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Planning Commission approves recommendation for Hansen Hotel at 1801 N. El Camino Real
Summary
The Planning Commission voted to approve the Hansen Hotel project — a 61‑room boutique hotel with a rooftop restaurant and 25% affordable overnight accommodations — and recommended final approvals and CEQA determinations to City Council. Staff and the applicant incorporated Coastal Commission feedback on views and affordability before the vote.
The Planning Commission voted on Aug. 20 to approve staff’s recommendation and forward the Hansen Hotel project at 1801 North El Camino Real to City Council with findings and CEQA documentation.
Project summary: the application proposes a 61‑room boutique hotel with a rooftop restaurant and terrace, two ground‑level cafés, guest amenities and two subterranean parking levels providing 104 spaces (three spaces more than required by code). As part of pre‑application coordination with the California Coastal Commission, the applicant increased the room count and committed 25% of rooms (16 rooms) as affordable overnight accommodations and reduced building mass along the Avenue To Pico scenic corridor to preserve public ocean views.
Staff described design changes made after the design‑review subcommittee and Coastal Commission input: one‑ to two‑story frontage along Avenue To Pico with three‑story massing moved to the rear of the site; landscape and public‑facing terrace elements to create new public viewpoints; and a loading pocket and trash staging area with mechanized handling from subterranean storage. An acoustical study accompanying the proposal showed predicted ambient levels below the city noise thresholds at identified sensitive receptors when amplified background music is used at the rooftop restaurant.
A representative of Unite Here Local 11 spoke during public comment with questions about habitat and CEQA review; staff and the city attorney explained the project qualifies for the Class 32 infill categorical exemption and that the project is also less intensive than a previously approved mitigated negative declaration from 1998, and that consultants performed biological and noise reviews. The Commission discussed policy issues including coastal view protections, the proposed affordable‑overnight accommodations, noise hours and enforcement, parking, pedestrian access, and loading. Commissioners praised the project design and the applicant’s responsiveness to prior comments.
The commission moved, seconded and voted in favor of the staff resolution adopting the CEQA determinations and approving the requested development permit and conditional‑use permit subject to the staff conditions. The project is subject to a 10‑day appeal period and will be considered by City Council as the final decision authority.
