Ganahl Lumber will close Capo Beach location, moving operations to Stonehill Drive property
By Allison Jarrell
The San Juan Capistrano City Council voted unanimously in closed session on April 4 to negotiate the sale of the Lower Rosan Ranch—a 15-acre property off of Stonehill Drive—to Ganahl Lumber Company.
When the state “dissolved” redevelopment agencies back in 2012, the city of San Juan Capistrano, like other agencies, was required to develop a plan to sell any agency-owned property. For San Juan, this meant selling the Lower Rosan Ranch, which is currently utilized by nearby auto dealers as off-site car storage.
The city called for bids on the property last fall and began reviewing 13 bids in January. The Council held a community workshop on March 29 to receive public input on five of the development proposals for Lower Rosan, which ranged from a Home Depot or a business park, to a master planned neighborhood or special needs and senior housing.
Ganahl Lumber’s proposal includes the Ganahl facility, a quick-serve restaurant, self-storage and car storage for neighboring auto dealers. The Ganahl store will sell lumber, building materials and hardware primarily to contractors and other professionals.
The city will receive about 10 percent of the net proceeds of the sale, which will go to the general fund, according to city staff. In addition, Ganahl representatives project the facility will provide the city with approximately $480,000 in sales tax revenue and 88 new jobs.
San Juan Capistrano Mayor Kerry Ferguson said the Council’s decision is a “great win for the city.”
“I’m excited that this property will finally be developed in a really good way that will benefit the city and will be helpful to our auto dealers, and by a company that has been in the neighborhood for many years,” Ferguson said.
The family-owned lumber company currently has nine facilities in Southern California, including a store in Capistrano Beach at 34162 Doheny Park Road that opened in 1995. Ganahl President Peter Ganahl said the company will eventually close its Capo Beach location and move those operations to the Stonehill Drive property.
During the Council’s March 29 workshop, a few residents living in the nearby Capistrano Valley Mobile Estates voiced concerns that the Ganahl facility would create excessive noise, especially early in the day since the store would open at 6 a.m.
When asked about his take on those concerns, Ganahl said he’s sensitive to those worries. He said the ambient noise a Ganahl facility creates is “quite low” in a “technical sense,” but noted that trains passing by do make quite a bit of noise.
“We’re going to have to demonstrate to the residents that we’re not going to raise the noise levels,” Ganahl said.
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