LAKE ELSINORE: Lakefront building to be allowed

LAKE ELSINORE: Lakefront building to be allowed

Revised zoning regulations in Lake Elsinore soon will soon allow property owners to build custom homes and other structures on the northeastern shore, activity that has been banned for over three decades.

FRANK BELLINO , FILE PHOTO FRANK BELLINO

Selected Permitted Uses: Custom single-family residences; hiking, bicycle trails; jet ski, boat rentals; private boat docks (with permits); restaurants

Uses with Planning Commission Approval: Athletic fields; campgrounds, picnic areas; RV and trailer parks; hotels, inns, rental cottages; limited small retail businesses; playgrounds; tennis courts

For years, owners of properties along Lake Elsinores northeastern shore have clamored for the right to build there.

They soon will have that right as a result of City Council action this week. The council voted 4-0 Tuesday night, with Daryl Hickman absent, to approve revised zoning in an area dubbed the Lake Edge District, which wraps around about two-thirds of the lakefront that is within the citys jurisdiction.

The most significant change in that district is a newly created lakeshore zone stretching between Elm Grove Beach park near downtown to the northwest corner of the lake, about where Lowell Street meets Lakeshore Drive.

Once the revision becomes effective in about 45 days, property owners within that zone will have the right to install custom homes and even restaurants, hotels and tennis courts if permits are obtained.

Such development hasnt happened since the early 1980s when a huge flood wiped out nearly all housing along the shore. While a few homes remained, the city banned further development there because of the flood potential. That possibility was has greatly reduced, however, after the Army Corps of Engineers reconfigured the lake, including the installation of a levee at its southeast end.

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LAKE ELSINORE: Lakefront building to be allowed