SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : City Staff Backs Bid by O’Neill, Partner

A city staff report issued this week recommends that the City Council sell a key downtown commercial complex to South County rancher Richard J. O’Neill and his partner, Stephen A. Nordeck, for $1.1 million.

The report, which will be discussed during a public hearing at City Hall on Tuesday, indicates that O’Neill and Nordeck have agreed to make $686,550 in improvements to the block-long complex. It is located at the intersection of Camino Capistrano and Ortega Highway, directly across the street from historic Mission San Juan Capistrano.

A proposed agreement between the city and the developers, called San Juan Partners, will be reviewed by the council April 19. Based on earlier votes, the council is expected to approve the sale Tuesday and the development agreement two weeks later.

“I think we need to look out for what’s best for the city, taking into consideration other local projects,� Councilman Jeff Vasquez said Wednesday. “The O’Neill family has invested quite a bit into the city, particularly at the El Adobe restaurant. They have made a lot of upgrades to it, but still preserved its ambience . . . which is the kind of gradual development we want to see.�

Acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, which owns the complex, the council on Jan. 18 directed the city staff to enter into exclusive negotiations with O’Neill and Nordeck. Nordeck, a former mayor of Manhattan Beach and former county planning commissioner, is part owner of the well-known Swallows Inn, half a block away from the complex.

The vote for O’Neill and Nordeck was close, however, at 3 to 2, with Mayor Collene Campbell and Councilwoman Carolyn Nash opting for the second-place bidders, Riverside Community Investors. The RCI group has continued to lobby intensely for the bid, Vasquez said.

“I don’t think we have ever been lobbied as strongly about anything,� Vasquez said.

The complex houses the Cafe Capistrano and the El Peon, among other small businesses.