Rancho P.V. Delays Vote on Development

Rancho Palos Verdes City Council members Tuesday delayed for a month a vote on whether the Monaghan Co. should be allowed to seek city approval to change the zoning at the former Marineland site to permit residential development.

The council’s decision came after a lengthy public hearing during which several council members said they did not want to give the Arizona-based development company the impression that they favored its plan to add 80 homes to its plan for a hotel on the property.

“He’s got a green light for a hotel and a golf course, but a yellow or red for homes,” Councilman Bob Ryan said on Wednesday. The delay should give city officials and Monaghan more time to study development options, he said.

Thus far, the city has not approved any development on the site.

Last December, the company informed city officials it is willing to scale back its plans for a 1,070-room hotel to 495 rooms, providing it could also build homes on the 102-acre site. The existing commercial-recreational zoning permits the hotel and golf course.

The new proposal was submitted because city officials balked at the size of the first proposed hotel, saying it could create significant traffic and environmental problems because of its size.

Monaghan spokeswoman Joan Hanley said in an interview that the company’s latest proposal is “not cast in concrete” and the company is willing to discuss changes.

“We are willing to negotiate on the number of hotel rooms and the number of (home) lots,” Hanley said. “We are not willing to have no residential.”

Monaghan purchased the oceanfront property in May, 1987, 90 days after the landmark aquatic park was closed.