# Hyatt Oceanside might be dead !!!



## Carmel85 (Dec 24, 2007)

Here is some info on the Hyatt Oceanside property.  I feel that Hyatt,the owner and the California Coastal Commission will work things out. I will keep all of you updated because I will be attending about 5 coastal commission meeting next year for some of my clients and their associated. 

The California Coastal Commission had HUGE powers but if anybody can pull this off HYATT can. Remember they have Carmel Highlands Inn and that was also a BIG deal to the coastal staff but the Coastal Commissioners approved that project and did not listen to their staff. This Hyatt project will get very political but HYATT will get it approved they are very well connected and respected in the industry.

http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2007/12/W19a-12-2007.pdf

It looks like at the next coastal Commission meeting in Jan 08 timeshare in the south land will be heating up. Hyatt and the Developer will be heading down a hard road they will have some giving and taking if they want this project approved. The developer might want to hold out a olive branch ASAP!!!

I feel  if the developer Patel is trying to get tuff with the 1 million fees he should work things out, because if there is a ton of $$$$$ to make 1 million is a drop in the bucket it is part of doing business in California and in the Coastal Zone (next to the beach ). What is the developer going to do he has pure junk sitting there now on the property and a huge upside potential $$$$ . I just hope he has a level head because if he doesn't play nice the Coastal Commission  they will crush the project and the developer will have to start a square one. Im glad to see that city is trying to work something out with Perter Douglas coastal big big boss.
Maybe they can set aside some property for open space and pay some fees also. Come on Hyatt make things happen!!!


*Fees would kill Oceanside harbor hotel project, owner says*

By: MARGA KELLOGG - Staff Writer
Officials working to maintain number of lower-cost rooms

OCEANSIDE ---- Local businessman Shantu Patel says he wants to put a new face on the downtown GuestHouse Inn, but is worried that hefty new fees being considered by the California Coastal Commission could be a death knell for the project.

Patel plans to demolish the 80-room inn and the Flying Bridge Restaurant at 1105 N. Coast Highway and replace them with a 127-room Hyatt hotel, overlooking the nearby harbor.

The Hyatt would increase occupancy rates on the property because it would offer an upscale hotel that is more consistent with recent condominiums and time-share developments in Oceanside, he said.

But a recent proposal by the staff of the California Coastal Commission would require developers who want to revamp downtown properties to pay up-front "in-lieu fees," --- money that the proposal says should be used for projects that would promote more affordable lodging options along the coast.

Patel says that, if approved, the proposal would add an estimated $1 million to his $25 million project.

At its Dec. 12 meeting, the commission killed a similar fee proposal that targeted new hotel and motel projects in Oceanside's downtown redevelopment area. But the panel stalled on how the fees should be applied to renovations such as Patel's.

Patel said if he has to pay the fees, he'll have to shelve his project. And, he said, if such fee proposals spread, it could lead to the demise of smaller hotels and motels on the California coast.

"In the long term," he said, "it will just cause the decay of those hotels and the coast will be littered with them. Whoever came up with this idea is not thinking it through. It may be a short-term tax to fund their projects like parks and hostels, but in the long term, it is definitely a negative."

A bigger picture
Jim Abrams, president and chief executive officer of the California Hotel and Lodging Association, said last week that his organization is drafting a letter to the commission, challenging the fees.

The association has 1,800 member properties throughout California and represents the lodging industry in government matters.

Abrams said the commission has no legal authority to impose in-lieu fees and added that, in Patel's case, if such fees mean he can't develop his property, they would constitute the unlawful taking of private property.

"If you're going to take my property or make it unusable, then that's basically eminent domain. You can't just willy-nilly do things to people's property," he said.

Under the recent proposal, developers who plan to demolish and rebuild a hotel or motel in Oceanside's downtown redevelopment area would have to pay fees of $30,000 per unit for half of any new rooms.

The money would be set aside to build campgrounds, RV parks and hostels to ensure there is still affordable lodging near the beach. The Coastal Commission defines affordable as $100 a night or less.

Abrams said the commission's staff has made it clear that while they're focusing on Oceanside, they're trying to come up with a policy that would cover the coastal zone for the entire state. If that's the case, he said, there are procedures that must be followed or the commission is breaking the law.

Abrams also questioned how the Coastal Commission determined that $100 a night constituted a low-cost hotel room, how it arrived at the $30,000 in-lieu fee and why the fees wouldn't be used to help developers build lower-cost hotels, rather than hostels and campgrounds.

The other side
Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas said last week that, in regard to a plan for the entire state, Abrams is right. That's why the commission is focusing on Oceanside and has addressed other similar situations on a case-by-case basis, Douglas added.

He said that at the Dec. 12 meeting, the commission approved two projects on the Central Coast that included in-lieu fees for hotels.

"We've been imposing in-lieu fees for over 25 years," Douglas said, pointing to a number of lower-cost accommodations that have been built with such fees, including two hostels in Santa Monica, and cottages at Crystal Cove State Park, which he said were preserved using in-lieu monies.

"We can't adopt a statewide policy except by regulation," he said, "but Oceanside's local coastal program was before us. We decided we didn't want the fees to apply to new hotels in that area because the commission agreed with the city that there are sufficient lower-cost accommodations available."

However, if the lower-cost hotels are renovated into pricey new properties, the affordable options diminish, Douglas said.

That's why the panel did not waive the in-lieu fee for remodeling projects, he added.

Most existing hotel rooms are lower-cost ---- $100 or less ---- he said, and need to be protected.

Working out a plan
Kathy Baker, Oceanside's redevelopment manager, said the city is working on a proposal to take back to the commission that would preserve the minimum of 375 low-cost rooms that the panel wants protected in the city's coastal zone.

"We need to brainstorm to find a way to make them feel sure that we'll always meet that minimum instead of (them) imposing a fee," Baker said. "The reality is that a lot of the small hotels want to demo and rebuild because of the size of their property. They can only get so big."

Baker said the city needs to show the commission that imposing fees on smaller hotel proprietors flies in the face of redevelopment.

"I do believe we need to keep a good stock of affordable rooms, but you also can't tie the hands of somebody who wants to improve their property," Baker said.

Douglas said the commission is working with the city to figure out a way to make the in-lieu fee for converted hotels and motels work.

"There are a number of ways that the goal of no net loss of lower-cost rooms can be achieved," he said, "so we need to work that out. I think it's going to take several months."


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## mesamirage (Dec 24, 2007)

I think this is just both sides trying to position themselves... I mean there is no way anyone could really think they could build a project in California without first greasing the palms of the local and state officials! Taxation has just legalized the same actions groups like the Mafia used to do.... 
Now they just use a Gavel instead of a Tommy Gun! 

This is just a natural part of the broken government system in California...


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## Carmel85 (Dec 24, 2007)

mesamirage said:


> I think this is just both sides trying to position themselves... I mean there is no way anyone could really think they could build a project in California without first greasing the palms of the local and state officials! Taxation has just legalized the same actions groups like the Mafia used to do....
> Now they just use a Gavel instead of a Tommy Gun!
> 
> This is just a natural part of the broken government system in California...



Im not sure you have seen the or been to a California Coastal Commission meeting but the Coastal Commission is probably one of the most powerful bodies in the state.

There is NO greasing the palms these are many different people that are appointed to be on this board.

If the developer want to play he will just have to pay!!!! 

This is not a broken part of government just a commission that is looking out for the entire coast of California.

We here in California should be happy there is regulation because if we did not have this commission the California Coast line would look a lot different and we might not even have access to the coast line at all !!!  

If you want to build you need to pay to play it is that simple this regulation is good for our state. Sometimes you do not always agree with the commission or their action but they are always willing to work things out we have see this first hand here in Monterey/Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach and Carmel California. 

Here is a proposal here in Monterey that is going to be on th Coastal Commission agenda very soon. This will be much harder then Hyatt proposal down in Oceanside.

a. Application Number 3-06-65 (Cannery Row Marketplace LLC, Monterey) Application of Cannery Row Marketplace LLC for mixed use project (“Ocean View Plaza”) including retail and retail support; restaurant space; 38 market-rate condominiums; 13 inclusionary housing units; 377 parking spaces; onsite desalination plant; replication of San Xavier Warehouse; community park; rehabilitation of Stohan’s building as history center; history plaza; and replication of historic utility bridge over Cannery Row, at 457, 465, 470, 484, 565, and 570 Cannery Row, City of Monterey. (SC-SC) [POSTPONED]


HAPPY HOLIDAYS MERRY X-MAS


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## benjaminb13 (Dec 25, 2007)

why doesnt HVC build where it already has a HYatt hotel- and just expand?


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## Carmel85 (Dec 25, 2007)

benjaminb13 said:


> why doesnt HVC build where it already has a HYatt hotel- and just expand?




Benji,

Hyatt just can not build where they already have a hotel not that easy. Hyatt would still have to go through all the permit process to build just like this project and Maui. In SFO Hyatt will take the top 3-5 floors of a Hyatt hotel and convert them to beautiful residents just like Beaver Creek Hyatt.

When Hyatt wants to get on the coast of California it can get very tuff especially close to the beach then they have to work with the California Coastal Commission.  When they get the approval they will be the only game in town just like Carmel Highlands Inn.

Remember Hyatt Hotels is owned by different people just like Hyatt Vacation Club is owned by other people same family but different family members 2 completely separate  companies.

Im just happy we for sure 1000% have HYATT NORTHSTAR!!!!


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## Cathyb (Dec 25, 2007)

Oceanside has had many problems with developers over the years around the oceanfront properties.  Why not head down the coast to Encinitas; the Building Department there is much easier to deal with and it is a more affluent surroundings inland than Oceanside.


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## Carmel85 (Dec 25, 2007)

Cathyb said:


> Oceanside has had many problems with developers over the years around the oceanfront properties.  Why not head down the coast to Encinitas; the Building Department there is much easier to deal with and it is a more affluent surroundings inland than Oceanside.




Cathy,

I don't think you understand the City of Oceanside is in support of the project but Hyatt and the developer has to also get a approval through the California Coastal Commission. This is true in any location on the Coast of California they are the approval board after the city or County (like Carmel Highlands Hyatt went through) gives the developer the city approval. Oceanside Im sure has a Local Program in that program it states what has to happen to get a Coastal approval for Hotel to Condo/Timeshare/Fractional conversions if not this is where the California Coastal Commission comes in!!

I do hope this help!!! It takes a long time to get approvals but they are well worth it.

You can check on the California Coastal Commissions website to current meeting and see other timeshare resorts that are set to be approved  very soon along the California Coast.


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