Marinapark hotel may go to voters

June Casagrande

City Council members will decide tonight whether an environmental

study should be required for a luxury resort at Marinapark and also

whether the project should be put on a ballot.

Though it’s possible that the election and the environmental study

would take place anyway as part of the approval process for the

resort, staff has recommended that the city require both steps take

place before the project is approved. Council members will also vote

on whether to accept formally the most recent modifications to the

proposed project that ratcheted the original 156 rooms down to 110.

“I’m worried people will think that this vote is to approve the

project and it’s not,” Mayor Steve Bromberg said. “That decision is a

long way away and the public will have plenty of chances to speak to

that question.”

Tonight’s scheduled vote on the site plan is required by the

California Environmental Quality Act and also will pave the way for

the environmental study, City Atty. Bob Burnham explained in a report

to council members.

The vote might also lay to rest a current confusion over whether

the project would go before the voters. Developer Stephen Sutherland

has said he welcomes the idea of bringing the project before the

voters, even though he believes that traffic generated by the resort

won’t be significant enough to require a Greenlight vote. The

Greenlight Committee has issued a statement saying it believes the

project requires a Greenlight election. But even if it doesn’t

trigger a Greenlight ballot, residents or officials have the right to

call the matter up for a vote of the people.

If council members follow staff’s recommendations tonight, their

vote will assure that the hotel project gets put on a ballot one way

or another.

Sutherland has proposed to build the 110-room resort where the

Marinapark mobile home park and the Las Arenas Park and tennis courts

now stand. City officials have an exclusive agreement with the

developer to build on the site.

Earlier this year, the council unanimously agreed to extend for

one-year the lease for residents of the 56 mobile homes at the

city-owned site.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].