Environment Report Due on Resort Project

An environmental report on the largest proposed development project in the city will be ready for viewing Monday.

The report focuses on the planned redevelopment of Treasure Island mobile home park, a prime bluff-top parcel at the south end of town. Landowners plan to transform the mobile home park into a resort and housing development.

The property owners have submitted plans to the city proposing up to 97 homes and a 100-room hotel on the 30-acre parcel, city planner John Montgomery said.

The option preferred by the landowner calls for 47 homes, a main hotel with 100 rooms and up to 150 additional rooms for rent around the hotel.

“I think that’s what we’re going to end up with and what we’d like to see,” said Jack Cuneo, chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch Hubbard, which heads the partnership that owns the land.

“We’d love to get through this entitlement process as quickly as possible,” he said.

City officials also have been eager to move forward with the development, which will draw additional tax revenue to the city while offering some public benefits, like beach access and a bluff-top public park.

As proposed, about a third of the acreage would be set aside for recreation, conservationor open space, Montgomery said.

The draft environmental impact report, which was prepared by LSA Associates Inc. of Irvine, will be presented to the city’s Planning Commission on Aug. 27.

Commissioners will hold their first public hearing on the document Sept. 17. Additional meetings will be held throughout October.

Residents can read the report at City Hall and at the library.

The planned redevelopment of the mobile home park has caused years of controversy.

The close-knit group of tenants fought bitterly to maintain their community but ultimately failed. By the end of last month, almost all of the tenants had moved out of the park, Cuneo said.