Plan To Split Hotel Across PCH And Add Traffic Light Considered Monday
Written by 991KBU on January 17, 2019
The Malibu Beach Inn plan to spread its business across Pacific Coast Highway goes before the city planning commission next Monday.
The hotel … just east of the Malibu Pier … wants to build a swimming pool in its parking lot.
The parking would have to move across the P C H … to the lot currently housing the Hertz rent a car franchise.
The property owner for the Malibu Beach Inn is also seeking to expand the restaurant use.
This has generated some furious opposition from many Malibu residents.
the idea of using parking valets to shuttle business customer cars across P C H .. in the most-congested part of the city … really offends some people.
The plan remains to use valet parking only … and tandem and compact surface lot spaces. Previously, the application proposed the installation of parking lifts and a screening wall to camouflage the lift structures.
The hotel has trimmed the size of the swimming pool and its deck … to reduce the number fo parking spaces across the street.
But double deck parking lifts … apparently … still in the mix.
And the hotel plans for most of the parking spots to be for small vehicles only.
Since it will be valet only … with the cars shuttled acorss P C H by parking valets … the hotel owners say this wiull be no problem
City planners disagree.
They say the number of compact spaces exceeds the percentage allowed by the city zoning code and the Coastal Commission’s LCP.
And most importantly … the city Planning Dpeartment says the Malibu Beach Inn site is currently developed beyond what is allowed by code.
And granting the requested variance for excessive compact spaces on the Hertz lot would facilitate further development on the Malibu Beach Inn lot.
it would also require installation of a controversial new traffic light on P C H … to allow both beach access and parking valets to cross the highway.
The hotel’s traffic consultant says any traffic impact on P C H can be minimized by painting “keep clear” zones in front of the hotel,
But the idea of putting in a traffic light … on busy P C H … to benefit a private business seeking to expand across P C H … really rankles some people.
And the city staff says the hotel site is overdeveloped now … and would be further overdeveloped if the parking lot were converted to a pool … and restaraunt serving areas expanded.
The staff recommends that the entire concept of spreading the hotel acorss PC H to build the pool in the parking lot be denied.
The new Planning Commissioners will also be sworn in Monday.
Jeff Jennings i actually a reappointment.
Kraig Hill .. a Big Rock resident … will be the new planning commissioner … joining … Chris Marx … John Mazza and Steve Uhring.
