By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer

CITY HALL — Putting aside litigation in favor of recreation, a handful of residents living along Pacific Coast Highway on Tuesday reached an agreement with elected officials that clears the way for the construction of a public beach club at the old Marion Davies Estate.

Members of the Palisades Beach Property Owners Association and resident Jonathan Ornstein filed a lawsuit in June asking a judge to stop the project because City Hall violated conditions of the California Environmental Quality Act, as well as a local law prohibiting the creation of food-serving facilities along the beach.

The plaintiffs also said the beach club, funded by a $28 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation, would create dangerous driving conditions on an already deadly stretch of PCH, and therefore, a stop light needed to be installed.

City officials made several attempts to appease the residents, including scaling back portions of the facility, as well as the hours of operation. Additional security was also included, and city staff entered into negotiations with the California Department of Transportation to have a traffic signal installed.

As part of the settlement, City Hall will be required to operate the beach club according to conditions approved by the association and provide around-the-clock security for at least seven years, with certain conditions in effect for 10.

The City Council will also adopt a resolution specifying the terms and conditions for operation. Those terms will be included in the facility’s permit with the California Coastal Commission. The council also agreed to make its best effort at having CalTrans place a traffic signal at the property, located at 415 PCH. CalTrans has been receptive, according to a city staff report.

“This project is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we are elated that the neighbors have agreed to drop their attempts to stop it,” said Joel Brand, chair of Friends of 415 PCH, a group of residents and preservationists fighting for greater access to public beaches. “The city has done more to accommodate the concerns of neighbors on this project — more than any other city development in recent history, perhaps ever.”

There was some concern that the lawsuit would derail plans for the beach club by causing delays that would force the Annenberg Foundation to pull out. Friends of 415 PCH staged beach parties on the lawn of City Hall and near the Davies estate to draw attention to the effort, which was followed by newspapers from across the country. The dispute was largely portrayed as a battle between wealthy, beach-side residents and middle-class individuals looking for a taste of the “Gold Coast,” a term used to describe the opulent stretch of beach where the Davies estate now sits.

Charles Levy, president of the association, said residents were never against the project or its mission. They were concerned that if the project proved to be unsuccessful and a drain on City Hall’s coffers, elected officials would cut back and create an eye sore that would attract squatters, he said.

In a statement released Wednesday, Levy said homeowners are “very pleased” with the settlement and are “confident that it will now be possible for a pattern of operation … that will ensure maximum enjoyment of the beach club,” while maintaining the quality of life for those living nearby.

Ornstein, who filed a suit along with the association, said he was “delighted” by the settlement.

“This lawsuit was never about denying access to this wide open public beach or preventing construction of the beach club,” Ornstein said. “Its goal was public safety and assurance of quality of life for everyone.”

The 5.5-acre estate was built by William Randolph Hearst in the late 1920s for actress and mistress Marion Davies. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan, who created Hearst Castle in San Simeon. The estate had 100 rooms, guesthouses, tennis courts, an elaborately decorated swimming pool and a dog kennel.

The property was sold in the 1940s to a private party and converted to a hotel and beach club. The state purchased the property in 1960. Under an agreement with the state, City Hall leased it to a private beach club, the Sand & Sea Club, and later operated it as a seasonal public beach facility.

Damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, all structures except the beach cafe have been “red-tagged,” or designated as unsafe to occupy.

After an extensive community planning process, in 1999 the council approved a re-use plan that determined site’s potential as an important public resource, leading to the current development proposal.

The beach club design would preserve and restore the original swimming pool, which is constructed of Italian marble tiles with inlaid designs. The north house would also be rehabilitated along with the interior design, including hand-painted bathroom tile, a marble fireplace, several cabinets and a crystal chandelier.

New facilities include an entry pavilion, an event house and pool house. For more information, go to 415pch.smgov.net.

City officials said that the design phase and construction have continued as planned despite the lawsuit, with construction beginning in the early part of 2007. The project should be competed in 2009.

“It is gratifying to see that cooler heads have prevailed,” Brand said. “We can all work together to ensure that the beach club becomes and remains a true crown jewel of public facilities.”