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Ontario council approves EIR addendum and amended DDA for proposed 226-room hotel after rejecting parts of appeal; $100M bond authorization approved with onerec
Summary
The Ontario City Council on Jan. 20 approved staff-recommended steps to address CEQA and redevelopment agreements for a proposed 226-room hotel, denied parts of an appeal while granting others, and cleared related actions including an amended DDA; a separate bond authorization for up to $100 million passed with one abstention.
Ontario City Council on Jan. 20 took a series of actions tied to a proposed 226-room hotel at the Ontario Sports complex, after hearing an appeal alleging the city performed post‑approval environmental review and improperly advanced project approvals.
Planning staff described the project as a five‑story, 226‑room hotel on a 3.4‑acre site on Champions Avenue with about 25,000 square feet of commercial space. Staff summarized four appeal claims—whether a conditional use permit was required, whether a reinstated development agreement (DDA) should have been considered by the council, whether the sports‑complex EIR addendum adequately analyzed greenhouse‑gas and traffic impacts, and whether the city had taken approval steps prior to completing environmental review—and recommended a mixed response: deny two claims, grant two claims, set aside the Planning Commission’s adoption of the addendum/approval, and require that council consider and approve the EIR addendum and the amended and reinstated DDA before further project approvals.
Jordan Sisson, land‑use counsel for the appellants, urged the council to reconsider the project's approvals and complete full CEQA review before advancing entitlements. "When the city approved the land sale back in February 2025, without the addendum, without the other CEQA approval in hand ... this is merely a post hoc rationalization," Sisson said.
Council Member Bowman moved to adopt staff's approach; the motion was seconded and carried on the council floor. The council voted to implement staff recommendations on the appeal and to proceed only after the EIR addendum and amended DDA are before the council. The motion on the appeal passed 5‑0.
Separately, the council considered a resolution authorizing revenue bonds through the California Statewide Communities Development Authority of up to $100 million to finance or refinance a hotel project in Ontario. That financing measure passed with a 4‑0 vote and one recusal: Council Member Macias did not participate in the item.
Council also approved the administrative actions tied to the EIR addendum and the amended and restated DDA (item 22) by a 5‑0 vote. Staff said the redlined DDA language removes previous provisions referring to sale of the property, focuses the project on internal improvements for the existing hotel footprint and preserves the project’s room count, and adds record‑custody language directing documents to the city clerk’s office. The council directed staff to file the required notices of determination and related CEQA filings.
The city clerk's office noted that the staff materials on item 5 were updated to reflect payments received through Jan. 20, 2026 and that revised assessments total $182,563.26 related to 116 parcels; staff provided updated exhibits to the council and the public record.
Next steps: council actions require the EIR addendum and the amended, restated DDA to be before the council before further project entitlements proceed. The council did not adopt final construction permits at the meeting; the actions bridge the planning record and the pending environmental compliance and financing approvals.
