Neighbors tired of providing parking for Montage resort

Barbara Diamond

Montage officials were told earlier this month to put the brakes on

hotel employees using neighborhood streets as a parking lot.

“I really feel let down on parking issues,” resident Caroline

Sadler said. “We were assured that employee parking would be taken

care of on-site. Keep your promise to us.”

City Manager Ken Frank questioned the resort’s overflow plan,

required by the California Coastal Development Permit to provide 145

valet-system parking spaces. Walker Parking Consultants, hired by the

city because of staff concerns, reported reservations about 31 of the

145 spaces claimed by the resort.

The city manager signed off on the resort’s proposed parking plan

on the condition that the disputed 31 spaces be furnished at an

acceptable off-site location.

Montage spokesman Bill Claypool committed the hotel general

manager to attend a public meeting at which neighborhood concerns

would be discussed before a mandated study to be conducted this month

and in August.

Frank invited neighbors to leave their names and addresses with

the city clerk so the study consultant could interview them about

their concerns.

“It is my understanding that the resort must supply parking for

all employees and guests,” Frank said.

He translated that to “zero tolerance” for resort employees

parking in residential neighborhoods.

“Our quality of life has gone down since the hotel opened,”

neighbor Dave Small said.

Small complained that hotel employees arrive at 6 a.m., with

radios going, He said street cleaners can’t get past the parked

vehicles to pick up trash dumped by the employees.

“Montage is a wonderful hotel, but there is a problem: employee

parking,” said Linda Wisecup, who lives on the corner of Wesley and

Driftwood drives. “There are three shifts of employees, and I know

when the shifts change because I can hear everything from my house.”

Claypool, who is the resort director of technical services,

estimated on Wednesday that up to 300 cars could be on-site at the

peak shift overlap, some coming, some going.

If the parking study this month provides evidence of insufficient

parking and an adverse effect on neighbors, a second survey must be

conducted in September, according to a staff report presented to the

council Tuesday. The report also stated that the hotel must resolve

the problem if the study substantiates an inadequate supply of

parking within the resort structure.

“Montage wants to do right by the neighborhood,” resort spokesman

Claypool said. “We think that once improvements on two parcels across

the street are completed we will have the required spaces.”

The resort has leased the two parcels, one below the Laguna

Terrace Mobile Home Park and the other a former Unocal service

station on a temporary basis. An application for the construction of

office on the Unocal site was in the works when the council passed an

emergency ordinance to halt development temporarily while the resort

parking problems were resolved.

Neighbor Penny Elia contends that the resort must own any off-site

parking. Montage owners have reportedly been urged to buy the Unocal

site.

Mayor Toni Iseman said the construction of a two-story parking

structure on the parcel might be looked at by Montage as payback for

the city’s funding of the grading for Treasure Island Park, which

benefited the resort.

Besides providing off-site parking, the hotel management claims

that it has taken steps to reduce the number of employees driving to

work: Bike racks have been installed, free bus passes have been

offered, and carpooling is encouraged.

Councilman Wayne Baglin questioned the efficacy of the steps:

whether the bicycle racks were actually used or were just collecting

spider webs.

Claypool said he had seen one or two bikes in the racks. He also

said that 10 employees had signed up for bus passes and 25 employees

are carpooling.

Hotel management has instructed employees not to park in the

neighborhoods and has posted guards on Wesley Drive to enforce the

instruction, Claypoole said.

“What you need to do is require employees to park on-site,”

Councilman Steve Dicterow said. “We can get there the easy way or the

hard way. The easy way is for Montage to work with us.”

Dicterow said parking could be monitored and on-site parking made

a condition of employment.

Baglin agreed.

“We have a legal obligation to analyze if we have a parking

deficiency,” Baglin said.

He said he would like to present to the council a resolution with

a long list of “whereases” and a “resolve.” He urged the public to

contact him at 497-5111.