San Clemente design panel backs moving revised Hanson Hotel to planning commission after review

The City of San Clemente Design Review Subcommittee on Wednesday reviewed revisions to the proposed Hanson Hotel at 1801 North El Camino Real and agreed to send the project on to the Planning Commission, with staff and commissioners asking the applicant to refine materials, the north-facing wall treatment, landscaping and documentation of historic-context analysis.

The hotel design team has modified an earlier plan to provide 61 guest rooms — up from 49 in the 2022 package — in response to the Coastal Commission's preference for 25% on-site affordable rooms, project architect Jordan said. "We first went down the road of trying to figure out do we have to do it or not because it's an environmental justice policy, not an adopted ordinance. But the client just went ahead and did it," Jordan said. He added the current proposal remains one room under the maximum allowed under zoning.

Staff said the site is an undeveloped parcel at the Avenida Pico/North El Camino Real gateway and is zoned Mixed Use 1, within the architectural overlay, the central business district and the certified Local Coastal Program (LCP). Planning staff told the subcommittee the project now proposes the same general footprint as earlier versions, with subterranean parking (41 stalls), a relocated cafe and a second-story rooftop restaurant. John, a city planning staff member, said the applicant added a front loading area and a small, screened dumpster-staging pad to facilitate servicing. "Staff felt like these proposed modifications fell in alignment with what the city was looking for in terms of limiting any potential visual impacts to the project site," John said, while noting final code compliance will be assessed during building permit review.

Historic-resources advocates pushed for more explicit documentation. Larry Culbertson, representing the local historical society, said he supports a hotel on the site but pressed the subcommittee for a formal analysis against the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. "I'm stunned that we don't have the review by staff'... for compliance with the Secretary of Interior standards," Culbertson said, asking that the record explicitly address whether the project would meet or affect the historic district across the street.

Subcommittee members and public commenters also raised view-corridor, landscape and streetscape issues. Staff and the applicant described updated view simulations along Avenida Pico and from the trails above the park that indicate most bluewater ocean views are preserved except at the most northern portion of the site; staff said the Land Use Plan contains language that allows limited flexibility in balancing view-protection policies with urban gateway design. The applicant and landscape architect described a layered planting plan and proposed tree substitutions (date palm rather than Mexican fan palm) to reduce long-term maintenance and limit view obstruction; the applicant also agreed to increase sidewalks from the current plan's 4.5 feet to at least 6 feet to align with the city's bike-and-pedestrian guidance.

Architectural issues that drew specific subcommittee comment included mechanical screening (faux "chimneys" to conceal vents and chutes), plate-height interpretation versus maximum height, and the north-facing wall that faces the historic district and park. Jordan said the faux chimneys screen laundry and trash chute vents and that most such elements sit behind articulated rooflines. Commissioners suggested making one chimney/tower element stronger and adding deeper recessed window detailing or planting to break up the north wall. "I think the story should be that you're actually enhancing that view with this project," a commissioner said.

On approvals and next steps, the subcommittee voted earlier in the meeting to approve the minutes and, after discussion, indicated support for the project moving forward to a Planning Commission hearing and then for formal Coastal Commission review. John and other subcommittee members recommended the applicant meet with Planning Commission leadership in advance of that hearing to focus the public hearing on the conditional-use and zoning items rather than design minutiae. The Coastal Commission must still formally review the project under the city's certified LCP, and staff said the project team has had multiple informal meetings with Coastal staff and received informal direction about roof elements.

The project team and staff said several technical items will be resolved through the entitlement process or during building-permit review, including final plate/height measurement, code-required fire and building compliance for openings near property lines, and the exact species and placement of street trees and landscape that will screen service areas. The applicant said the trash staging area is smaller than 200 square feet and will be screened, and that the pickup/loading arrangement was reviewed by Public Works and is intended to work with removable bollards if operational adjustments are needed.

The subcommittee's review produced no final entitlement decision; members concluded the revised package is ready for the next formal review steps provided the applicant expands the record on historic-context analysis, clarifies plate-height measurements against the zoning definition, deepens articulation on the north wall and refines landscape/streetscape details for the Planning Commission.

Votes at a glance: The subcommittee approved the meeting minutes by voice vote early in the session. On the Hanson Hotel, the subcommittee did not take a formal approval vote but indicated support to forward the revised design and findings to the Planning Commission for discretionary review and Coastal review.

What happens next: The applicant will return to the Planning Commission for recommendation on conditional-use and zoning items, and any planning approval would be followed by a de novo Coastal Commission review as required by the city's certified Local Coastal Program.