Plans approved for redevelopment of hotel Coastal Commission rejects concerns By Janine Zúñiga San Diego Union-Tribune April 11, 2008 IMPERIAL BEACH – The California Coastal Commission approved plans yesterday to redevelop a blighted oceanfront hotel in Imperial Beach using 100 percent condo-investor financing. The plan had been challenged by two commissioners who raised concerns about whether the renovated Seacoast Inn as a condo-hotel would offer affordable rooms and whether owner-investors would limit the number of available rooms. But in an 11-1 ruling, with Sara Wan from San Francisco dissenting, commissioners rejected those concerns and most of its staff's major recommendations, including limiting to 20 the number of condos for sale and charging a $240,000 fee that would be used to build affordable accommodations elsewhere along the coast. Imperial Beach struggles annually to balance its budget, increase revenues and keep its water pollution-free. Mayor Jim Janney said the commission's decision was “enormous” for the city. He said projects, like the Seacoast Inn, should be reviewed case by case. “We can't have a blanket policy from Mexico to Oregon,” Janney said. Imperial Beach City Manager Gary Brown said the city and Seacoast Inn owner Ash Israni of Pacifica Cos. will immediately begin work on drawings and permits to replace the dilapidated 38-room hotel with a resort with 78 rooms. Each room will be sold for an estimated $345,000 as limited-term-occupancy condominiums to finance construction. Construction could begin as early as the fall and will take about a year to complete, Brown said. After Coastal Commission staff members raised concerns about the possible gradual conversion of hotel rooms to purely residential use, Israni said his corporation would guarantee that a conversion would not occur. Condo owners will be able to use their rooms 90 days a year, but no more than 25 consecutively, according to a development agreement between the city and Pacifica. The condo-rooms will require full room service and a centralized reservation system. The rooms will rent for about $138 per room. In addition to providing nearly twice as many rooms for visitors, city officials noted the return of 7,000 square feet of private beach to the public. City officials cited studies showing that even with 100 percent condo-investor funding, the project is high-risk. Without it, they say, any deal likely would have been killed. The commission's decision may affect another hotel project along the county coastline, this one in Oceanside. S.D. Malkin Properties of San Diego has been proposing a beachfront complex there for years, to encompass a 289-room hotel, a 47-room boutique hotel and 48 longer-term time shares. As with the Imperial Beach project, the commission staff was asking for a fee for every new unit built to replace an “affordable” unit in Oceanside. Staff writer Lola Sherman contributed to this report. Janine Zuniga: (619) 498-6636; janine.zuniga@uniontrib.com Copyright 1999-2008, California Coastal Coalition Phone: (760) 944-3564