Planning Commission certifies EIR and approves coastal permit for Dana Point Harbor hotels

The Dana Point Planning Commission on June 23 certified the final environmental impact report and approved a coastal development permit for a two‑hotel project in Dana Point Harbor that would demolish the existing Dana Marina Inn and replace it with a 169‑room lower‑cost hotel and a 130‑room market‑rate hotel, add new boater service buildings and associated parking and public‑access improvements.

The project drew a lengthy staff presentation and public support from local residents, business groups and labor before the commission voted unanimously to certify the EIR and approve Coastal Development Permit CDP 19‑17.

The item before you is a coastal development permit, in the Dana Point Harbor, principal planner Kirk Nelson told the commission as he opened the staff presentation. Nelson said the permit package includes the demolition of the existing 136‑room Marina Inn and two boater service buildings; construction of two new hotels (the Surf Lodge, 169 lower‑cost rooms; and the Dana House, 130 market‑rate rooms); replacement boater facilities totaling roughly 66,800 square feet of boater facilities; a mix of underground and podium parking; a shared‑parking program and parking management plan; a lot‑line adjustment; and building and wayfinding signage and streetscape improvements.

Nelson summarized the project history: the project was submitted in 2019, required a local coastal program amendment (LCPA) to Planning Area 3 and underwent review by the California Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission’s suggested modifications were incorporated and certified by the commission in February 2025, which led to a recirculated draft EIR because the LCPA added 33 rooms beyond the original plan. Nelson said the revised draft EIR was circulated for 48 days and that five of 14 environmental categories required mitigation: aesthetics, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous resources, noise and public services.

The two hotels are organized on a shared site plan with separate guest flows and shared podium parking.…