Planners approve Dunes hotel

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- The Planning Commission late Thursday approved the

$100-million Dunes hotel proposal -- one of the most heavily debated

developments in the city’s recent history -- after more than four hours

of discussion.

In its final analysis, the commission decided the project had greater

benefits for the city than the original Dunes proposal, which was

approved in 1988. The original agreement was for a 275-room hotel and

conference complex.

Still, anti-Dunes activists said they aren’t about to give up the fight

and would take the battle to the next stage with the City Council, which

will have the final say on the project unless it is taken to a

referendum.

Prior to the meeting, commissioners said they were committed to making a

decision, which would end six months of planning sessions punctuated with

public opposition and the frustration of project planners.

The commission six months ago began studying the massive hotel project,

which is to be built on the Newport Dunes recreational vehicle site.

Commissioners treaded carefully, keeping in mind local activists’

concerns about the project’s environmentally sensitive spot next to Upper

Newport Bay and the constant stream of complaints by neighboring

residents.

Dunes planners were instructed to go back to the drawing board time and

again to reduce the enormous size and height of the resort. Even with the

reductions, the proposal still stands to be one of the largest hotels in

the city.

The newly revised proposal includes a four-story, 470-room hotel and a

31,000-square-foot conference center. It will also include swimming

pools, a health spa and restaurants. If the City Council gives the

project final approval, the resort is scheduled to open within the next

three to five years.

Late last month, there was a possibility that the entire project could be

scrapped when commissioners handed Dunes planners a strict list of

cutbacks. Developers said the potential deal-breaker was a 44% cut in

conference space, from 54,000 square feet to 30,000 feet.

At the time, Tim Quinn, the resort’s project manager, said he was shocked

and disappointed. He said the reduction could compromise the hotel’s

financial success, which he said depends on the space to work in unison

with keeping the number of guests up during the off-season.

However, the commission relented -- if Dunes management could put the

clamps on the amount of traffic generated by use of the conference space.

Quinn agreed to limit guests to 1,500 a day during the off-season and

2,000 a day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

Environmental activist Susan Caustin said that despite the changes, she

is still concerned about traffic and is not pleased that the project’s

size is larger than the dimensions outlined in the 1988 agreement.