IRVINE : Residential Hotel Study Abandoned

The City Council this week abandoned any further study of a proposed residential hotel on city-owned property near the Civic Center, saying the land should be used for a park as originally intended.

The unanimous decision marks a victory for residents of the Westpark village, who have opposed bringing a single-room-occupancy hotel to the neighborhood.

But council members on Tuesday stressed that the vote was based mainly on their desire to preserve as much parkland as possible, not on residents’ concerns that the hotel would attract “the wrong element.”

Council members also criticized flyers distributed last week to Westpark residents warning that the hotel would be a magnet for homeless people--a contention that both hotel developers and city officials strongly disputed.

“The flyers were misleading and meant to scare you,” Mayor Michael Ward told the dozen or so Westpark residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting. The hotel residents “aren’t (going to be) transients . . . or drug addicts in the doorway.”

The proposed three-story, 265-room residential hotel would have offered a room, as well as a bathroom and small kitchenette, for about $370 a month. City officials had hoped to attract working professionals from UC Irvine and local business parks looking for affordable housing close to their jobs.

“People (should be) measured by what jobs (they have), not on the amount of money they make,” Ward said.

Other council members agreed, adding that they still favored having a residential hotel in Irvine if a suitable site can be found.

Council members said their main concern about the location on Barranca Parkway near City Hall centered on the fact that the land is already designated for public open space. As a result, many residents purchased homes in the area expecting that the land would eventually be developed into a park.

“We have little parkland left, and we need to preserve it,” said Councilwoman Paula Werner.

Besides the Barranca Parkway site, an industrial area off Warner Avenue is also being considered as a possible site for the hotel. But some council members have raised concerns about that site, saying it is too close to a rock crushing plant and sanitation facility.