287-Acre Project in Rancho P.V. : Zoning Change Sought for Hotel Development

An Orange County developer wants to build a Ritz-Carlton hotel, along with a golf course and luxury homes, on nearly 300 acres along the Rancho Palos Verdes coastline less than four miles from the defunct Marineland, where another developer is planning a similar hotel and conference center.

The 287-acre coastline project would require a zoning amendment for the area, which is generally restricted to single-family homes on minimum one-acre lots. The City Council will decide at its Feb. 2 meeting if it wishes to initiate the lengthy process to amend the zoning code.

In a letter to the city, Barry G. Hon, president of Palos Verdes Land Holdings Co. of Laguna Hills, said he wants to combine 87.5 acres of land the firm owns along Palos Verdes Drive South near the San Pedro boundary with parcels owned by five other parties--the largest being 140 acres belonging to Zuckerman Building Co. of Santa Monica.

Hon’s office said no deals have been concluded for the other land.

The zoning amendment would increase the amount of commercial development permitted in Coastal Planning Region 7, where most of the project would be built. Current regulations for the 257-acre planning region allow a maximum of three acres of commercial development. An adjacent planning region would provide the other 30 acres for the project.

25 Acres for Hotel

Robert Benard, city environmental services director, said Hon wants to use 25 acres for the hotel. An unspecified number of homes would be built along the golf course fairways. He said development of a golf course is already allowed in the coastal area with a conditional-use permit.

Benard said that aside from the question of commercial land use, the Hon proposal is compatible with the city and state development concept to preserve the coast for the public and not make it a “private enclave.”

Councilwoman Jacki Bacharach agreed, saying the development would permit public access to the coast and preserve open space.

Benard said he does not believe the Hon and Marineland projects would harm each other commercially, although he said the city has to take a close look at traffic on Palos Verdes Drive South, which is the only through roadway along the coast. A mile stretch through the Portuguese Bend Landslide is hazardous and slow and must be periodically repaired because of land movement.

Traffic “definitely is an issue” if one or both projects are approved, he said.

Bacharach, however, said she wants Hon to prove the viability of having two similar developments so close together before she makes a decision on the proposal. In addition, she said, Hon has to go “to the community” and added: “I have to know how my constituents feel.”

Councilman Douglas Hinchliffe said that if the community favors the project, the council probably will too.

City officials are in Sacramento for a conference and other council members could not be reached for comment.

In his letter, Hon said his project “will benefit the greatest number of people in that it will preserve the greatest amount of open space, while allowing for public recreation, with the minimal amount of construction of buildings.” He did not return several phone calls.

The adjacent land that Hon needs for his project belongs to Zuckerman Building, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, Korean National Bank, Pacific Bell and Los Angeles County, whose parcel is designated for park use. The site, which would surround the 100-unit Ocean Terrace condominiums, would total 287 acres, according to city planning staff.

A school district spokeswoman said this week that the undeveloped land has not been declared surplus and the district is not negotiating to sell it. The district, which has closed numerous schools as enrollment declines, is talking to the city about what it should do with all of its surplus property, she said.

Officials of Zuckerman Building could not be reached for comment.

Hon has scheduled a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday with Ocean Terrace residents. Art Priest, an 11-year condominium resident and president of the homeowner association there, said residents have not taken a position because “we do not have all of the details.”

Priest said the land around Ocean Terrace eventually will be developed and “probably a golf-course type of recreation facility would be . . . better than condos.”

Harrison Price, project manager for the development on the Marineland site, said he could not comment on the effect the Hon development might have because he does not know enough about it. According to previous announcements, the Marineland project--by Arizona developer James G. Monaghan--will be a low-rise resort hotel and conference center with recreation facilities and restaurants.

Hinchliffe said the city is open to the idea of a hotel because it would bring in more revenue than homes.

“My sense is that if this is done like the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel and planning is intelligent and thoughtful, in fact this could be a development that could be as good or better” than single-family homes on minimum one-acre lots, he said.