Hotel Plan for Marineland Site Scaled Back

In an attempt to win political support for a resort hotel on the former Marineland site in Rancho Palos Verdes, an Arizona development company says it is willing to cut the size of the proposed hotel by more than half if it is also allowed to build single-family homes.

Several city officials hailed the new proposal, saying it is a positive step toward developing the site. However, Councilman Robert Ryan said he is adamantly opposed to allowing both a hotel and homes on the property.

The Monaghan Co., in a letter received by the city and made public, said the city’s opposition compelled it to drop a plan to build a 1,070-room hotel in favor of a proposal for a 495-room hotel and 80 homes.

The decision to abandon the initial proposal came after months of behind-the-scenes wrangling between city officials and the Scottsdale-based company, which purchased the oceanfront property in May, 1987, 90 days after the landmark aquatic park was closed.

City officials repeatedly told Monaghan that a 1,070-room hotel was unacceptable for the 102-acre site because of increased traffic and other environmental problems that such a high-density project could pose.

In a telephone interview, Monaghan General Manager Phillip Marsden called the new proposal a “win-win situation” for the company and Rancho Palos Verdes, where a handful of proposed coastal projects have dominated political debate in recent months.

“I think we are trying to be responsive to (the issue of) open space,” Marsden said, adding that the smaller hotel and the homes would generate significantly less traffic than the bigger hotel would.

The company said it hopes to meet with city officials in early January to discuss the plan.

Councilman Douglas Hinchliffe said the company’s new proposal is a step in the right direction.

Hinchliffe and Councilwoman Jacki Bacharach said they would have to study the new plan before commenting on it in detail. However, both said a 495-room hotel may still be too large for the site.

Ryan also said the hotel may be too big, and he denounced the company’s proposal to build homes next to it.