IRVINE : Council to Decide on Hotel Site Study

As opposition mounts, the City Council tonight is set to decide whether city staffers should study the feasibility of building a residential hotel on Barranca Parkway near the Civic Center.

The issue comes before the council less than a week after the Community Services Commission recommended that the city “discontinue analysis of the site” for a potential single-room-occupancy hotel, arguing that the undeveloped land on Barranca Parkway should be used for a park, as originally planned.

The proposal also faces criticism from nearby residents, who fear the hotel doesn’t fit the family atmosphere of the community and would reduce property values.

More than a dozen Westpark village residents made their opposition known last month when the council first discussed the possibility of locating the hotel in the area.

But several council members have expressed support for the proposed three-story, 265-unit hotel, which would offer residents a single room complete with a bathroom and small kitchenette for about $370 a month.

Far from attracting “undesirables,” supporters said, the facility could be home to hotel workers, teachers and UCI employees who desire an affordable living situation close to their jobs.

Besides the Barranca Parkway location, officials have proposed building the hotel near a rock-crushing plant off Warner Avenue.