New San Clemente Ralphs Receives Thumbs Up From City Council
San Clemente City Council Voices No Objections To Store Proposal
Posted on April 09, 2011 by Matt.
The San Clemente City Council, faced with the prospect of reviewing the proposed Ralphs Fresh Fare store in Southwest San Clemente, sided with the San Clemente Planning Commission's unanimous approval of the project. Bolstering the prospects of this excellent project, the City Council offered no objections to the project at Tuesday night's meeting, with the only discussion centering around the design of a sidewalk in front of the store. Per an article in the Orange County Register ("Plan for new Ralphs store advances"), a Ralphs' representative stated that the goal is to begin work on the new store in September.
As we've written about numerous times in the past, this is a necessary renovation project that is a long time in the making. The Ralphs store at 903 S. El Camino Real, which was built in 1963, is part of a shopping center that is run-down and does not offer a great shopping experience for nearby residents. With the newer Ralphs Fresh Fare in Talega and the larger Albertsons in Central San Clemente, residents of Southwest and Southeast San Clemente did not have a viable option for grocery shopping. The renovation of the current Ralphs into a Ralphs Fresh Fare will help to revitalize this section of El Camino Real and will add a beautiful, functional grocery store to an area that desperately needs it. Unless something crazy happens in the next few months, it looks like San Clemente residents can feel happy about a great new shopping addition to the city.