With growing interest in a venue where the community can showcase its talents, the San Clemente City Council has agreed to review enlarging an existing amphitheater at Forster Ranch Community Park.
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On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the council directed the city manager to explore what it will take to make the amphitheater hold up to 600 people and to coordinate with the Capistrano Unified School District on backstage access, additional parking, and staging areas.
A city task force looked at city-owned location options within the community while considering specific parameters such as surrounding uses, natural grades, utility availability, and the impact of light and noise on nearby neighbors.
Two options were identified: the existing amphitheater at the park and another possible unused open space at Steed Park that has a natural slope, City Manager Andy Hall said.
Among the considerations the task force and city staff reviewed were construction costs, utility upgrades and opportunity costs.
They examined both sites and determined that despite there being a natural slope on the western end of Steed Park, the slope would require a stability study and that there would also be a need for more parking because the athletic fields are lit, which would draw competition for parking between sports enthusiasts and performance attendees at the amphitheater.
The biggest challenge with Steed Park, Hall added, was construction costs and requirements for more parking. The area reviewed at that park is now used for equipment storage.
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The facility at Forster Ranch Park already has a bowl shape, includes an undeveloped stage, and has stairs that go from the parking lot near the top of the slope down to the stage area.
And, because the athletic fields in the park are not lit, staff said there should be little conflict with the current parking lot. There are also no anticipated issues with neighbors because it is a “far distance” away and, through “sound and lighting configurations,” staff said those concerns would likely be mitigated.
“We want to take advantage of the current facility and see if that can be turned into a community amphitheater for our community,” Hall told the council, adding that the site is already used for Movies in the Park events. “I believe it’s a starting point and we believe it could accommodate maybe 500 to 600.”
Councilmember Victor Cabral said he felt the site would be good to develop “incrementally” as a proof of concept. If there is a lot of interest, he said, then there could be more money put toward the overall idea, stage by stage.”
Councilman Mark Einmeier said he liked the collaboration with the district, adding that he is “all for it.”
“It’s a great location for summer concerts, plays, even middle school productions,” he said.
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