, Pascal Le Vettet, owner of Bonjour Cafe on Del Prado, stated that the Town Center Plan “should’ve happened 20 years ago.”įifteen years later, Le Vettet maintains this opinion.īefore the efforts to revitalize the Town Center, Le Vettet said the area was not the magnet it is now. In 2008, the California Coastal Commission approved the project plans, with construction beginning in late 2013. The Dana Point City Council approved plans in 2006 for the Town Center revitalization plan, an effort to turn Del Prado Avenue into a pedestrian-friendly corridor. Now, events hosted on Del Prado-including the Dana Point ArtFest, REDO Vintage & Maker’s Market, the Classic Car Show and Sleigh the Holidays-bring more and more visitors to the corridor each year. “Because we used to have to close down PCH to have parades, but now we can have PCH open and Del Prado can be a venue for events, which is nice.” “By doing that, they provided a safe venue for community events on Del Prado,” Bishop said. The first big step in redeveloping the area was to develop Del Prado Avenue into a two-way street. The goal of the Town Center Plan aimed to create an attractive, pedestrian-friendly “live, work and play” neighborhood, Bishop said. People drove through very quickly and nobody stopped in Dana Point they were just going through to get to the freeway from Laguna Beach.” “The traffic was poorly managed, having two one-way streets. “We saw that the Town Center was kind of an underutilized asset,” Bishop said. While construction is still underway on several projects in the Town Center, city officials and business owners are reflecting on the process of turning Del Prado into a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.īefore the city underwent efforts to revitalize the Town Center, the area was underutilized, former Dana Point Councilmember Joel Bishop said. Since that cover story was published in the DP Times’ first edition in 2008, empty lots have been transformed into mixed-use developments, housing many local businesses. Sign Up for the undefined NewsletterĬouncilwoman Jess Rivas, the lone elected official to speak at a recent rally, promised to do all she can to bring the eviction safeguards to fruition.Fifteen years ago, the Dana Point Times highlighted changes to come in the city’s Town Center, as the Town Center Plan was being drafted, and then adopted just four months later. It requires guidelines for “just cause” evictions, and requires a tenant be provided relocation assistance if a landlord is reclaiming an apartment or removing a unit from the rental market.Īn online registry of all rental properties in the city would be created, also listing other data, including any violations of building codes and regulations.Ĭouncilwoman Jess Rivas, the lone elected official to speak at a recent rally, promised to do all she can to bring the eviction safeguards to fruition. Seven board members must be tenants - one from each council district - while the remaining four appointees will serve at-large. Measure H requires the creation of an 11-member Rental Housing Board to be appointed by the City Council by April 21. Rents will revert to what tenants paid on if they were living in their current unit, or rent they paid on the day they moved in later. The amendment also requires stricter thresholds for eviction and a rent rollback effective Jan.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |