After being shuttered for six years, San Clemente’s community hospital will be demolished and a walkable senior community built in its place.
The San Clemente City Council recently approved the proposal from MemorialCare Health System, which owns the 6.3-acre property, to build the 250-apartment community for residents 55 and older with a health center and urgent care, though support was narrow with concerns raised by some city officials and residents about the size of the project.
The mix of studio and two-bedroom apartments will be built in two buildings of three and four stories – about 20 will be reserved for seniors qualifying as very-low income – and a third building will house the 7,500-square-foot health center and urgent care.
Doctors in the medical offices will range from primary care to specialists, and the urgent care will focus on senior needs such as exercise, diet, nutrition and education, MemorialCare officials said.
MemorialCare proposed the project to the city in March and it went through three reviews with the city’s Design Review Subcommittee, which recommended along with the city’s Planning Commission against its approval.
Residents in nearby communities along Camino De Los Mares have expressed concern to city leaders about traffic and congestion from the project and some at Sea Pointe Estates complain they will lose their views.
Councilmember Kathy Ward also asked her colleagues at their recent meeting to hold off approving the project to allow for a city study of the complex’s proposed height and size.
The apartment buildings exceed the city’s height limits – they are placed on a slope to appear closer in height to the accompanying two-story medical building – but MemorialCare was able to take advantage of state rules overriding local requirements if building senior or affordable housing.
“By state law, in absence of our own study, they can demand, but it could come out they don’t need that much and the project would fit better,” Ward said about holding off to have the city do a study to see if the proposed height and mass were necessary.
“If we continue to do housing without a verified study, anyone can come in and do whatever they want,” she said.
Mayor Gene James agreed, adding that while he supports senior housing, the project violated the city’s general plan for allowable height, which is 45 feet.
“I want this done right,” he said. “I want our own traffic and parking study.”
But the council’s other three members supported the proposal and the majority approved the project as a way to finalize a settlement agreement borne from a court battle over what could happen at the old hospital site.
“This was an opportunity to get a mutually beneficial project done,” Councilmember Chris Duncan said, adding that he and James were part of a subcommittee that, over two years, worked with MemorialCare officials to develop a workable solution.
Also, he said, adding senior living and affordable housing to the allowed uses for the hospital site helped San Clemente certify its housing element as demanded by the state. San Clemente has been allocated nearly 1,000 additional units to plan for to help the state meet housing needs.
Duncan said the project was “higher than he would like,” but added he “wasn’t willing to trash the project over potentially de-certifying our housing element and paying Memorial Care $180,000 in maintenance fees and end up back in litigation.”
“With all that, and the huge community benefit of senior and affordable housing, I wasn’t willing to give up because of a few features I didn’t like,” he said, though he added, “I feel for those residents, some whose views will be slightly affected.”
Among the residents is Carey Bettencourt, who attended some of the meetings where the project was discussed.
“This is a project for active seniors, not for assisted living,” she said. “There is a shopping center and medical offices (nearby) and the lots are always full. We worry about the safety of people crossing the street. We don’t feel there was a legit parking study done.”
Bettencourt also said she felt the outreach done by MemorialCare was not enough. As an example, she said poles could have been used that would have visually shown the actual height and density of the proposed construction.
“There are people who spent a lot of money and will lose their views,” she added.
The San Clemente hospital was shuttered in 2016 when MemorialCare said its use has fallen off dramatically and it was not financially viable. Initially, when MemorialCare broached converting the hospital into an outpatient center with urgent care services, the City Council changed the zoning for the property to require the facility to keep an emergency room. But, state law prohibits emergency rooms that aren’t tied to an acute care facility.
After ending up in a courtroom, MemorialCare and city officials reached a settlement in 2019. The property kept its zoning solely for a state-licensed hospital with emergency services, and MemorialCare was given a year to find ways to reopen or sell the facility. According to the agreement, if it didn’t succeed, the city could use eminent domain to seize the property, instead the two ended up in further talks.
Now that the project has been approved, Tom Leary, senior vice president for MemorialCare, said that the provision of the settlement agreement is fulfilled, though paperwork with the city is still being finalized.
He also said that his team worked with the community to make some adjustments to the proposed development. For example, the height of the buildings gradually slopes toward the 5 freeway, making them appear less tall.
The buildings, which will be built to reflect San Clement’s Spanish village-by-the sea- feel, also have no “fronts and backs” and “have character all around,” he said.
Leary also said that a condition for the project requires MemorialCare to work with the city on a parking management plan.
“We understand the impacts of these issues on the community,” he said. “It doesn’t do good for MemerialCare or the community to have (issues) surface. If they do, we will work hand-in-glove with the city.”
While the development agreement gives MemorialCare 20 years to complete the project, Leary said the healthcare provider is motivated to get things built as soon as possible. Still, he said current market volatility and the high-interest rates for financing could cause a delay.
Leary estimated the project’s cost at approximately $85 million, but said that could change. The healthcare provider will look for a developer in January.
“We want to see this happen,” he said. “We want to see it get built.”
