The swallows may be returning to the historic charm of San Juan Capistrano, but Home Depot won’t. Local residents of the Capistrano Valley Mobile Estates are celebrating a victory over Home Despot! If you refer back to our previous entries about this town (see newsflash index 2/16/98 and 9/3/99) you will recall that Home Depot has been trying to land on San Juan Capistrano for the past three years. As a Home Depot spokesman said at one point: “Obviously we are interested in opening up a store there.” Only one obstacle prevented this from happening: 400 angry senior citizens. The “No Home Depot” committee did not like the bird-brained idea of building a 130,000 s.f. Home Depot eight feet from their mobile home park. The residents organized, and fouoght the store from day one. The result? On February 7, 2000, the City Manager, George Scarborough, sent a one paragraph letter to a neighbor of the proposed megastore. “As you may be aware,” the City Manager wrote, “the City’s negotiations with Home Depot have ended and the City Council has rejected Home Depot’s request to enter into new negotiations on the Lower Rosan Property. Although Home Depot continues to express interest, the City will also be evaluating other options for disposition of the Lower Rosan Property Ranch property.” That letter drew the following response from resident Jack Heath, who helped lead the opposition: “Hooray! We did it!”
The City Council’s decision surely pulled the feathers off of Home Depot’s bird, but it ain’t over until the fat company sings. But with the City rejecting further discussions with Home Depot, it looks like this is one project the people of Capistrano won’t have to “swallow”. See the earlier entries from this town to see other examples of Home Depot’s bad track record with senior citizens in mobile home parks.
