The proposed Hyatt Place Hotel project in Half Moon Bay still faces community pushback over traffic and building aesthetics issues as it goes through a draft environmental impact report process, with the applicant working to address resident concerns.
The 5-acre parcel at 1191 Main St. calls for either a 129-unit hotel in a three-building format or a proposed alternative two that would see a reduced hotel of 102 units in two buildings with modifications to the nearby James Ford dealership site and around 20 residential units on the north side of Seymour Street. It would have a floor area reduction to 67,000 square feet, with a three-story northern building and a two-story southern building. The dealership site would get an enlarged parking lot. Dealership parking on the lot to the north across Seymour Street would be moved to this new parking area, freeing up the Seymour Street site for residential development. The city has zoned the lot R2 residential. Alternative two is the preferred project for the applicant, Greg Jamison. To address public concern, alternative two has increased the space between the two hotel buildings from 16 to 32 feet and space between the north end of the hotel and the auto dealership fence line. Jamison said the hotel would support jobs for people in the neighborhood and be a place to which workers can walk. To address concerns about parking, Jamison said the project maintains existing neighborhood parking and puts entrances near commercial sites and away from housing. Hotel parking is onsite, with enough space to meet demand.
“There’s been major changes throughout the entire project, and a lot of the community input has been good,” Jamison said. “It’s helped shape this to where it is.”
The site is at the south end of Main Street and has some wetlands on the west side of the site that falls into the California Coastal Commission appeals jurisdiction, with a 100-foot wetland buffer part of the plan. It is near the Coastside Fire District Station and the James Ford dealership.
The Planning Commission used its Aug. 9 meeting to receive comments on the draft environmental impact report, which looks at the effects of the project and ways to minimize impacts. Public speakers at the meeting wanted to protect the wetlands area and see traffic congestion and parking mitigation in anticipation of increased issues. Others said the aesthetics looked bland and similar to hotel chains and did not fit in with the views, open space area, town character and the southern gateway entrance to Half Moon Bay. Those against the project worried about increased traffic during natural disasters or felt it did not address water and sewage issues. Some favored the project and noted the developer had tried to meet all resident concerns and would provide jobs for residents and income for the city. Jamison said some of the designs shown were city renderings and do not represent the custom building for which he is aiming.
“Our goal is to make a nice product that is going to benefit the city. There’s not that middle range hotel that exists,” Jamison said.
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Planning Commissioner James Benjamin wanted to see if there should be more consideration about pedestrian vantage points on the trail near the site. Benjamin wanted to see staff give further study to traffic circulation and safety impacts in the EIR based on public comments. Vice Chair Rick Hernandez wanted consistency in building heights near ridge lines and addressing public concerns about the mass and scale of the project. Hernandez also wanted water use, sewage and traffic to be thoroughly analyzed and explained in the EIR summary to show why it does not affect the project.
“These issues have been raised in every single one of the public meetings I’ve attended,” Hernandez said. “I think a lot of those concerns have been addressed in the documents. It’s a little difficult for the layperson to find those things.”
Planning Commissioner Margaret Gossett wanted to look at traffic circulation issues during the fall holidays around Halloween and Christmas.
“Cars sit in traffic for a long time. I thought the traffic study was insufficient,” Gossett said.
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