Lido House Hotel

Month	October
Year	2015
Summary	The site of the former Newport Beach City Hall is the location of the proposed Lido House Hotel. This project would turn the former government building into a 4 story, 130 room high-cost hotel with retail and parking space. General practice has been for the developer to provide an in-lieu fee to mitigate the addition of further high-cost overnight accommodations; however, in this case the applicant had worked with Commission Staff to propose the option of supporting a 3-day camp for 350 disadvantaged youth from Title 1 schools at a nearby beach campsite for the period of 10 years. The number of students and years of funding were figured from the amount of the in-lieu fee ($1.4 million). What was debated was the possibility of a perpetual program as there was great appreciation for the proposed program to give the students a chance to experience and build appreciation for the coast. This possibility was proposed as an amending motion. However, the vote resulted in a tie (6:6), which, by default meant the amending motion was denied. The project as proposed in the Staff report was then voted on and approved.
Outcome
Outcome Description	After an initial vote on an amending motion, which resulted in a tie, Commissioners voted on the proposed recommendations. This passed in a vote of 10:2.
Why You Should Care	Historically, the Coastal Commission has required in-lieu mitigation fees when approving projects for the development of overnight visitor-serving accommodations that are high cost as they represent a prohibitive factor of coastal access for those that cannot afford such prices. In this case, the in-lieu fee was calculated to be $1.4 million. Rather than simply require the fee which would likely sit in a bank account for years accumulating interest, Commission Staff worked with the applicant and the City to develop a program that represented the cost of the in-lieu fee and would provide for a 3-day camp for 350 disadvantaged youth from Title 1 schools at a nearby beach campsite for the period of 10 years. The applicant would, in the end, be able to choose which option- the simple fee or the youth recreational program.
Image
Decision Type	Coastal Development Permit
Staff Recommendation	Approval with Conditions
Staff Report	http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2015/10/w9a-10-2015.pdf
Lobbyist/Agent	Sherman Stacey
Opposition to Project
Coastal Act Policies	30211, 30252(4), 30213, 30251, 30230, 30231, 30604 (a)

Voting Detail for Lido House Hotel

Individual vote detail for Issue: Lido House Hotel

Commissioner	Vote
Wendy Mitchell
Roberto Uranga
Martha McClure
Steve Kinsey
Erik Howell
Mark Vargas
Greg Cox
Mary K. Shallenberger
Carole Groom
Mary Luevano
Dayna Bochco
Effie Turnbull-Sanders

Meeting Page

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