Juan's Last Stand

Zoo's planned additions go to San Juan commission Tuesday

Original article here

By JOSH FRANCIS / FOR THE REGISTER

San Juan Capistrano's Planning Commission will consider Tuesday night whether to allow Zoomars Petting Zoo a modified conditional use permit for construction of a Juaneno Indian-style reed hut, a fossil dig area, a replica Old West building and several shade structures.

The proposed additions are part of a plan to reorganize the zoo to create a farm area, an Old West town, an Acjachemen Indian village and a prehistoric garden. Zoomars owner Carolyn Franks said the four areas would chronicle San Juan Capistrano's past from prehistory to the 1800s.

Several planning commissioners had issues with the proposal at a recent meeting and agreed to postpone a decision on it. City staff is recommending approval.

The plan to be discussed Tuesday does not include the zoo's dinosaur statue, which the Planning Commission rejected in January, saying it is inappropriate for its neighborhood in the Los Rios Historic District. The statue was part of the zoo's overall proposal, but the commission voted on it separately.

Franks recently submitted an appeal of the commission's decision to the City Council. A date for the appeal hearing has not been set.

The 40-foot-long replica apatosaurus has been an attraction at the zoo since June, when it was installed without city permits. City staff ordered Franks to remove the dinosaur after receiving complaints from the Capistrano Historical Alliance Committee, a group of local residents that said the statue makes a "mockery" of the city's history. In August, the Planning Commission denied Franks' appeal of the eviction order, largely because she had not complied with the building approval process.

Tuesday's commission meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto.