New design for hotel proposal

The latest proposal includes the same number of rooms as before — 141 — but they’re spread out in multiple buildings with open space between them rather than in one or two large buildings. It also includes 161 parking spaces located mostly behind the buildings and not along Highway 1, and 2,770 square feet of conference space — about 200 square feet less than before.

The building with the conference room will be modeled after a barn, two buildings containing the guestrooms will be designed to look like farmhouses and a swimming pool and fitness center will be housed in a glass structure reminiscent of a greenhouse.

“I was struck by how completely different this is from the previous project we received,” said Planning Commission Chair Rick Hernandez, according to a video of the meeting. “While it’s similar in terms of the number of rooms, the sheer scale of it has been reduced … you’ve tried to incorporate a lot of elements that really capture the small-town feel, which is what our community has articulated as a priority and also paying homage to the agriculture feel of our community.”

The project site is a 5-acre triangle-shaped parcel at the intersection of Highway 1, South Main Street and Higgins Canyon Road — a location many refer to as the southern gateway to Half Moon Bay.

The buildings won’t rise above three stories, or 34 feet, and total floor area for the project is 91,999 square feet. The developer also aims to preserve wetlands on the west side of the site, with plans to construct a pedestrian and bike path around them that will serve as a buffer.  

It is estimated that the hotel would bring in about $1 million in transient occupancy tax in its first year in business, according to project plans.  

Nearly everyone agreed that the latest design is an upgrade over the previous one, and despite the reduction in size, many residents still described it as too big and impactful.

“The question isn’t is it pretty, is it nice, is it a good design, and it is a nice design,” resident David Schorr said. “The question is: is this appropriate for our town? Guiding principle number one of the G-Pac and general plan update is preserve small-town charm and character. I don’t care how pretty the design is, you can’t do that with a 90,000 square foot, 141-room hotel that stretches for 400 feet along highway frontage. You simple cannot do it — that is not a small-town attribute.”

Schorr was also less than pleased with the conference center component of the project in part for bringing in hundreds of vehicle trips a day. 

Other residents said additional conference space is needed in Half Moon Bay and celebrated the proposal for bringing an “intermediate hotel” option to a town that has few vacancies on weekends.

And resident Paul McGregor said the new hotel will bring much-needed jobs.

“What better place to have a hotel than right across the street from the Main Street housing project. These people could use that kind of work,” he said. “And they won’t be going on the roads, it’ll actually take traffic off the roads. ... This isn’t the project that will exacerbate traffic problems in this area.”

Hernandez reminded residents that an extensive environmental impact report will address the concerns about traffic, sewage and water. 

Commissioner Les Deman said the development might be more appealing to residents if more community benefits were offered, for example renting out some hotel rooms to local workers on a temporary basis or allowing residents to use the pool at certain times.

Community Development Director Jill Ekas said a draft EIR should be prepared in the next four to six months, which is followed up a 45-day public comment period. There will also be another Planning Commission hearing during that period.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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