Church Expansion Gets Green Light

Planning Commission approves South Shores Church project after seven years of hearings and plan modifications

South Shores Churchs plan to expand its Crown Valley Parkway campus in phases over 10 years was unanimously approved by the Dana Point Planning Commission on Monday. Photo: Andrea Swayne

By Andrea Swayne

Since 2009, South Shores Church has been pursuing approval of an expansion plan that would more than double its size. With a packed house at the Community Center gymnasiuma vast majority of the seats filled with people showing support for the project by wearing bright green T-shirtsthe Dana Point Planning Commission on Monday approved conditional use, coastal development and site development permits and the final Environmental Impact Report for the project.

Project opponents, most living in adjacent neighborhoods, have long criticized the project; fearing impacts of such a large and lengthy project would include excessive noise, traffic, debris, pollution and runoff, as well as concerns related to the stability of the slope below the 6-acre site at 32712 Crown Valley Parkway.

The campus currently has a chapel, sanctuary, administration building/fellowship hall, a preschool and a 28-space parking lot. Plans will require the demolition of three of the churchs existing buildingsnot to include the sanctuary buildingand the construction of four new ones along with a new parking structure.

The original 2009 proposal included a preschool/administration building, a Community Life Center, two education buildings and a 421-space, two-level, semi-subterranean parking structure. In total, the church was planning a 46,817-square-foot increase in size to 89,362 square feet. The 10-year-long construction schedule was also a source of concern.

A public scoping meeting was held in March of 2010 for the then-in process Draft EIR being prepared by LSA Associates. In 2011, the deadline for the EIR completion was extended to 2013 to allow adequate time for the extensive geo-technical evaluation of the site, according to city officials. Further extension of the deadline brought the final EIRs official completion date to March 2015. City staff reported to commissioners that the final EIR identified no significant impacts.

During the public review period for the project, in addition to comments at public meetings, city staff reported receiving 118 letters61 letters raised concerns, 53 were in support of the project, two from state agencies (the Office of Planning and Research and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife), one from Orange County Public Works and one (or possibly a few more from the public) were duplicates.

The Community Center Gym was packed with South Shores Church expansion plan supporters in green shirts Monday night when the Planning Commission approved permits and the EIR for the project, which has been in the works for seven years. Photo: Andrea Swayne

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Church Expansion Gets Green Light