News - Local

Friday, Jul. 03, 2009

Hotel conversion approved for San Simeon

But water supply issues linger in plan to turn rooms into low-income studio apartments

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Maids, cooks and other workers who provide the backbone for the North Coast’s tourist industry may have a chance to make “real homes” of the hotel rooms they have been living in for years in San Simeon.

It all depends on whether the local services district agrees that there is enough water.

The county Planning Commission recently approved — with conditions — the conversion of 54 hotel rooms into 38 studio apartments for rent and 16 vacation rentals.

The application comes from Keshav “Chris” Gupta, who owns the Courtesy Inn at 9490 Avonne Ave. Gupta wants to add kitchen stoves and sinks and allow people who cannot afford housing in this high-priced market to have a home of their own in the Oceanside Inn, across Avonne Avenue from the Courtesy Inn.

Gupta’s proposal coincides with one of the county’s most oft-expressed needs: housing that the work force can afford.

However, it clashes with another of the county’s biggest shortages — water.

Balancing act

Planning commissioners found themselves trying to thread between helping the working poor and their families and guarding the water supply in the tiny community of 900.

Gupta said that since he bought the property in 2003, he has made changes that have reduced the previous use of water by 40 percent.

Nonetheless, representatives of the San Simeon Community Services District said water is a great concern. For more than two decades, the town has been under a building moratorium triggered by the water shortage.

Gupta has a “will-serve” letter from the district to provide water for the hotel rooms. However, under the district’s formula, “in terms of water usage, 53 hotel rooms would equal 37 dwelling units,” according to planner Airlin Singewald.

Water disagreement

Proponents and opponents of the project disagreed about whether there is enough water to accommodate the full expansion Gupta envisions.

There were other questions as well.

Commissioner Anne Wyatt said if the hotel rooms are converted to apartments, they will have a two-person maximum. “How is that family friendly?” she asked.

Commissioners Sarah Christie and Bruce White suggested converting some of the units into two-bedroom apartments.

But Commissioner Carlyn Christianson said that would put it out of the price range for some tenants. “These people are poor. Some of them can’t afford two-bedrooms,” she said.

“The difference in cost is not that great,” said Wyatt, estimating it at $100.

“A hundred dollars is a lot of money to some people,” Christianson replied.

In the end, commissioners approved the application, on the condition that the community services district agree that there is enough water, through a “will-serve” letter.

‘Make it work’

Although some speakers said the district will not grant such a letter, Christie disagreed, as did the attorney for the district, Rob Schultz. “We’ll try to make it work,” Schultz said.

Christie added that despite the need for housing for those with low incomes, “I am concerned about unequal application of the county’s zoning standards.”

The motel’s conversion concept has been in the works for years and was included in the recently adopted revision of the North Coast Area Plan.

The North Coast Advisory Council voted 8-2 to conditionally recommend the project for approval, warning that owners and county planners should address a list of 18 questions and suggestions, including water.