Dino Fever Picking Up

Residents and businesses are taking sides in a Jurassic debate.

San Juan Capistrano Patch | original article here

Either "We Support Dinosaurs in San Juan" is the latest Hollywood release or the Regency is weighing in on the debate surrounding the Zoomars Petting Zoo dinosaur statue, whose fate the San Juan Capistrano City Council will decde Apri 2.

OC Register: Juan's Last Round-Up

Council appeal could be last round-up for dinosaur statue

By JOSH FRANCIS / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Zoomars Petting Zoo is saddling up for a final appeal in hopes of persuading the City Council to save its 13-foot-tall dinosaur statue from extinction.

Zoo owner Carolyn Franks is calling on her supporters to attend an April 2 meeting, where the council could decide whether the dinosaur stays or goes. The city Planning Commission has twice rejected the $12,000 apatosaurus replica, which the zoo installed in June without permits.

Zoomars Petting Zoo craftsmen Camilo Hernandez, left, and Walter Jolon show a saddle created for Zoomars' 13-foot-tall, 40-foot-long apatosaurus statue.

JOSH FRANCIS, FOR THE REGISTER

Council meeting

The San Juan Capistrano City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. April 2 at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto.

Zoomars even had a saddle made for the dinosaur, which it calls Juan. Visitors can't ride the prehistoric creature, but it's part of Franks' effort to round up more community support for her last-ditch attempt to save her investment. The campaign includes T-shirts, bracelets and a petition she plans to present to the council.

The appeal also will include Franks' plans to erect an Old West facade, huts for an Acjachemen-style Native American village and a prehistoric fossil dig area. The Planning Commission in February approved the structures with several conditions, but a revote this month resulted in a tie, which counts as a rejection.

The appeal to the council lumps the dinosaur and the accessory structures into one item, but the council could decide to consider them separately.

Council members have been tight-lipped about the issue, since it has yet to reach them. Councilman Roy Byrnes' wife, Ilse, is a staunch critic of the statue.

The Capistrano Historical Alliance Committee, a group of members of historical Capistrano families, took offense to the statue's installation and demanded that the city force Franks to remove it. The committee says the dinosaur does not fit the character of the Los Rios Historic District, where Zoomars is located.

SUPPORTERS

San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce: Executive Director Mark Bodenhamer says the dinosaur is a benefit to the city.

San Juan Capistrano Cultural Heritage Commission: In November, the panel voted to allow the dinosaur.

Microsemi: Jim Peterson, chief executive of the Aliso Viejo-based company, has donated thousands of dollars to help Zoomars through the permitting and appeals process for the statue.

OPPONENTS

Capistrano Historical Alliance Committee: Members sent the city a letter within 24 hours of the statue's installation demanding that the statue be removed.

City staff: Has stated the statue does not fit into the historic neighborhood; issued an eviction notice in June that set off ongoing reviews and appeals.

CHRONOLOGY

June 13: Zoomars Petting Zoo owner Carolyn Franks buys a replica apatosaurus from an Anaheim auction house and installs it at the zoo at 31791 Los Rios St. in San Juan Capistrano.

June 14: Jerry Nieblas, president of the Capistrano Historical Alliance Committee, demands that the city act to have the statue removed, saying it makes a "mockery of the history of San Juan Capistrano."

June 29: The city issues Franks an eviction notice for the statue. She appeals to the Planning Commission.

Aug. 14: The Planning Commission denies Franks' appeal.

Sept. 17: Instead of appealing the Planning Commission's decision to the City Council, Franks takes a new approach and applies for an amendment to her conditional use permit that would allow the statue and other structures.

Nov. 27: The Cultural Heritage Commission recommends that the Planning Commission find the statue consistent with the Los Rios Specific Plan.

Jan. 7: The Planning Commission denies the dinosaur statue again and delays a decision on the rest of Franks' proposal.

Feb. 12: The Planning Commission approves the proposed accessory structures with several conditions, including review by the city Design Review Committee.

March 12: A Planning Commission re-vote results in a tie, reversing its February decision on the accessory structures.

March 13: Franks decides to appeal the denial of the statue and the accessory structures to the City Council.

SZD4213 T Shirts

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Thank you for your support.

#SZD4213 #savejuan

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Help save the ZOOMARS' Dinosaur April 2nd, 

6PM at San Juan City Hall. 

Join our movement to SAVE ZOOMARS DINOSAUR .  

Come to the zoo and sign a petition to keep our beloved Brontosaurus.  As a special thanks, we'll give you a FREE WRISTBAND to wear with pride, embossed with our SZD4213 message.  

#zoomars #savejuan #SZD4213

Juan Rejected on Re Vote

Zoo's plans rejected on commission re-vote; council appeal next

FOR THE REGISTER

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – A Planning Commission decision to allow additions at Zoomars Petting Zoo, including a fossil dig area, a replica Old West building facade and several shade structures, was effectively reversed on a tie vote by the panel Tuesday night after questions about the original resolution prompted a re-vote.

The commission voted 3-2 in February to approve the proposal with several conditions. But Deputy City Attorney Alisha Patterson said city staff, in writing the final resolution, recommended a re-vote to make sure the resolution would reflect what the commission approved.

JOSH FRANCIS, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

Zoomars Petting Zoo owner Carolyn Franks poses last summer in front of the zoo's 13-foot-tall apatosaurus replica with San Juan Capistrano artist Art Guevara, who is holding his painting of the dinosaur. Franks is appealing the San Juan Planning Commission's rejection of the statue to the City Council.

Commissioner Sheldon Cohen said Tuesday that because Neely was absent, it might be unfair to vote on the item. But Bill Ramsey, the city's assistant director of development services, said Zoomars owner Carolyn Franks requested a final vote. Commissioner Tim Neely, who voted in favor of the proposal the first time, was absent Tuesday, leading to a tie on the re-vote. A tie is considered a rejection.

Franks said Wednesday that she wasn't happy with the commission's conditions, and that appealing a rejection to the City Council is a better option for her.

At the commission's Feb. 12 meeting, it decided the plans should go before the city's Design Review Committee, that the location of the structures should be moved and that Franks should consult Juaneño Indian groups about the aesthetics of the reed hut.

"Every time I go back, it's like they keep requiring me to change my plans," Franks said. "My plan has now been so botched it's not even reflective of what I'm asking for."

The commissioners made no additional comments about the issue Tuesday.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Franks is taking both the proposed additions and the Planning Commission's rejection of the zoo's 40-foot-long dinosaur statue to the City Council on appeal. Both issues may go to the council April 2.

The Planning Commission twice has turned down Frank's attempts to gain approval for the replica apatosaurus that the zoo installed in June without city permits. On Jan. 8, the commission voted against allowing the dinosaur as part of a proposed prehistoric garden. The panel opted to vote on the zoo's other proposals separately.

Franks said she will seek to combine the appeals so that one council vote could determine the fate of the statue and the other structures.

If the council rejects the dinosaur appeal, the zoo would have 15 days to remove the statue or face fines.

SJC Chamber Supports Juan!

Original article posted here

SJC Chamber Supports the Zoomars Dinosaur

GUEST COLUMNS, SOAPBOX | MARCH 8, 2013 BY STAFF | 0 COMMENTS

By Mark Bodenhamer, CEO of the San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce

Mark Bodenhamer

One of the best aspects of my job is frequently agreeing with the people that I’m technically “disagreeing” with. In other words, I find that people speaking in opposition to a Chamber policy usually have the same goals and big picture vision that we do; it’s subtle nuances and minor differences of perspective that put us on opposing sides of an issue.

For example, we might advocate for relaxed sign ordinances yet totally understand those who want to protect the charm of the community by avoiding too many signs, banners, etc. I take that as a sign of how good things are in San Juan Capistrano and how many people are passionate about doing what’s best for the community. The issue of the dinosaur at Zoomars fits this model exactly; I understand the spirit of the arguments against the statue but the Chamber believes it’s right to keep the statue where it is.

The three main questions that drove the Chamber’s decision were: One, what precedents have been set? Two, how will it impact the Los Rios Historic District? And three, what is best for the community overall?

“Precedent” in the Los Rios District is a little hard to pin down. It’s still a residential neighborhood but a stroll down the street obviously highlights many variances from that. I’m no historian, but I think it’s safe to say gift shops and outdoor dining weren’t part of the historic fabric of the neighborhood. Yet they’ve become a fun and welcomed facet of Los Rios Street and are a big part of what draws visitors to experience the area. More specific to Zoomars, the most obvious precedent-setter is the train ride. Its addition to the property signifies that a prior council determined that features above and beyond a “petting zoo” are appropriate.

Protecting the historic appeal of Los Rios and its special designations is very important to the Chamber. We believe efforts to preserve history are greatly valuable to the community. However, we feel that the dinosaur doesn’t significantly detract from the overall historic appeal of the neighborhood. The statue has been on the property at Zoomars for the better part of a year and Los Rios still feels like Los Rios.

The statue isn’t directly on, or even visible from, Los Rios Street. It’s tucked back in a space that actually isn’t part of the most highly restricted part of the Los Rios District’s historic zone. There have been more visitors at Zoomars but not so many that it’s substantively disrupting residents or other businesses.

The final factor in our position was the Chamber’s belief that keeping the dinosaur statue is good for San Juan Capistrano overall. Keeping the dinosaur means adding an activity for kids that is educational, outdoors and doesn’t involve a screen, such as an iPad or video game. Keeping the dinosaur also sends a message that our city supports business and economic development.

Communities, especially those like San Juan Capistrano whose economy is highly reliant on tourism revenue, are always looking for ways to bring in new visitors and create tax revenue that supports the city’s operations. The dinosaur statue has proven to do just that, at no cost to our city.

Zoomars Petting Zoo is a great local business that brings joy to children from all over the region.  It attracts thousands of tourists who can experience the beautiful history of Los Rios and all of San Juan Capistrano during their visit.

We want to encourage and promote their continued growth and respectfully urge the City Council to do so as well by approving the dinosaur statue.

Note: Carolyn Franks, owner of Zoomars, is a member of the Board of Directors for the SJC Chamber. Ms. Franks had an obvious conflict of interest and therefore was not a part of the board’s discussion of or vote on a position relative to this issue.

Mark Bodenhamer has served as CEO and executive director of the San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce since 2010.