St. Regis Party-Goers Told to Pay Up

Three Dana Point planning commissioners--and other city officials who attended the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa’s grand-opening gala--have less than two weeks to pay back the full price of admission or make up the difference between that cost and the state gift limit.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission said local officials have 30 days from the date of the Aug. 11 bash to make reimbursements. Until the matter is resolved, the city cannot decide on a beach-access issue related to the hotel.

But with the Sept. 10 deadline approaching, party organizers still were crunching numbers Friday for an official tally of the party so they could calculate the cost per person. An initial estimate put the price of the event at about $500 per person. Gift laws limit public officials to $320 from any one source in a calendar year.

“They’re still doing an analysis of what the event cost,” said Ed Knight, director of community development.

The city has not provided a full list of the officials who attended. The three planning commissioners are Don Goodkind, Norm Denton and Russ Chilton, according to Knight’s office. Denton and Chilton did not return messages Friday. Goodkind could not be reached.

The commissioners were among a star-studded crowd of more than 1,500 people invited to the opening of the $240-million St. Regis, feasting on caviar, poached Maine lobster and fine wines as singer Chris Isaak performed.

The party was held less than a week before the planning commission was to vote on whether to allow the hotel, considered one of the most luxurious in Southern California, to cut a controversial path to the beach to make room for tram service. Several homeowner groups are trying to prevent hotel guests from using Monarch Bay beaches.

That meeting was abruptly and indefinitely postponed when the city learned that three of five commissioners went to the grand opening, despite warnings from City Atty. Michelle Vadon about a possible conflict of interest.

Vadon had asked the state commission for a speedy review of the matter a few days before the party, but the commission could not respond in time. The commission eventually sent a letter to Deputy City Atty. Bryan C. LeRoy on Aug. 24.

The commission limited its review to whether the invitations, although distributed to officials through a public agency, have to be reported as a gift.

“The free admission is considered a reportable gift, unless returned or reimbursed within 30 days of receipt,” the letter concluded.

Officials who choose to pay back the full price of admission will not have to report a gift, the commission said. Only those who opt to pay the difference between the $320 that’s allowed and the approximate $500 value of the bash will have to report the gala as a gift, as will those who brought guests, according to the commission.

Dana Point has an ethics code that requires public officials to disclose the source of gifts valued at $50 or more, as well as the donor’s business interests. It was not immediately clear whether any city officials filed disclosures for the St. Regis affair.