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30900 Rancho Viejo Road, Suite 285 • San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 • (949) 581-2888 • Fax (949) 581-3599
December 10, 2021
Mr. Jim Campbell
Deputy Community Development Director City of Newport Beach 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92660
Subject: Planning Application for The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Newport Beach located at 900 Newport Center Drive (Newport Beach Marriott)
Dear Mr. Campbell:
On behalf of Newport Center Hotel, LLC, CAA Planning is pleased to submit this application for hotel branded residences at 900 Newport Center Drive. The applicant proposes to convert up to 30% of the existing hotel units to residential units consistent with City Council Policy K-4 and Director’s Determination No. DD2021-001.
The application includes a request for a Coastal Development Permit, Site Development Review, a Conditional Use Permit Amendment, and a Vesting Tentative Tract Map for condominium purposes. This submittal includes detailed Architectural, Engineering and Landscape Architecture Plans and several technical studies, as further detailed below.
Project Site
The project site is the Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel, located at 900 Newport Center Drive in Newport Beach (City). The Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel is a 9.53-acre property located immediately southwest of Fashion Island, within Newport Center, as shown on the attached Project Location Map.
The resort hotel campus includes 532 hotel rooms and expansive amenities, including three swimming pools, a day spa, restaurants, conference/ballroom space, meeting rooms, and ancillary support uses. The resort hotel components are contained within five separate buildings and one parking structure. Buildings range from 30 feet in height to 151 feet in height and overlook the Newport Beach Country Club golf course. The buildings are predominantly oriented towards
Newport Harbor and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The Existing Site Plan including the location of the existing buildings are depicted on Sheet C-07 of the attached Plan Set.
The project site is accessible from Newport Center Drive and Santa Barbara Drive and includes approximately 698 parking spaces, including self-parking and valet parking options. The Newport
Beach Marriott Resort Hotel was originally constructed in 1975 and renovated in 1986, including
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the construction of the Pacific Point building and the parking structure. The hotel operates under
Use Permit 2095.
The property is designated Visitor Serving Commercial (CV) in the City’s General Plan, Visitor Serving Commercial (CV-B) in the Coastal Land Use Plan, and Commercial Visitor-Serving (CV) in the City’s Zoning documents. All CV designations allow for overnight accommodations and
accessory land uses. Hotel branded residences were determined to be an allowable accessory land
use within City Council Policy K-4 and Director’s Determination No. DD2021-001 as further detailed below. Therefore, the proposed project is consistent with the applicable CV land use designations.
Surrounding Land Uses
The project site is located within the Newport Center-Fashion Island subarea, which is a largely
mixed-use area of the City. Newport Center is bounded by MacArthur Boulevard to the east, San Joaquin Hills Road to the north, Jamboree Road to the west, and Pacific Coast Highway to the south. Land uses in the project area include the Fashion Island Regional Commercial retail shopping center, major commercial office developments, residential developments that include the
Granville and Meridian condominium communities and the Colony at Fashion Island apartment
homes, and the Newport Beach Country Club. The Meridian condominium community is located immediately adjacent to the project site on the north along Santa Barbara Drive, with the guard-gated Granville condominium community located immediately to the southeast. Mid-rise commercial office buildings are located across Santa Barbara Drive to the north, and Fashion
Island is located across Newport Center Drive to the north/northeast. The Newport Beach Country Club golf course abuts the southern property line. In addition to several residential communities, including Meridian, Granville, Villas at Fashion Island, Vivante Senior Housing (currently under construction), and other pending projects,
Newport Center is characterized by high- and mid-rise office buildings surrounding Fashion Island, which provide residents and visitors shopping, entertainment, and restaurant amenities. The majority of the high-rise buildings are located in Blocks 400-600, with building heights exceeding 300 feet above ground level. Low- and mid-rise buildings are concentrated in the southeastern portion of Newport Center closest to MacArthur Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. Newport
Center is considered a major employment center, which includes research and development and high technology businesses in addition to substantial medical office uses. The Newport Beach Civic Center is located in Newport Center between Avocado Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard.
Proposed Hotel Branded Residences
The hotel property is 9.53 acres in size. However, the improvement area is limited to 2.775 acres
with a development footprint of approximately 25,023 square feet for the building and 44,860
square for the subterranean parking garage. The site will be heavily landscaped.
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The proposed project at the Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel consists of the conversion of up
to 30% of the existing 532 hotel rooms to hotel branded residences. The project contemplates the demolition of the southernmost building, Harbor Landing, and construction of a new residential building. The project will result in the removal of 133 hotel units from the demolition of the Harbor Landing building and the reduction of 26 hotel units in the Harbor Point building via interior
reconfiguration. The Harbor Point building will change from 153 hotel rooms to 127 hotel rooms,
but the building itself will not be demolished and no exterior improvements are proposed. The new 22-story building will accommodate 159 hotel branded residences. The total units at the Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel will remain unchanged at 532, with 373 traditional hotel
rooms and up to 159 hotel branded residences. An overall Site Plan is provided at Sheet A0.2 of
the attached Plan Set. The new building is proposed to be up to approximately 279 feet above ground level, with limited projections for rooftop appurtenances such as elevator overruns and screened mechanical
equipment. The rooftop appurtenances will project to 295 feet in height, consistent with the
existing high-rise height limitation zone which allows for structures at 300 feet in height. Elevation drawings for the new building are provided on Sheets A2.1 through A2.4 of the attached Plan Set. Illustrative perspectives for the new building are provided on Sheets A4.1 through A4.4 of the attached Plan Set.
Onsite circulation for hotel drop-off/pick-up and parking will not change. Residents and guests of the hotel branded residences will be directed to a separate entrance on the south side of the property along Newport Center Drive. This driveway currently provides access from the existing parking structure and is gate-arm controlled. The new access will align with the existing intersection, which
is across from Cucina Enoteca and Nordstrom at Fashion Island. The new access drive will convey vehicles to the new porte cochere and where valet service will convey cars into a new subterranean parking structure. A new secondary driveway will be constructed along the southern boundary of the project site providing service and fire access from Newport Center Drive along the western
boundary of the property to the Event Lawn. A preliminary Fire Access Plan is provided in Sheet
A0.3 of the attached Plan Set. The hotel parking will be provided via a 6-level (4 levels subterranean and two levels above ground), 403-space parking structure. The existing parking structure will be demolished, and the
new structure rebuilt in substantially the same location but realigned slightly toward Newport
Center Drive to provide enhanced onsite vehicular circulation. The rebuilt parking structure will also include enhanced circulation efficiency. The hotel parking structure floor plans are provided on Sheets A1.20 and A1.21 of the attached Plan Set.
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For the hotel branded residences, a new 5 level, 429-space subterranean parking structure will be
constructed adjacent to the new building under the porte cochere and entry drive area. Each level
(B1 through B5) will be constructed with spaces for valet parked vehicles and private assigned parking garages for residents. The new building and parking structure for the hotel branded residences will be accessed via Newport Center Drive where guests will be directed to valet services located at the porte cochere. Residents may choose to park using valet services or through
direct access into the below-grade parking structure. An illustrative perspective of the proposed
porte cochere is provided on Sheets A4.3 and A4.4 of the attached Plan Set.
In addition to parking, level B1 will provide facilities such as a mailroom, employee breakroom, trash enclosure, storage, security office, and kitchen. The loading deck will also be located on level B1 and will be accessed by the service driveway from the proposed fire driveway on the southern
boundary of the property. Level B2 will house amenities for the building as well as electrical,
engineering, utility, and maintenance facilities. Levels B3, B4 and B5 will have storage facilities and parking.
Guests and residents using valet services will enter the building lobby area on level 1. Level 1 will
also provide space for administrative offices, a lounge, amenities, restrooms, and back of house
facilities. Residential units will start on level 2 with a range of size a floor plans available ranging
from approximately 877 square feet to 2,787 square feet. Penthouse units ranging in size from 4,171 square feet to 7,259 square feet will be offered on levels 21 and 22. The building rooftop will house screened rooftop appurtenances. Proposed floor plans are depicted on Sheets A.1 through A.11 of the attached Plan Set.
A new 8,000 square foot event lawn will be located along the southern boundary of the property
near the new residential building and hotel pool area. The new event lawn will be used for outdoor events with the added function as a terminus for the fire road. The project also includes the construction of a new swimming pool, extensive hardscape and landscape areas, and guest-serving amenities including a pool, a fitness facility, and meeting rooms. Proposed landscaping and
pedestrian circulation are depicted on Sheets L 102 through L 105 of the attached Plan Set.
Future Operation
Operations for the hotel and the hotel branded residences will be managed by professionally trained Ritz-Carlton staff. While dedication of staff for the hotel and the hotel branded residences will be separate, the hotel and residences will remain under the same Marriott umbrella under
common leadership of the General Manager. Marriott maintenance and groundskeeping staff will service both the hotel and the hotel branded residences. A temporary sales office for the hotel branded residences will be located within the hotel. In addition to existing hotel amenities such as a lounge, a fitness center, a full-service spa, pools,
event lawns, a conference center, ballrooms, and restaurants that will remain available for hotel
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guest and resident use, the hotel branded project proposes new pool facilities, fitness facilities,
meeting rooms, and other food service amenities for exclusive use of the residents. Recreation
opportunities provided by the hotel include bike rentals and an event lawn area where hotel guests and residents and guests of the hotel branded residences may attend events.
Construction
Construction is anticipated to be completed in 36 months from the start of demolition. This timeline
includes approximately 6 months of demolition and site preparation and approximately 30 months
for construction of the new subterranean parking structure and residential building. Construction equipment will be staged completely onsite in the development area so as not to impede hotel operations and guests. Offsite parking will be provided daily for workers with a shuttle to the hotel, if necessary.
During construction, hotel operations will be slightly impacted, as guests will be redirected to a nearby offsite parking area. However, the hotel and all amenities will remain in operation with possible minimal closure of select outdoor amenities during the grading and site preparation phase of construction.
Civil Engineering Plans and Technical Studies
Civil engineering plans are included with the attached Site Development Review Plan Set as Sheets C-01 through C-07. These plans include the Title Sheet (C-01), Conceptual Grading Plan (C-02), Grading Sections (C-03), Conceptual Utility (C-04), Open Space Exhibit (C-05), Grade Plan Exhibit (C-06), Existing Topography (C-07) and Vesting Tentative Tract Map (VTTM), Several technical studies have been prepared Hydrology Study, Water Demand, Water Quality
Management Plan (WQMP), Sewer Analysis, and a Trip Generation Comparison. These technical studies are included in electronic format with this submittal. Additional technical studies including but not limited to Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emission, Geotechnical, Noise, Shade/Shadow will be provided under separate cover in the coming weeks.
Council Policy K-4 and Director’s Interpretation
On March 9, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-18 Reducing Barriers to the Creation of Housing (Council Policy K-4). Council Policy K-4 directed City staff to develop, modify as necessary, and aggressively implement various strategies designed to accelerate housing production consistent with the policy, including encouraging the development of mixed-use hotels. The goals of Council Policy K-4 include interpreting ambiguities in the City’s General Plan,
Coastal Land Use Plan, Title 20 (Planning and Zoning) and Title 21 (Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan) of the Newport Beach Municipal Code (NBMC) to allow hotels and motels, located outside the Coastal Commission Appeal Jurisdiction, to convert up to 30% of their approved hotel rooms into residential units on a one-for-one basis. Such interpretation would allow
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for residential units to be deemed an accessory use to the principal use of a hotel and find that such
residential uses are consistent with the hotel and motel’s underlying General Plan, Zoning Code,
and Local Coastal Plan Program land use and zoning designations. On April 30, 2021, the Community Development Director issued Director’s Determination No. DD2021-001. The Director’s Determination was considered by the City Council on appeal on
August 24, 2021. The City Council denied the appeal and upheld the Director’s Determination.
Director’s Determination No. DD2021-001 implemented City Council Policy K-4 and found that residential uses are allowable as an accessory use within resort hotels under certain parameters including the following:
Considerations for Accessory Residential Use – City Requirements Project Application
Applicable only to resort hotels, a self-contained destination that provides for most travel accommodation needs in one location,
including but not limited to restaurants, bars,
shopping, and recreational facilities.
The Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel is a self-contained destination resort hotel including restaurants, bars, shopping, and
recreational facilities.
Must be located outside the appeal area
identified in California Public Resources Code
Section 30603(a) as generally depicted on the Post-LCP Certification Permit and Appeal Jurisdiction Map.
The Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel is
located outside of the appeal area identified in California Public Resources Code Section 30603(a).
Approved hotel rooms may be converted to residential units, but only on a one-for-one basis.
159 existing, approved hotel rooms are proposed for conversion to residential units on one-to-one basis.
The residential use shall at all times be accessory to the hotel use, and the residential
units shall comprise no more than 30 percent
of the approved hotel rooms.
Residential uses will be accessory to hotel and will be comprised of no more than 30 percent
of the approved hotel rooms (532 existing
hotel rooms: 373 remaining hotel rooms + 159 hotel rooms converted to residential units = 532 approved rooms.)
The residential units may be located within a
repurposed hotel or in a new residential structure.
A new residential structure is proposed.
A property owner that desires to have an accessory residential use at their hotel shall process a conditional use permit and coastal
A condition use permit and coastal development permit application are included for this project, in addition to a site
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The proposed application for the conversion of hotel units to hotel branded residences as an accessory use at the existing Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel is consistent with the intent of City Council Policy K-4 and Director’s Determination No. DD2021-001. The City has already identified the Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel as a qualifying resort hotel offering destination
accommodations including restaurant and recreation facilities. The conversion of 159 hotel units
to hotel branded residences represents a 30% conversion of the 532 existing units. The Newport Beach Marriott Resort Hotel is located outside the appeal area identified in California Public Resources Code Section 30603(a).
The application also includes the demolition of the Harbor Landing building and construction of
the new residential building in its place. The proposed residential building would be constructed using the highest quality materials including stone, metal, wood, steel, and glass glazing accents. A materials board is included as Sheet A5.1 of the attached Plan Set.
The hotel branded residences will be located in the new residential building, and residential
parking would be provided in a subterranean parking structure within the residential building. Site maintenance and operations will remain under the Marriott umbrella. The existing hotel amenities and recreational opportunities would be available for both hotel guest and resident use.
Adequate parking would be provided by a 403-space parking structure and 429 subterranean
parking spaces for a total of 842 parking spaces including valet services. No increase in traffic generation would result from the implementation of the project because traffic generation associated with a residential use is slightly less than traffic generation for a resort hotel use.
As indicated above, additional technical studies are currently being prepared and will be submitted
under separate cover. Project specific findings will be prepared and submitted following the City’s
development permit (if applicable). In reviewing said permits, the review authority shall ensure adequate parking is provided to
accommodate the residential units through
surplus parking, shared parking, or the
adoption of a parking management plan.
development review permit. The hotel requires 1 parking space per hotel room. New hotel branded residence parking will be
provided at 2.5 parking spaces per residential
unit, resulting in an overall increase in parking.
Potential impacts to public access, affordable
housing, and the loss of transient occupancy tax must be mitigated by entering into a Development Agreement with the City or by some other means deemed appropriate.
The project will not result in impacts to public access because there is no public access on, or immediately surrounding the project site. Affordable housing and loss of transient occupancy tax shall be addressed during the
processing of the application.
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initial review of the project plans and completion of all required technical studies. We appreciate
review and consideration of the proposed Ritz-Carlton Residences at the Newport Beach Marriott
resort hotel, and we look forward to working with City Staff on this project. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding this application. Sincerely,
CAA PLANNING, INC.
Shawna L. Schaffner Chief Executive Officer Attachments: Planning Application
Location Map
Site Development Review Plan Set Vesting Tentative Tract Map Title Report Hydrology Study
Water Demand Study
Water Quality Management Plan Sewer Demand Analysis Trip Generation Comparison
c. Matt Schneider, Principal Planner Mike Barmettler, Newport Center Hotel, LLC. ~ • ~ I?? ~ PA2021-296
Feet
Every reasonable effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the data provided, however, The City of Newport Beach and its employees and agents disclaim any and all responsibility from or relating to any results obtained in its use.
Disclaimer:
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