Council Discusses Proposed Changes to ADU Ordinance

BY BREEANA GREENBERG

Reviewing a series of recommendations made by the city’s Planning Commission in mid-May, the Dana Point City Council on Tuesday, June 6, discussed potential amendments to the regulations governing accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Consideration to revise the city’s ADU ordinance comes nearly two years since councilmembers did so in August 2021 to comply with state law. The city is looking once again to revise the ordinance for developments outside of the coastal zone, as the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development claims the ordinance is not consistent with state laws.

The Dana Point Planning Commission held a special meeting on May 15 to propose changes to the ADU ordinance to address HCD’s and residents’ concerns.

One of the Planning Commission’s recommendations was to consider reducing the fees for site development permits (SDP) related to ADUs. SDPs are required whenever an ADU is proposed for a property with nonconformities, Community Development Director Brenda Wisneski explained.

The existing SDP fee is $7,594. Staff recommended reducing the fee to $3,680. While discussing the possibility of reducing fees for site development permits related to ADUs, Councilmember Jamey Federico noted that permit fees are meant to cover staff time and city expenses for the service being provided. Wisneski said the fees are based on an average of permit type and that processing ADUs is less extensive.

Dana Point Mariners Return from Spring Competition

BY BREEANA GREENBERG

The Dana Point Mariners 936 Sea Scouts finished off the spring season and returned from the Ancient Mariner Regatta last month with a slate of awards.

The local Mariners 936 was among 20 teams participating in a total of 27 events at Cal Maritime Academy in Vallejo, California, which the team trained for during their spring season. Boatswain Keane Hana won the Fleet Drill trophy. For the third year in a row, the local Mariners team also won the

City Attorney Patrick Munoz explained the purpose of SDPs is to allow the city more flexibility in ADU regulations.

“Instead of prohibiting something, we can still go ahead and permit it if it’s a good project, it’s not going to have negative impacts on health, safety, welfare and we feel that we can go ahead and approve it anyway,” Munoz said.

The SDP process allows the city to review projects that may otherwise be denied.

Mayor Mike Frost said he’d like to see the SDP fee “as low as possible.”

“I don’t feel good about charging 3,600 bucks, I don’t like to do that, but it is important for some parts of our community to get neighborhood and community buy-in and just one level deeper,” Frost said.

Frost added that the SDP process would “hopefully invite some neighbor feedback and allow you to take a look at it in a different, sort of detailed level.”

The Planning Commission also recommended allowing ADUs in existing single-family homes in multi-family zones.

Wisneski explained that parking and setbacks requirements are different for ADUs than they are for duplexes, making ADUs a more attractive option for some.

Munoz said for areas like the Lantern District, where there are minimum lot size requirements or zoning restrictions that prevent or make it difficult for some properties to be developed into a duplex, an ADU can be a good option.

If an existing single-family home in a multi-family zone is conforming to city code, it could add an ADU by-right unless there are parking issues, Wisneski explained.

Though the Planning Commission was split on parking requirements, with three commissioners arguing that parking is an issue and two arguing it is not, the council discussed that an SDP could be acquired if an ADU applicant did not want to provide required parking.

State law does not require parking to be provided if the ADU is within a halfmile of a bus stop. With the proposed amendment to the ADU ordinance, the city looks to require that parking be provided if the ADU is within a half-mile of the coastal zone. Parking requirements can be waived with an SDP.

Based on Planning Commission recommendations, staff proposes reducing building permit requirements to only what is required by code, to ensure ADUs are treated like any other development.

“Another issue the Planning Commission heard from the public on May 15 is that we do require, under the current process—it’s not in the ordinance, but we are requiring—a higher level of permit submittals or plan details that we really don’t require for other building types,” Wisneski said.

“So, recognizing that seemed to be overly burdensome,” Wisneski continued. “We have modified our ADU application to eliminate what was being required as mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans.”

The proposed amendments also look to make changes to the maximum height, maximum number, parking, setback and location requirements, as well as changes to the discretionary process and deed restriction as required by state law.

Frost noted that he thought the city was moving in the right direction to make it easier for residents to understand the city’s policies on ADUs.

City Council will hold an additional public hearing during its June 20 meeting to consider amended regulations to the city’s ADU ordinance.

During its July 18 meeting, council will hold a public hearing to discuss permit fees for ADUs.

Community Meetings

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

Challenging Cancer

10-11:30 a.m. The Challenging Cancer group is conducting weekly meetings through Zoom video conferences. The meetings are open to caregivers, people who have a compromised immune system, and people dealing with cancer. To join, email donnavigil2@gmail. com or linda_crdv@yahoo.com. heritagesc.org.

Citizens’ Climate Education

10:45 a.m.-noon. This nonpartisan climate action group holds monthly meetings on the second Saturday of the month through Zoom video conferences. Email larrykramerccl@gmail.com to receive a link to join.

MONDAY, JUNE 12

Dana Point Planning Commission

6 p.m. The Dana Point Planning Commission will hold a regular meeting. This meeting will also be livestreamed through the city’s YouTube channel. A link for livestreams and replays is available on the city’s website. Dana Point Council Chambers, 33282 Golden Lantern Street, Suite 210, Dana Point. danapoint.org.

TUESDAY, JUNE 13

Because I Love You (BILY)

Great Republic trophy, awarded to the team that completes with a qualifying score in all events.

The team also received the Drill Off award for its standing and marching drill performance, and the Sportsmanship award. This year, the Sportsmanship trophy honored Skip Wehan, the founder of Mariners 936.

The Mariners’ fall season is scheduled to begin with an information night on Aug. 16. Those interested in learning more about the program can visit mariners936.com.

6:30-8:30 p.m. The organization Because I Love You (BILY), which helps parents navigate through whatever parenting challenges they may be facing (e.g., failure to launch, substance misuse, disrespect), conducts its weekly meetings on Tuesdays via Zoom video conference and in person/Zoom the first Tuesday of each month at the Outlets at San Clemente’s Conference Room. For detailed instructions on how to participate, email bilysanclemente@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14

Arts and Culture Commission

6 p.m. The Dana Point Arts and Culture Commission will hold a regular meeting. Dana Point Council Chambers, 33282 Golden Lantern Street, Suite 210, Dana Point. danapoint.org.

‘By-the-Wind Sailors’ Wash Ashore on Southern California Beaches

BY BREEANA GREENBERG

Oval, flat, jelly-like creatures—with notable semicircle sails—have been making an appearance on Dana Point and San Clemente shores, prompting beachgoers to wonder what’s causing the mass beaching and whether they’re safe to handle.

Like the name suggests, these By-theWind Sailors travel with the wind and currents, Ocean Institute Director of Education Riley Russell explained.

“Since they’re at the mercy of the winds and we’ve been having heavier rainstorms into the summer season … that’s why they’re washing up more,” Russell said. “They can wash up in the hundreds and thousands, even, after stormy winters.”

By-the-Wind Sailors are closely related to jellyfish, but unlike jellies, they are a colony of individual animals that make up the “float,” Russell explained.

“That’s what you see on the surface. It’s the blue disk, and they’re anchored there,” Russell said, adding: “The sail, which is that taller part that comes up, and it’s that semicircle, clear fin-type thing, that’s the part that the wind catches and follows the currents, and that’s how they get the name, By-theWind Sailor.”

The sail is made up of chitin, the same substance that crab shells and other hard exoskeletons are made of, Russell said.

Underneath the “float,” a By-the-Wind Sailor has a mouth and tentacles, which it uses to catch the microscopic plankton on which it feeds.

Russell added that “large species of fish that feed on the gelatinous animals out in the ocean” are known to feed on By-theWind Sailors, with the Ocean Institute recently observing Mola Mola feeding on the animal.

Though hundreds of the small sea creatures are washing ashore lately, Russell said it likely won’t impact the

Molla Molla, as they’ll find another food source to eat.

This isn’t the first time that the Ocean Institute has seen By-the-Wind Sailors, or Velella Velella as they’re also called, come ashore, Russell said.

“We’ve come across them on some of our boat trips, maybe once a year, every other year,” Russell said. “I do know that this year, they did wash up in quite a big amount, and I would imagine that was just the wind direction and currents, because they usually stay offshore a bit more.”

“But once they’ve washed in, there’s nothing they can do,” Russell continued. “They can’t go back out to sea once they’ve washed up on the beaches. But we do see them in big groupings out in the ocean.”

When they wash ashore, By-the-Wind Sailors dry out relatively fast, Russell explained.

“They don’t have any body structure; there’s no bones, no brain, no eyes. It’s just bundles of nerves, and they don’t have any structure to them,” Russell said. “They dry out pretty fast.”

Once the animal has washed ashore, By-the-Wind Sailors’ blueish hue fades quickly as it gets bleached from the sun, Russell said. Russell warned that if a beachgoer comes across a Velella Velella on the shore, it’s best not to touch it.

“It’s always safe to say, if you don’t know what something is on the beach, don’t touch it,” Russell said. “Sometimes, animals are on the beach to rest, sometimes they’re on the beach because they’re sick.”

“For this case, these animals cannot help but be washed ashore; they don’t really have control over where they’re going, but it’s always best just to let it be.”

Though Velella Velella do have stinging cells underneath the “float,” Russell explained that the average person is unlikely to feel them.

“We’ve got thicker skin, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people were handling them, their hands are maybe a little irritated afterward,” Russell said.

If someone’s skin is irritated after touching a By-the-Wind Sailor, Russell noted that it’s important to wash their hands with hot water, as hot as they can tolerate, to rinse off the stinging cells.

Russell warns that while it can be fun to “explore and get hands on,” beachgoers should “err on the side of caution, not for themselves, but also for those animals.”

“Let it be and take pictures and ask good questions about what it might be, but it’s always safest not to touch stuff,” Russell continued.

If a beachgoer watches a By-the-Wind Sailor wash ashore, Russell noted they could nudge it back out to sea, but if it’s already on the beach, the animal is likely already dead.

Once the Velella Velella has dried out, it tends to look and feel like plastic, making beachgoers confuse the sea creature for litter.

“As they decompose, like all animals, they are giving nutrients back into the ecosystem on the beach or in the water, wherever they’re decomposing,” Russell said. “So as long as people aren’t picking them up and thinking they need to throw them away … they’ll give back to the environment no matter where they are.”

“If they see it washing up and they can kind of push it back out and that makes them feel better and like they rescued a little By-the-Wind Sailor, then there’s really no harm in that,” Russell continued. By-the-Wind Sailors are hard to keep in captivity, Russell noted, as they all tend to gather in the corners of tanks and smother each other. Because of this, not a lot of information is known about the sea creature.

“Since it’s a really hard animal to house, there’s a lot not known about them and that could still be discovered,” Russell said. “So, for people who are really interested or if you have kids who are really interested in it, that could be something fun for them as a goal in life, to study more about the By-the-Wind Sailors and learn more about them over the years.”

Russell warned beachgoers to “use caution touching and picking up stuff you don’t know, but otherwise, they’re really fascinating, and they make great pictures.”

“I know when I’ve seen them on a few of my walks, I’ve always tried to snap a few cool photos of them,” Russell continued. “They’re really interesting animals, and they’re really pretty to look at, and I think that’s why they’ve caught so many people’s eyes.”

GUEST OPINION: Laurie’s Letter by Assemblymember Laurie Davies