Hyatt Place Hotel approvals delayed in Half Moon Bay

Facing concerns over aesthetic impacts and traffic from residents as late as 2022, the developer worked to address issues and mitigate visual obstructions to the landscape. At the Planning Commission’s meeting Oct. 9, the project, which would also include a future four-lot subdivision of residential use, received positive feedback from community members.

Mike Alifano, a nearby homeowner, vouched for the integrity of project applicant Greg Jamison and said he felt the hotel would be an asset to the community.

“He’s a man of his word and has done everything he said he would do,” he said. “What I’d love to see is what they’re proposing today. … I think it’s done right, it’s tasteful, it will add to what you see when you pull into Half Moon Bay.”

Despite positive reviews of this nature, planning commissioners debated at length around one element of approval for the environmental impact report, which included an override of visual quality considerations laid out in local code. The commissioners can override that if the project creates significant benefits to the community, staff said.

Aside from the EIR, commissioners were tasked with approving a parking exception for planned 109 parking spaces — zoning code mandates 127, but the exception cites the project’s commitment to 40% open space as reasoning for developing less parking — and an architectural review.

Commissioner Steve Ruddock acknowledged that there would be some intrusion to the view of the slopes and ridgeline, but said that the pros significantly outweigh the cons.

“For the vast majority of people concerned — which would be in vehicles on Highway 1 — it’s going to be a small intrusion that is very fleeting,” he said. “The benefits of this to me are overwhelming, if I’m weighing these things, the slight, fleeting intrusion into the ridgeline versus revenue to the city, the jobs, the increase in viability and robustness of Main Street businesses. To me, that’s an overwhelming choice.”

The new hotel would make up for recent room losses and be an excellent midprice point for visitors, Chamber of Commerce CEO Krystlyn Giedt said at public comment.

“It’s very difficult to tell [visitors] the wide gap there is between low end and high end,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of the sweet spot room rates the Hyatt Hotel would bring in.”

Some, like Commissioner David Gorn, were less convinced that the Planning Commission had an innate responsibility to override visual considerations, and commissioners discussed the minutiae of the Local Coastal Land Use Plan point by point.

“If what we want to do is approve this project, it feels like legal calisthenics to get around these problems, these issues,” he said. “I’m trying to reconcile what’s in the LUP and what’s here with approving it.”

And residents also voiced certain concerns — some, like Nancy Fontana, said they simply didn’t care for the concept of the project blocking any sort of view.

“I’ve grown up on the coast, so it’s very hard for me. I love the coastal hills, so I’d really rather there not be this project,” she said. “I recognize that it’s a difficult parcel, given the shape, and I recognize that, I think the developer has done a good job of reducing it and trying to mitigate problems.”

Staff, the developer and outside consultants have worked diligently to address considerations around the visual element, presenting extensive projections, as well as traffic issues. If the hotel implemented a transportation demand management program like a shuttle, the development would result in a “less-than-significant” impact in terms of vehicle miles traveled.

Changes to the hotel’s plans represent a willingness to listen to the community, senior planner Douglas Garrison said.

“I just want to make it clear — there are some comments floating around that it’s been an unstable project description. In this case, this is how it’s supposed to work. The changes were in response to comments from the public and the Planning Commission,” he said.

The Planning Commission will pick up discussion on the Hyatt Place Hotel — including concerns around the subdivision — at its next meeting Oct. 22.