California Apparel News

Residents in the growing Orange County city of San Clemente, Calif., will show their approval or disapproval for the unconventional Playa Del Norte retail center when they go to the polls Nov. 4.

Measure W, an advisory measure that is not binding, would give San Clemente a green light to continue negotiating with the retail center’s developer.

The man behind the new center is Shaheen Sadeghi, best known for The Lab and The Camp, his off-beat shopping meccas in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Sadeghi has spent an estimated $3 million drawing up plans for Playa Del Norte and presenting them to public officials. The beachside Playa Del Norte project would create 56,280 square feet of restaurants and community space in San Clemente’s North Beach section.

Instead of widely known retail brand names, the development would focus on tenants such as cafes, cheese shops, wine boutiques and a community space with a small stage, gardens and benches.

Among those leading the effort to oppose the Playa Del Norte measure are San Clemente City Council hopefuls Charles Mann and Bob Baker. Mann contends Playa Del Norte would increase traffic congestion and take away crucial beachside parking. He did not respond to an e-mail or phone calls from the California Apparel News requesting an interview.

Sadeghi said he did not have to spend millions of dollars organizing a campaign on behalf of his retail project. Rather, Kathryn Stovall Dennis, a San Clemente city activist and former architectural review board member, volunteered to build a pro-retail center group called Pro North Beach Vision Coalition. The group produced flyers, sent out e-mail blasts and walked precincts to support Measure W.

Dennis said she received no pay or compensation to mount the effort. She wanted to help rejuvenate what she believed to be the blighted North Beach area, whose closed buildings include the Miramar Theater and the San Clemente Casino. It is also home to the Ole Hanson Beach Club and a parking lot for the San Clemente Metrolink station.

Dennis volunteered to help Sadeghi in March, shortly after Measure W was placed on the ballot and she saw plans for Playa Del Norte. She liked the development’s low-density buildings, which are just one or two stories. She also liked the development’s emphasis on community space, where residents and commuters can hang out. “It won’t be like going to a restaurant where you’ll have to spend $5 to get a seat,” she said.

If Measure W wins, the retail center still will have to be approved by the California Coastal Commission. If the Coastal Commission gives it a green light, Sadeghi said the project might break ground in 2012. —Andrew Asch