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# City Planners greenlight beach club renovations
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-planners-greenlight-beach-club-renovations/
- Published: 2006-04-07T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:31:32.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

*Planners shrug off threatened lawsuits*

CITY HALL — Despite threats of a lawsuit, the Planning Commission Wednesday approved plans for the creation of a public beach club at the old Marion Davies estate.

The unanimous decision moves the project, now a decade in the making, to the next phase of development, where it must be reviewed and approved by the Landmarks Commission and the City Council before going before the state’s Coastal Commission.

News of the vote was warmly received by supporters of the project, who rallied together in advance of the commission’s meeting to fight off attempts by a handful of homeowners looking to block the project.

Homeowners living near the estate have threatened to sue City Hall if the beach club is built, unless elected officials sign a contract that enforces certain operating conditions, such as 24-hour security, enhanced lighting and the installation of a traffic signal at the beach club’s proposed entrance and exit along a dangerous stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway.

City Attorney Marsha Moutrie has advised against any such agreement that would bind City Hall indefinitely, and has suggested the council could include the operating conditions as part of the site’s use permit.

An attorney representing the homeowners said his clients are considering whether or not to file an appeal with City Hall over the commission’s vote.

Commissioners said they were aware of the concerns of homeowners as well as the threat of a lawsuit, but decided to vote in favor of the beach club after reviewing scores of concessions City Hall has agreed to make in efforts to appease homeowners.

“We have had an extensive public process in which city staff has worked very hard to address all of the concerns and create a world-class facility that all of us can enjoy,” said commissioner Julie Dad. “We have heard doubts, as we always do, but the city can come through as it has in the past. Now is not the time to consider a lawsuit.”

The commissioners’decision was made easier after learning from city staff that the California Department of Transportation, Caltrans, had agreed to erect a traffic signal at the club’s proposed entrance. The light would only be operational during the weekends, but commissioners felt this was a good first step towards getting a full-time signal installed.

“You may laugh at that, but the weekend is when we have the highest amount of traffic,” Dad said. “We can work with that.”

> “You may laugh at that, but the weekend is when we have the highest amount of traffic.” — JULIE DAD Planning Commissioner

The 5.5-acre beachfront 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 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 the site’s potential as an important public resource, leading to the current development proposal.

If approved as is, 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 its interior design, including hand-painted bathroom tile, the marble fireplace, 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).

The project is being funded primarily through a $28 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation.

If a lawsuit is filed, there is concern by supporters that the project will be put on hold, jeopardizing the $28 million donated by the Annenberg Foundation for the restoration and reuse of the historic, but earthquake-battered facility.

A spokesman for Annenberg would not say whether or not a lawsuit might trigger the foundation to pull its grant, but a significant delay due to a court case could have an impact on funding that would, without a doubt, put pressure on elected officials to make up the difference in construction costs.

Members of the Palisades Beach Property Owners Association, which has threatened the suit, have said they are not opposed to a public beach club, but said that City Hall will operate the facility at a loss. If so, they believe City Hall will allow the facility to go into disrepair or will cut back on security, creating the potential for accidents, loitering and camping by the homeless.

William Delvac, an attorney from Latham & Watkins who is representing the homeowners, said there are concerns that the final environmental impact report is incomplete and that the project violates Proposition S, which limits construction on the beach. Homeowners could sue on those grounds, Delvac said.

“All we are asking for here is the city to play by the same rules that it sets for everyone else,” Delvac said. “In 1990, the city required a traffic signal to be installed at the same site when a private beach hotel was looking to locate there, but now that it’s a city project, that requirement is no longer there. It seems the city is trying to have it both ways.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 7, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040706.pdf?ref=smdp.com)