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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT
DATE: DECEMBER 16, 2025
FROM: PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: ANNUAL REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
NO. 99-01 FOR THE ANAHEIM GARDENWALK PROJECT
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 05
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion, determine, on the basis of the evidence submitted by STC GardenWalk LLC; GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC; and, Westgate Resorts Anaheim, LLC, that the Anaheim GardenWalk Project is not in compliance with the terms and conditions of Development Agreement No. 99-01 for the 2025 review period, and direct staff to provide notice of City Council’s intent to establish new development timeframes at a subsequently-noticed public hearing.
DISCUSSION:
A Development Agreement is a contract between the City and property owner that provides certainty to the developer that the approved project will be exempt from future changes to zoning laws and requires the developer to provide benefits to the City in exchange for that certainty. In June 1999, the City of Anaheim and Pointe Anaheim, LLC executed Development Agreement No. 99-01 (Agreement), which governs the development of the Anaheim GardenWalk Project. A map of the property and the Agreement are included as Attachments 1 and 2, respectively.
The Anaheim GardenWalk Project is a specialty retail, dining, and entertainment center integrated with multiple hotels and a transportation center, on approximately
20.3 acres, located between Katella Avenue and Disney Way, west of Clementine Street. At full build-out, the project would consist of up to 439,600 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment uses; a 3,200-space parking structure and transportation center; three hotels with up to 1,266 hotel rooms (including up to 400 vacation ownership units); and up to 216,820 square feet of hotel accessory uses.
Following the execution of the Agreement, the original developer, Pointe Anaheim, LLC, and its successors in interest, subsequently assigned the Agreement to other responsible parties: STC GardenWalk LLC; GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC; and Westgate Resorts Anaheim, LLC. These three parties are each the property owner for their respective components of the Anaheim GardenWalk Project.
Anaheim GardenWalk Development Agreement (Annual Review) December 16, 2025
In addition, the City Council approved subsequent amendments to the Agreement in February 2002, December 2004, January 2006, April 2006, March 2010, July 2011, August 2011, June 2013, and June 2019. In general, the amendments included modifications to the scope of development based on market realities and extended performance dates to reflect anticipated construction timetables.
During the 2023 annual review, the City Council determined that the Anaheim GardenWalk project was not in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement and directed staff to provide notice to the applicant of the Council’s intent to establish new development timeframes. In March 2024, new timeframes were established for GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC and Westgate Resorts Anaheim, LLC for the construction of the two hotels on the site as follows:
GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC1:
o Required construction to begin by November 12, 2025
o Construction completion by May 12, 2028
Westgate Resorts Anaheim, LLC:
o Required building permit issuance by April 15, 2025
o Opening date of two years after the commencement of construction Pursuant to the Agreement, the City Council is required to determine annually if the property owners have complied in good faith with the terms and conditions of the Agreement.
Demonstration of good faith compliance includes conformance with all terms and timing schedules set forth in the Agreement. If the Council finds that the property owner has demonstrated good faith compliance, the review for that period is complete.
STC GardenWalk, LLC (STC) is responsible for the retail, dining, and entertainment center, the transportation center, and the parking structure components of the Anaheim GardenWalk project.
The public benefits provided by the Agreement included traffic improvements within The Anaheim Resort and a Police Substation within the Project, which were completed with the construction of the retail concourse. STC is in the process of relocating the Police Substation to the main level of the center to provide better public visibility to the public and enhancements to the interior space for officer use. There are no outstanding obligations under the Agreement for STC GardenWalk, LLC, as indicated in their update letter (Attachment 3).
GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC is responsible for the development of two hotels within the Anaheim GardenWalk Project. Construction of the first hotel, the 466-room JW Marriott Anaheim Resort, was completed and opened in August 2020. The Agreement, which the City Council previously approved, extended timeframes in 2023, required the second hotel to commence construction by November 12, 2025, and open by May 12, 2028. GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC indicates in their letter of request (Attachment 4) that they were not able to meet the performance timeframe due to financial reasons, updates to the Building Code and unexpected passing of a partner in the joint venture.
Westgate Resorts Anaheim, LLC (Westgate) is responsible for the development of a 399-unit vacation ownership resort, which the developer will construct on top of the existing parking 1 GardenWalk Hotel II, LLC is the entity responsible for the construction of this hotel.
Anaheim GardenWalk Development Agreement (Annual Review) December 16, 2025
structure. The Agreement required the developer to obtain a building permit for construction of the timeshare resort by April 15, 2025, and open two years following the commencement of construction. Westgate indicates in their letter of request (Attachment 5) that they were not able to meet the performance milestone because they have had difficulties meeting standards of a national hotel “flag,” locating an appropriate flag for the Anaheim market, and certification and design of a new and innovative building type.
Staff confirmed that STC GardenWalk, LLC has complied with their obligations under the Agreement. Staff acknowledges that GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC and Westgate are out of compliance, however, they have submitted letters of request (Attachments 4 and 5), requesting to amend the Development Agreement to extend the timing associated with the development milestones. The City’s Development Agreement Procedures Resolutions (Resolution No. 82R- 565) provides that, in this instance, the City Council may, in lieu of amending the Agreement, establish a new time schedule for compliance. Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council determine that the property owners have not complied with the terms and conditions of the Agreement for this review period and direct staff to provide notice of City Council’s intent to establish new development timeframes at a subsequently noticed public hearing to be held within 45 days after such notice is provided.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
There is no budgetary impact. The property owners are paying for the processing costs associated with this annual review.
Respectfully submitted,
Heather Allen
Director of Planning and Building
Attachments:
1. Map Exhibit
2. Development Agreement No. 99-01 and Amendments
3. STC Management Update Letter
4. GardenWalk Hotel I Annual Review Letter
5. Westgate Resorts Anaheim Annual Review Letter