Rancho P.V. to Hold Hearings on Coastal Development Plans

The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council has announced that it will hold public hearings on environmental impact reports for separate developments planned for its coastline.

The purpose of the hearings is to get the council involved earlier in the development process, Mayor Jacki Bacharach said at a meeting this week. Previous development plans have been refined by the city staff and the Planning Commission before reaching the council.

Coastal development has become the major issue in Rancho Palos Verdes and will play a key role this fall when two council seats are up for election.

At the meeting Monday, several speakers criticized a proposal for a municipal golf course near Point Vicente, saying the city should find ways to preserve open space rather than provide golf courses for nearby home and hotel projects.

Environmental Studies

In addition to the golf course, the development proposals--which are in various stages of completion--include two luxury hotels and two large residential projects totaling 253 homes. Officials said environmental studies will be available in the fall. Hearings on the studies, as well as on the specific development plans, will stretch into next year.

While the meeting touched on all coastal development, the golf course drew the most attention with questions about such things as public access to the coastline and whether the state Coastal Commission would permit it.

City Atty. Ariel Calonne said the National Park Service has been “cooperative and encouraging” about the golf course. The Park Service must approve the golf course since some of it would be on federal land donated to the city and the federal agency wants to ensure public use and access.

The golf course would be built by the city, in conjunction with Monaghan Co., which is planning a resort hotel at the former Marineland site, and VMS/Anden, which is proposing 96 homes near Point Vicente.

A feasibility study done for the city proposes that the hotel be entitled to one-third of the course playing time. Hotel guests would pay higher fees than residents.