According to this article in the Orange County Register, the San Clemente City Council approved a plan to build a 2,100-foot-long connection linking the Forster Ranch Ridgeline Trail to a recently-built trail in San Juan Capistrano.  This connection will allows San Clemente residents easy access to the variety of trails throughout San Juan Capistrano and into Cleveland National Forest.  As one of the interviewees in the article happily stated, “It’s going to be the Mountains to the Sea Trail.”  The City Council is allocating $20,000 to pay for the connection, and a completion timeframe has yet to be determined.

One of the primary assets to living in San Clemente is being in the middle of a beautiful natural setting, and outdoor junkies have a nice pick of hiking, biking and walking trails throughout San Clemente.  This move by the City Council is great news for outdoor enthusiasts and San Clemente residents, as they will now have easier access to the many trails of San Juan Capistrano along with a path to Cleveland National Forest.  The San Clemente City Council rightfully recognizes the amount of interest outdoor activities garner from its residents and consistently seek to improve the options, from building new parks to its support of the Coastal Trail in North Beach and this new trail connection.  If you have any interest in outdoor activities, you will find fewer places in Southern California to match the scope of all that South Orange County, including San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, has to offer.

This Sunday, October 5th, the non-profit organization Family Assistance Ministries is holding their 23rd annual South County Hunger Walk in San Clemente.  According to this article in the OC Register, the Hunger Walk will begin at the downtown Community Center (registration begins at 1:00pm) and will parade through downtown San Clemente to Max Berg Plaza Park and back.  Last year, more than 300 walkers raised $46,000 for FAM in their biggest fundraiser of the year, and FAM hopes to have 500 walkers donating around $75,000 this year.

In these difficult economic times, families more than ever are looking to non-profit groups like FAM for help.  Through July, FAM reported more aid requests in 2008 than all of 2007, making a good showing at this fundraiser highly important for these struggling families.  You may choose to walk in the event and have sponsors donate to your cause, or you can simply donate to FAM - any little bit will help this wonderful organization to raise the funds necessary to feed these families.

For more information on Sunday’s Hunger Walk, please call (949) 492-8477 or visit the Family Assistance Ministries’ website. 

San Clemente State Park, located in Southeast San Clemente, has recently upgraded its visitor’s center providing a much better glimpse of San Clemente’s history according to this article in the Orange County Register.  Visitors and locals, both adults and children, can learn more about the surfing, wildlife, American Indians, and other aspects of the state park and San Clemente. 

For those unfamiliar with San Clemente state park, it is located just south of downtown San Clemente on the coastal side of Interstate 5 off the Calafia exit.  The state park has campsites with beach access to some of the most prestine and beautiful beaches in all of Southern California.  For more information, including maps and reservations, please visit the state park website.

For the past five years, the City Council of San Clemente has been developing plans for the usage of 53 acres of land in Rancho San Clemente/Forster Ranch at the cross streets of Avenida Vista Hermosa and Avenida La Pata.  The plans included building a new 42-acre sports and swimming complex, which now, according to this article in the OC Register, is closer to becoming a reality.  The Council has decided to go ahead with plans for the La Pata/Vista Hermosa Sports Park and Aquatics Center, with a projected construction start date of January 2009 and opening of the park in June 2010.  Features of the new park will include:

1. Baseball, football and soccer complexes, complete with restrooms, spectator seating and mixed-use fields.
2. Aquatics center with 50-meter competition pool, 25-meter activity pool and a large bath house with restrooms and changing areas.

To help fund the construction of the new park, the Council has agreed to sell the remaining 9 acres to Target for the building of a new shopping center; this plan is still in the works as this area will need to be rezoned for commercial use.  Future plans include building a gymnasium, basketball courts, a community center and a group picnic area; these developments would cost an extra $25 million and have been tabled for now.

As this blog frequently states, infrastructure is a critical part to a community’s value with regards to real estate and overall appeal, and San Clemente is a city that continues to excel in adding areas for community use.  San Clemente is already well-known for its beautiful parks, and the addition of this large sports complex creates more activities for families and residents.  The location is centralized between three large residential areas in San Clemente: Forster Ranch, Talega and Rancho San Clemente; with freeway access off Avenida Vista Hermosa, the park will be easily accessible not only for San Clemente residents but visitors as well.  The Target shopping center is another bonus, not only because its development will make the park’s funding easier to obtain, but also because, let’s face it, everyone loves Target (I pity you if you have not visited one before - it is sometimes hard to get my wife to leave a Target once she gets going).  To donate funds to the new park and sports complex, please visit http://www.sanclementeparksfoundation.org. 

For more information on the San Clemente real estate market and future infrastructure plans in the area, please visit San Clemente Coastal Living or contact us.