A plan for a four-story boutique hotel with a rooftop deck has the San Clemente City Council’s blessing, with the hope it’s open when guests might want to come to town for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the surfing competition planned at nearby Lower Trestles.
The Lodge at San Clemente — a hotel concept initially approved in 2004 as part of a coastal development plan that included the Outlets at San Clemente — will build on a vacant 2-acre parcel along Avenida Vista Hermosa. The location is across from the outlets, next to senior housing for memory care and a Chick-fil-A, and just across the 5 freeway from the 1,000-home Marblehead community.
In September, the council approved changing the hotel’s site plan and conditional use permit, increasing the building height from 45 feet to 62 feet to accommodate the rooftop deck and elevator towers.
Residents unhappy with the taller building lobbied the council to reconsider. But a divided council last week decided to allow the project to push ahead without the city’s Design Review Commission looking at the changes to building height or requiring an updated environmental study.
“Design Review might make a recommendation we don’t want to do and delay it more,” said Councilmember Mark Enmeier, one of the three votes in the majority. “I’d be more in favor of expediting this.”
Developer Craig Realty Group had the 130-room Mediterranean-style hotel designed in 2016, with a ballroom, meeting room, and restaurant on the ground floor, and in 2019 decided a rooftop deck with a bar and lounge would be a good addition to the plans. But COVID delayed the pursuit of the development until now.
Residents are concerned that the hotel project is proceeding without a new environmental study, despite the changes in building height, but are even more bothered by the noise and light impacts that they say could ruin their quiet nights. Earlier this month, the community group shared a letter from an attorney hired by Wiesen, which threatened to sue the city if mitigation measures for noise and light, as well as guidelines for construction times and operating hours, are not implemented.
The group, led by Marblehead resident Beverly Wiesen, has met with city staff, and on Monday, Nov. 3, plans to hold another meeting at her home, this time including Tim Fleming, the hotel’s architect.
Wiesen said the weekly Cars & Coffee event, the annual Circus Vargas and an outdoor church service held in the area are already tremendously bothersome.
“We could choose to litigate and force that EIR, and what we’re trying to do is avoid that,” Wiesen said, adding that the residents also want the realty group to commission a noise study by an independent party. “We really want a good hotel, but we have big concerns that there are ordinances, guidelines, and restrictions in this town that are not enforced.”
“They approved this without one noise condition, they did nothing to look at mitigation measures, and they are relying on an EIR that didn’t allow for 200 people 55 feet in the air,” Wiesen said.
City Manager Andy Hall said he is optimistic a compromise can be found between the community group and the developer.
“We talked about a possible solution and the appellant’s architect will include those in his design for the project,” Hall told councilmembers at their recent meeting. “If we can enclose three walls and have a disappearing wall, we can contain the sound, especially in the evening hours.”
Hall also suggested having a written agreement between the developers and Marblehead residents, “where we all agree where we’re all clear where we’re headed. That’s the outcome that I think is most beneficial to all of us.”
Fleming, the project’s architect, who has met with Hall at least three times to review solutions, said he and Hall were both surprised by what could be heard from Wiesen’s house.
“We have discussed putting some of the bar inside, and enclosing a portion of the roof deck that would acoustically benefit the community,” he said. “So, we’re enclosing the portion in between the community and the open deck and blocking direct sound that travels from the deck.”
“They’ve asked us to consult with an acoustical engineer,” he added. “To see if we could use methods of breaking up the sound at the source before it leaves.”
Fleming said concerns about light pollution will be addressed while keeping the night sky in mind.
“All sources will be shielded and focused down to prevent glare to the adjacent properties,” he added, saying he is confident a solution can be found.
A rooftop space is an expected amenity for any 4- or 5-star hotel these days, Fleming said.
“That view of the Pacific Ocean right there could make it one of the best new projects going in,” he said. “Having a rooftop deck with a bar, a lounge, and food is giving us another type of space to go to with a spectacular view and an indoor-outdoor experience.”
Fleming is hopeful, he said, that Monday’s meeting — his first with the community — will be fruitful, and if a consensus can be reached, he hopes the new modified rooftop designs can be presented to the council for its approval within a month.
“It’s also important to note that this rooftop deck is a public space,” he added. “If you live in San Clemente, you can come here.”
The developer still needs to sign with a hotel operator.
Mayor Steve Knoblock, who said he worked for Craig Realty Group years ago, said he is confident something positive can be worked out.
“They’ll do what the neighbors think is beneficial, but also what improves the project,” he said, praising what he thought could become a “Southern California icon.”
“It will have a 360-degree ocean view and the sales tax revenue will be a huge asset for San Clemente,” he said. “The goal is to have it for the 2028 Olympics; that’s why we want to get it built.”