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(Cont. from page 3) show a primary residence for tax purposes,’ those little criteria would establish that for sure,” Wyatt said. “If you said, we only allow them in that situation, I think that we would get agreement from both the Coastal Commission and the residents that that was acceptable.”

After the Dana Point City Council approves an STR ordinance, it will go before the California Coastal Commission for approval. The California Coastal Act maintains that development should not interfere with public access to the coast. STRs are generally seen as providing affordable lodging along the coast.

The STR Subcommittee asked speakers if existing permits should be transferable to new owners. This would mean that if a house that was operated as a short-term rental was sold, the permit would be tethered to the property so that whoever buys the property inherits the permit. Though opinions were mixed, generally those who spoke at the workshop were against the ability to transfer permits.

Deanna Slocum has lived in Capistrano Beach and has run an STR there since 2016. As a permit holder, she spoke against transferring permits.

“Those of us that do have a short-term rental worked very hard and are very attentive, as evidenced by the enforcement situation to keep the peace, and I don’t know that a person that I would sell my home to would immediately have that same priority,” Slocum said.

The STR Subcommittee also asked speakers to comment on whether there should be an annual cap on the number of nights rented. Speakers were generally in favor of a minimum stay length, but did not have strong opinions on an annual cap.

When Mitchell Ludwig bought a house in the Lantern District, he was concerned that the short-term rental next door would be a nuisance.

“I have to say it’s been 100 percent positive,” Ludwig said. “The owner of the property is very attentive to the property; he has given me his cell phone number if there’s ever an issue.”

Out of the hundreds of renters his neighbor has had, there’s only been one issue, Ludwig said.

“It was a little bit of noise after 10 o’clock, and I had an early morning,” Ludwig said. “I texted him, and he got his neighbors to quiet down. They apologized, I heard them over the fence, and they went to sleep, and that was the end of it.”

The future of STRs in Dana Point remains uncertain as the Planning Commission and STR Subcommittee continue to work to develop a policy to regulate them. The subcommittee plans to draft a program through December with the hopes of presenting a draft STR program to the Planning Commission in early January.

The student-led group known as Engage held its first volunteer fair in hopes of connecting students with volunteer opportunities with local organizations. Photo: Lillian Boyd

Dana Hills Junior ‘Engages’ Students with Volunteer Opportunities

BY BREEANA GREENBERG, DANA POINT TIMES

Sophie Anderson, a Dana Hills High School junior and founder of “Engage,” organized a volunteer fair on Tuesday, November 9, to introduce high school students to a variety of volunteer organizations.

After many organizations were unable to take volunteers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the student-led group Engage hopes to connect students trying to find a way back into volunteering with organizations in need of volunteers.

Anderson also hopes to show her peers that volunteering can take a variety of forms.

“It can be great for not only fulfilling your community service hours but also developing skills,” Anderson said. “Like if you’re interested in animals, then go do something where you can get experience volunteering with animals or something in that realm, so you can develop those skills. And then if you want to write about that on your resume, or your college application, you can say, ‘Look, I was interested, and I did something, and I learned more about it.’ ”

Students interested in working with animals, for example, can volunteer at Goods and Goats, a goat yoga farm in San Juan Capistrano. Engage has also partnered with MATHmania Robotics, an organization that helps elementary school students learn robotics, and Laura’s House, a domestic violence shelter. Other partners include the American Red Cross, the Surfrider Foundation, Zero Trash Dana Point, Stand Up to Trash, and the Dana Point Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re really proud of the opportunity and initiative that Sophie took in just empowering the students with different opportunities to get these hours,” said Aakrsh Misra, a Dana Hills senior and president of the school’s National Honor Society. “These organizations are all great ways for students to get involved both in the community and school.”

On-campus honors organizations, including the California Scholarship Federation and the National Honor Society, require members to reach a minimum number of volunteer hours. The volunteer fair offers a variety of ways in which students can fulfill their volunteer requirement.

“I think that with the hundreds of members that we have in CSF, it just provides so many different opportunities for them,” said JT Williams, a Dana Hills senior and president of the California Scholarship Federation. “I have tons of students coming to me asking for different hour opportunities, and there’s only so many that we can provide within the school.”

Anderson hopes to establish Engage’s presence on campus this semester and hopes to hold another volunteer fair next semester.

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EDITORIAL Senior City Editor, DP Times Lillian Boyd

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City Editor, Capo Dispatch Collin Breaux

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CONTRIBUTORS Megan Bianco, Jake Howard

Dana Point Times, Vol. 14 Issue 46. The DP Times (danapointtimes.com) is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the SC Times (sanclementetimes.com) and The Capistrano Dispatch (thecapistranodispatch.com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER | By Norb Garrett

ne of my favorite parts of this job and profession is providing talented journalists a platform to help launch and/or develop their careers as writers, photographers or designers across Picket Fence Media’s multiple hyper-local media platforms.

In the almost 16 years we’ve been in business, we’ve been honored to work with numerous outstanding journalists who have served our communities through challenging periods, such as recessions and now a pandemic.

This month, we’re saying goodbye and thanks to Picket Fence Media Senior

Editor and Dana Point Times City Editor Lillian Boyd as she heads off to Tucson, Changing Arizona to continue her journalistic career as the assistant editor for Green Valley News and Sahuarita Sun. Lillian started with us three years ago of the and has excelled in her role as city editor for the Dana Point Times and eventually as PFM’s senior editor, contributing to all three of our area papers. During her time here with us, Lillian Guard (who attended high school nearby at Aliso Niguel High School) established herself as a hard-working, fair, thoughtful journalist, which earned her numerous statewide and O regional writing and photography awards. She also served on the board of the Orange County Press Club, and has earned the respect of her fellow journalists in Orange County. While Lillian exits stage left, I’m excited to welcome Breeana Greenberg, our new Dana Point city reporter. Breeana, who hails from Newport Beach, joins us after a stint as a freelancer for the Laguna Beach Independent, where she covered city hall and the recent oil spill. Prior to that, Breeana graduated with a degree in English with an emphasis on journalism, from Chapman University, where

Breeana Greenberg joins the Picket Fence Media editorial team as the Dana Point Times reporter.

she worked for the ChapBook magazine.

So, please join me in thanking Lillian for all of her great work here while wishing her all the best at her new job, and at the same time welcoming Breeana to the Picket Fence Media team. DP

Breeana Greenberg

Dana Point Times City Reporter bgreenberg@picketfencemedia.com 949.388.7700, x112

GUEST OPINION | The Levin Letter by Rep. Mike Levin

BUILDING BACK BETTER FOR SOUTH OC

Congress is considering two historic pieces of legislation that would lift up working families and create millions of good-paying jobs across the country.

While these bills are still working through the legislative process, both the Build Back Better Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would deliver on key priorities for South Orange County.

I know that the recent oil spill off our coast is still top of mind for many of us, which is why I’m proud the Build Back Better Act includes a provision similar to my American Coasts and Oceans Protection Act by prohibiting new offshore drilling activity off the California coast and elsewhere.

The Department of Interior would be banned from issuing any new leases for drilling offshore of Southern California, and existing offshore drilling and pipeline operators would also face stricter oversight of their infrastructure to better ensure safety and prevent spills. I also know South Orange County families are concerned about the effects of climate change on our coastal com-

THE LEVIN LETTER munities, which is BY MIKE LEVIN why I’m incredibly proud the Build Back Better Act will be the largest single investment in climate action in American history.

This legislation accelerates the action we need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and protect our planet for future generations. It will facilitate the transition to electric vehicles, reduce energy costs for consumers, and make rooftop solar energy more accessible for families, all while ensuring the clean energy technology of the future is manufactured right here in America, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs.

Other local priorities include $350 million in the bipartisan infrastructure bill for the Army Corps of Engineers to fund projects such as the San Clemente Shoreline Project, which is focused on protecting the critical Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor (LOSSAN Corridor) tracks that run immediately adjacent to the Orange County coast.

I’m also proud that both bills invest more than $20 billion in wildfire risk reduction to protect our communities that are constantly threatened by wildfires, including the Bond Fire last year. That funding would go to local governments or forest owners to help prepare for future wildfires.

Finally, I’m optimistic the Build Back Better Act will include an increase of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap, which has unfairly hurt middle class families in our region and continues to be one of the issues I hear about the most. Addressing the SALT cap has been one of my top priorities for the bill.

This historic progress is fully paid for without raising taxes on small businesses or anyone making less than $400,000.

These bills will deliver on key priorities for South Orange County and make a real difference for working families. I’ll be proud to send both bills to the President’s desk.

U.S. Representative Mike Levin represents the 49th Congressional District, which includes the South Orange County cities of Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. He was reelected for a second term in 2020 and resides in San Juan Capistrano with his wife and two children. DP

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the DP Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the DP Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@danapointtimes.com.