Sign The Petition To Let the Voters Decide Fact Sheet: Why we oppose the Coast Hotel

FACT: The hotel project proponents do not want you to sign the petition because they are afraid of what the voters will say in an election.

FACT: The hotel project proponents are hiring people to interfere with our collection of signatures.

Fact: The only opportunity for city residents to vote on this project is by signing the referendum. If enough signatures are gathered, the law provides that the City Council must either rescind the ordinances supporting the project or submit them to a vote of the people. The Council can rescind and save the cost of an election. If the Council calls for an election, they are deciding to spend the public's money, no one else. The special election will be by mail-in ballot, if one is held, so the cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the money the City has already spent on this project.

Fact: This hotel would be the largest on the Monterey Bay coastline. The volume of the new hotel is 190% of the existing hotel (twice as large), and the volume of the parking garage/meeting rooms building is 400% of the
existing hotel (4 times as large). The rebuilt hotel will much higher than the existing roofline, but not the existing tower. Even the project's own
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) states that "The proposed project would substantially alter the visual character of the site and its surroundings"
- a "Significant and Unavoidable" impact.

Fact: The staff of the Central Coast District of the Coastal Commission is on record expressing concern that the "current proposal is simply too large and will overwhelm nearby existing development." Other concerns from the District office state that "the project is not consistent with the surrounding recreational beach location" and "the mass and height of the proposed redevelopment" are inconsistent with certified land use policy.

Fact: The City of Santa Cruz will spend over $66 million of public money over a 30 year period to build a 6-level parking garage and a building-shell to house hotel meeting rooms, hotel support facilities, and hotel administrative space.

Fact: The hotel proponents forecast revenues of $2.7 million, but that is not guaranteed. No matter what the revenues are, the City must pay $2.2 million out of the General Fund for 30 years. The hotel proponents quote revenues of $2.7 million, but neglect to mention the $2.2 million of debt service.

Fact: The hotel will operate the conference center and determine who is allowed to use conference facilities. This is not a City operated conference center as exists in Monterey.

Fact: The City will actually lose at least $700,000 per year during the construction that will last 2 to 3 years, and will have to dip into its reserves. If the tax revenues and hotel revenues do not grow at the assumed rate of 3% per year, or if there are other unforeseen events, it will take much longer for the City to break even.

Fact: The revenue going into the General Fund from the project is not earmarked, EXCEPT for debt service. No specific city program can lay claim
to this money, the Council decides how to spend it. The City made a financial pledge to "address impacts" to Clearview Court AFTER project completion, yet it is unknown when or how those monies will be accessible or meaningful for their 150 residents.

Fact: It may be a green building, but it is not a green project overall because of traffic impacts that will be created. In addition it encourages
reliance on the automobile and ignores the city's Master Transportation Study priority for discouraging auto use. This is a situation in which a so-called green building will be generating increased greenhouse gases!

Fact: No environmental groups are actually listed as supporters of the project. In fact, the Santa Cruz regional group of the SIERRA CLUB, an environmental group of national renown, emphatically does NOT support the hotel-garage-conference center project.

Fact: A finding of "blight" must be made if the current hotel and parking lot are to fall under redevelopment law. This seems to be dubious at best. We believe the project area is not "blighted."


TAXPAYERS MUST VOTE

Committing $66 MILLION of City money over 30 years should be approved by the voters, NOT by a 4 to 3 vote by the City Council


SAVE THE COAST

Environmentalists, the Coastal Commission staff, the Sierra Club, and the Surfrider Foundation oppose the massive project size and impact on the coast.


TOO BIG FOR THE SITE

The volume of the new hotel is 190% of the existing hotel (twice as big), and the volume of the garage and conference center are 400% of the existing hotel. The views comparing the existing structures and the proposed structures are compelling.


PUBLIC MONEY FOR PRIVATE PROFIT

The City will spend $66 MILLION to build a six-level parking garage and a conference center for the near-exclusive use of the Coast Hotel.
SPOT ZONING The City is rejecting the carefully crafted plans of the community and previous City Councils and violating the Coastal Act, just to accommodate this project.


ADVERSE TRAFFIC AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACTS

There will be major detrimental environmental impacts and traffic congestion (requiring 3-5 traffic signals), especially affecting the Clear
View Court Mobilehome Park Community, West Cliff Drive, and adjacent neighborhoods.


BETTER SITES FOR JOBS AND REVENUE

Remodel the Coast Hotel, developing the LaBahia hotel, and building a conference center on the Casa del Rey site will provide MORE jobs and MORE
tax revenue than this project.


REVENUE ALTERNATIVES

Raising the Transient Occupancy Tax (2% increase will provide about the same revenue of this project immediately, not in 5 years). Let's convene an Economic Development Summit.


THIS IS BAD PLANNING

Manipulating land use planning for money is bad policy. We SUPPORT the idea of remodeling the Coast Hotel. We SUPPORT building a Conference Center at an appropriate site, but this project is too big. We SUPPORT other ways of raising badly needed revenues We DEMAND full disclosure and full public participation!


What is a referendum?

A referendum is a democratic right under the California Constitution to put certain decisions to a vote of the people. We have until March 10th to gather the signatures of 10% of the registered voters in the City of Santa Cruz -- 3982 signatures. The signatures on the petition are protected by law from any use other than to be submitted directly to the City Clerk of the City of Santa Cruz for verification.


What will the referendum do?

When enough signatures are gathered, the City Council must either rescind the approval of the ordinances or put the ordinances to a vote of the
people. This will allow the people to decide at the ballot box whether to commit $66 million in public funds over 30 years to help finance the Coast Hotel/Conference Center/Parking Garage Project. This is our ONLY CHANCE to vote on this huge project. The City Council chose not to put this issue on the ballot.


What is on the referendum petitions?

Three ordinances approved by the City Council on a 4-3 vote are on the referendum petition. Two of the ordinances amend the City Zoning Ordinance to increase the building heights permitted on the hotel site and the conference center/parking garage site, and change the way the height is
calculated on the hotel site. This allows a six-level parking garage, a conference center and an 80-foot high hotel (actually 120 feet above Cowell Beach). The third ordinance is a Development Agreement between the City and the hotel developer that describes the terms under which the Coast Hotel project will go forward. Each ordinance is on a separate petition, as
required by law, and each one must be separately signed.


Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning (SCRP) and Advocates for Community Planning (ACP)


SCRP - Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning
P.O. Box 7564
Santa Cruz, CA 95061
831-420-1133
_www.SCRP.us


SCRP Contacts: Ron Pomerantz, (Fire Captain) 423-2293, Bill Malone (President, SC People's Democratic Club) 420-1133, Jim Conway (President,
Clear View Court Homeowners Association) 212-0205, Katherine Beiers (former SC Mayor) 426-6108