Driving Range, La Ronda Fixes on Tap

The City Council will consider at its Tuesday meeting an appeal by the owners of the , who want to install lights that will allow golfers to continue to practice their swing when the sun goes down.

Also on the agenda is a few simple solutions to try to get drivers on Camino La Ronda to slow down and obey stop signs.

The at a November meeting.

A number of members of the CIF champion  golf team wrote letters of support, saying it would be much more convenient and less expensive if they could stay locally to practice after dark.

“If we could get lets, it would allow us way more time to practice into the night,” wrote student Hank Greenberg. “Since it’s been getting dark so early, we would have to drive to Saddleback and then start practicing all over. Please give us light; it would help us tremendously with our golf game.”

While most of the letters City Hall received were positive, several nearby residents, did contact the council in opposition.

“We are totally opposed to any lighting anywhere on the San Juan Hills Golf Course and/or Driving Range,” wrote Jack and Carol Chestek.

The La Ronda item was a late addition to Tuesday's agenda. A community meeting about the subject featuring several deputies who have written hundreds of traffic tickets on the street since June .

The city is proposing to narrow the traffic lanes, either with a wide median or bicycle lanes and room for parallel parking, according to a staff report.

The other solution is to add flashing red lights on top of stop signs east of Via Puntero for both east- and westbound traffice.

Meanwhile, the is the gift that keeps on giving. The City Council will consider awarding a  $7,900 contract to clean up a pile of mud that was relocated to the northeast corner of San Juan Creek and Valle roads.

The city has applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state version, California Emergency Management Agency, for reimbursement. FEMA is expected to cover 75 percent, with Cal-EMA picking up another 18.75 percent.

Staff has recommended Kuno’s Grading of San Clemente get the job. The contract calls for project completion by Jan. 27.

Also on the agenda Tuesday:

• The City Council will officially form a housing authority. The move is an effort to hold onto about $12 million in the .
• Adopt an ordinance labeling which areas are .
• Discuss whether those who give the prayer at the start of City Council meetings .