11/5/99
By SCOTT HADLY
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
SANTA MONICA -- Foreshadowing what will likely be another thorough review of developer Bill Levy's proposal to
build time-share condominiums along the first two blocks of State Street, members of the California Coastal Commission
talked for the first time about the project at a hearing Thursday.
Commission members said the plan to construct the 81 condos on three large parcels near the waterfront raised concerns
about views, traffic and parking. They also said they wanted more information about protections for Mission Creek,
which flows through the project area.
"There are issues of views, traffic .Ê.Ê. parking," said Commissioner Christina Desser. "And
there are questions about community character."
Desser echoed some of the same concerns raised by the rest of the 11-member commission, which ruled that there
were enough "substantial issues" to hold a full hearing on the plan. That hearing will probably be held
early next year.
Levy was accompanied to the meeting by his attorney, his architect, his business partner and his environmental
consultant for the project. After the hearing, Levy said he wasn't surprised by the commission's questions, or
that members wanted a full hearing.
Although a staff report on the project indicated that the commission could look at only one of the three parcels
-- the piece of property on which the Californian Hotel stands, which is the only portion of the property that
is in the coastal zone -- commission members indicated that they wanted to look at the whole project.
The staff report was narrowly focused on parking and the loss of "affordable overnight accommodations"
on that Californian Hotel parcel, which is at 35 State St. And Doug Fell, an attorney for Levy, urged commissioners
to narrow their attentions simply to the hotel parking issue.
Questions from the commission members, however, indicated that the hearing early next year would go into much more
detail.
Along with the issues of views, traffic congestion and Mission Creek, Commissioner Pedro Nava expressed concerns
about the time-share condominiums. What happens if they don't sell and must be converted to another use? Nava asked.
"There are a number of reasons to look at this," he said.
The project was brought before the Coastal Commission after three local groups appealed the city's approval of
Levy's plan to build the two- and three-story development, which would mix in shops and cafes with large time-share
units.
A three-story parking structure on the backside of one parcel would be built along the railroad tracks. There are
also plans to narrow State Street from four to two lanes in the area and widen the sidewalks.
The city approved Levy's plans in August after the development went through more than a dozen Planning Commission
hearings and a detailed review. Several citizens groups opposed the plan, though, saying that an even more detailed
environmental impact report was needed.
The Citizens Planning Association and the Santa Barbara chapter of the League of Women Voters, along with the group
Cars Are Basic, appealed the city's approval to the Coastal Commission.
Represented by attorney Tanya Gulesserian of the Environmental Defense Center, the CPA and League of Women Voters
also filed a lawsuit against the city for approving the project without proper environmental review.