At Tuesday’s meeting, three county supervisors said they need to
see a full EIR before approving a requested change from residential
to commercial zoning. But Eade plans to ask the board to vote
without an EIR.
Tres Pinos – The proposed Spur Hotel could be in trouble.
Hotel developer John Eade said Thursday he isn’t willing to prepare the full environmental impact report that county supervisors have requested.
“It’s ludicrous to even talk about an EIR,” Eade said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, three county supervisors said they need to see a full EIR before approving a requested change from residential to commercial zoning. But Eade plans to ask the board to vote without an EIR.
Even if he does a full environmental study, Eade said critics will likely find “some other excuse” to oppose the project.
After being informed of Eade’s intentions, the supervisors said their positions hadn’t changed. That means the zone change will likely fail when it goes back before the board on Oct. 23. Eade said that if that happens, he will sell the land to a homebuilder and let the hotel proposal die.
Board Chairman Don Marcus said he’s disappointed by Eade’s stance.
“It is unfortunate that the project applicants seem unwilling to provide an environmental impact report,” Marcus said. “The Spur Hotel, as presented, gives the appearance of a much-needed asset to the county and our community. As indicated at the public hearing last Tuesday, I will support the zone change if the project meets the criteria of an EIR.”
As proposed, the hotel would include 44 units, a banquet room, a meeting room and a swimming pool. Many Tres Pinos residents have complained that the hotel is inappropriately located in a residential neighborhood and it lacks adequate water and sewer service, parking spaces and other facilities.
The county planning department presented the board with a mitigated negative declaration for the project, stating that all of the hotel’s environmental impacts can be mitigated. The county Planning Commission also endorsed the zone change, albeit in a narrow 3-2 vote. But without an EIR, Supervisor Pat Loe said the Eades could end up in legal trouble.
“If there’s a court challenge and you have a mitigated ‘neg dec’ rather than an EIR, the chances are much greater that you’re going to lose,” Loe said.
Sacramento attorney Bill Yeates, who wrote the Planning and Conservation League Foundation’s “Community Guide to CEQA,” said the supervisors seem “perfectly justified” in asking for a complete report.
“The law itself encourages a full EIR,” Yeates said. “The fact that the project is in a residential area requiring a zone change certainly justifies an EIR.”
Supervisors Jaime De La Cruz and Reb Monaco said they support a zone change without an EIR. De La Cruz said he wanted to make a motion to that effect at Tuesday’s meeting, but eventually agreed to delay the vote.
De La Cruz said he will push for the zone change again.
“If the hotel fails, I hope my fellow supervisors can say, ‘Let’s look at aggressive economic development in this county,'” he said. “Because I’m tired of it. I’m tired of saying ‘no’ to everything.”
County Planning Director Art Henriques has said that a full EIR could take more than a year to complete and could cost $100,000. But Henriques noted that the expense and time could be reduced if the board asks for an EIR focused on only a few specific elements.
Eade said he’s not interested in a focused EIR. He argued that once the report is complete, opponents will complain that he didn’t study everything.
“If you do an EIR, do the full EIR,” he said. “Otherwise you’re just hanging yourself out to dry.”
Eade added that he’s willing to indemnify the county against any costs arising from a legal challenge to the hotel.
Hotel supporters have said the project could bring much-needed tax dollars and jobs to the county, and even opponents have said it’s a great idea in the wrong place. Supervisor Anthony Botelho made similar comments Thursday.
“If this had been proposed anywhere else in the county, it would have been a slam dunk,” he said.
