Travelodge owner appealing to add a three-story bridge
DOWNTOWN When motel owner Michael Farzam first proposed rebuilding two outdated inns, one of the last things he expected was to be hit with a seven-figure fee for removing affordable lodging.
It was a surprise because he was replacing them with more inexpensive guest rooms.
The owner of a new motel project that would consolidate the existing Travelodge and Pacific Sands on the 1500 block of Ocean Avenue, Farzam is planning to appeal a more than $1 million mitigation fee that he is required to pay because of an 18-year-old ordinance that penalizes developers for removing cheap accommodations.
The ordinance was passed amid concerns the city was headed toward gentrification with high-rise condominiums and expensive hotels popping up along the coastline, which was an issue for a rent-control community that prided itself on promoting a lower-cost of living.
Such developmental trends could be seen in the years preceding the ordinance’s enactment in May 1990. From 1984 to 1990, six luxury hotels with more than 1,100 rooms received permits to build within the coastal zone, which is the area bounded by the ocean to the west, the southern boundary, Lincoln Boulevard to the east and San Vicente Boulevard to the north. In that same time period, there were no low-cost lodging projects proposed for the area and approximately 355 affordable guest rooms were demolished.
The fee, which is approximately $8,000 for each room removed, would in turn be used to offset the loss by funding projects that create more inexpensive accommodations.
“The city was trying to combat what we thought was a perverse outcome by seeking strategies to remedy or offset those losses,” said former City Council member Denny Zane, who served as mayor at the time the ordinance was passed. “There were lots of concerns about gentrification of the city and cities have limited tools.
“Many times they are not legally able to just say no as people imagine.”
But Farzam, whose family owns four properties in the city, said his project should be exempt from the ordinance because it will more than double the existing number of affordable guest rooms, adding the fee would impact financing opportunities for the estimated $40-50 million project.
“We’re replacing outdated and obsolete motels with a new facility with double the number of guest rooms and the same amenities,” he said.
The motel owner recently hired hospitality consultant PFK to conduct an analysis on what is considered affordable in the current market, arriving at an average daily rate of $172. The projected average daily rate at the new Travelodge in 2008 dollars is $164 a night.
While below the affordability standard, the projected rate is higher than the cost to stay at the two motels today, which is about $110 a night.
Laura Beck, an associate city planner, said the fees have been used minimally in the past. The fund was dipped into about eight years ago when Hostelling International used approximately $800,000 to expand its facility to include 60 more beds.
Farzam is also appealing to construct a three-story pedestrian bridge connecting the new main motel on Ocean Avenue to the annex just off the alley. A neighbor of the Travelodge has also appealed the project because it blocks the ocean view from his building.
The proposed four-story limited amenity lodge — which means it won’t have a restaurant or other features typically found in a hotel — would be roughly 89,000-square-feet in size with nearly 300 parking spaces in a subterranean garage.
The project also once called for a three-story pedestrian bridge, which was scaled down by the Planning Commission in March to one level. Several commissioners expressed reservations about the size of the bridge, which they felt was out of scale.
Farzam said the bridge is needed to keep pedestrians out of the alley, adding that there have been several near accidents between guests and cars.
There is currently no bridge connecting the two buildings.
“Guests have to walk 100 yards south and across the alley to get back and forth, which is a high risk for pedestrians considering the valet car volume that goes through the alley,” Farzam said.
The City Council is expected to hear the appeals at its Sept. 23 meeting.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 13, 2008. Read the original PDF.