RESOLUTION NO. 26-XXX
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE APPROVING PUBLIC HEARING PROJECT 25-558 TO MODIFY THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED LODGE HOTEL ROOFTOP RESTAURANT TO ENCLOSE A PORTION OF THE ROOFTOP SEATING AND ADD OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL; AND FINDING THAT NO FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW IS NEEDED, CONSISTENT WITH CEQA GUIDELINES §15162 AND §15183 WHEREAS, on June 23, 1998, the City Council certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Marblehead Coastal Specific Plan (MCSP) (State Clearing House [SCH] No. 1995091037); and WHEREAS, on August 5, 1998, the City Council approved General Plan Amendment 95-01, Specific Plan 95-02, Tentative Tract Map (TTM) 8817, Site Plan Permit (SPP) 97-16, and a Development Agreement; and WHEREAS, on July 7, 1999, the City Council approved Site Plan Permit 99-16, Conditional Use Permit 99-17, and Sign Exception Permit 99-18, revising the commercial portion of the project to consist of 700,140 gross square feet of commercial uses, including 443,860 SF of specialty retail, 176,232 SF of entertainment, and 80,048 SF of general retail; and WHEREAS, on April 9, 2003, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) conditionally approved the Marblehead Coastal project, acknowledging that most, but not all, of the property lies within the Coastal Zone. Land outside of the Coastal Zone, including the subject site, does not fall under CCC jurisdiction. The plan approved by the CCC incorporated requirements that preserved additional environmentally sensitive habitat areas, set development back from preserved areas, required substantial restoration and enhancement of degraded open space, reduced the number of residential lots from 424 to 313, and approved 141,500 square feet of commercial space within the Coastal Zone; and WHEREAS, on September 16, 2003, the City Council approved an Amendment to TTM 8817 to reconcile differences between the CCC approval and the City’s prior approval; and WHEREAS, on July 20, 2004, the City Council adopted Resolution 04-61, which certified Addendum No. 5 to the MCSP Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) and approved an amendment to commercial Site Plan Permit 99-16, to include the addition of a hotel and conference center; and WHEREAS, the 2004 approval denoted an anticipated maximum parking demand of 3,061 parking spaces for the entirety of the commercial site plan development, including 349 spaces for the hotel (211 for hotel rooms and 138 to support the conference center); and WHEREAS, impacts of all parking spaces at the Outlets were fully analyzed in the Final EIR for the original project, including 3,718 parking spaces; and subsequent amendments and addenda analyzed alterations to the parking supply finally arriving at a count of 3,264 as approved by the Amended Commercial Site Plan 99-16 in 2004, rendering a surplus of 203 spaces; and WHEREAS, the City and Coastal Commission approved conversion of buildings 9-11 from retail and restaurant use to medical use in 2020 and 2022 respectively, resulting in an additional surplus of 34 parking spaces; and WHEREAS, the City approved a substantial conformance plan set in January of 2019 (B19-099) for a four-story hotel and conference center comprising 133,515 square feet with 130 guest rooms, a conference center, lobby restaurant, and outdoor pool, with a total parking demand of 309 spaces; and WHEREAS, the Design Review Subcommittee reviewed the 2004 project between November 24, 2003, and June 7, 2004; and subsequently reviewed the amended project proposal on June 10, 2020; and WHEREAS, on June 25, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution 25-085, which, among other things, directed staff to initiate an amendment to the MCSP and carry out required environmental review to establish additional height allowances for the hotel building on the Outlets property consistent with height allowances for other landmark structures, including the theater building; and WHEREAS, the Applicant proposed a modification to the approved hotel plans to allow an increase in height from 45 feet to 62 feet to establish a roof deck restaurant, with an updated project parking demand of 356 parking spaces; and WHEREAS, on September 16, 2025, the City Council introduced and, on October 2025, adopted Ordinance No. 1795 (Ordinance) to certify Addendum No. 6 to the Marblehead Coastal Specific Plan Final EIR (SCH No. 1995091037) which amended Section 502 (V)(D) within the Marblehead Coastal Specific Plan (MCSP) allowing the 62-foot maximum height for the hotel; and WHEREAS, on September 16, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution 25-137, approving Public Hearing Project 25-343 to amend Commercial Site Plan Permit (SPP) 99-16 And Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 99-17 to modify the previously approved hotel at 401 W. Avenida Vista Hermosa to allow for an increase in height from 45 feet to 62 feet to incorporate a rooftop restaurant with outdoor dining; and WHEREAS, City staff collaborated with the Applicant and interested residents to further refine plans for the rooftop restaurant to improve compatibility within the community and enhance the customer experience, resulting in a proposed modification to the approved rooftop restaurant plans and establish additional conditions of approval; and WHEREAS, on January 20, 2026, the City Council of the City of San Clemente held a duly noticed public hearing on the proposed modifications to the approved application in accordance with SCMC 17.12.180 (Applicant Requests to Change Approved Applications) and considered evidence presented by City staff, the project applicant and other interested parties.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does hereby find, determine and resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The City Council hereby finds that all of the facts in the Recitals are true and correct and are incorporated fully herein and adopted as findings of the City Council.
SECTION 2. CEQA Findings. The City Council hereby finds, based on substantial evidence in the record as a whole, that the proposed modification would not result in new or more severe significant environmental effects. The proposed modification would also not substantially increase the severity of previously identified significant effects, and no new mitigation measures or alternatives are required. No new information, not known at the time of the prior analyses, has been disclosed that shows the potential for any new or more severe impacts beyond what has been previously analyzed under the Marblehead Coastal Specific Plan FEIR (SCH No. 1995091037) and Addendum 6, which analyzed the increase in height to the hotel building to allow a rooftop restaurant. Therefore, no further environmental review is required, consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162.
The City Council hereby finds, based on substantial evidence in the record as a whole, that the project also qualifies for streamlined review under CEQA Guidelines section 15183. Section 15183 allows streamlined CEQA review for projects that are consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan, or general plan policies for which an EIR was previously certified. Section 15183 requires the lead agency to determine whether there are project-specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site that were not analyzed as significant effects in the prior EIR; that are potentially significant off-site impacts and cumulative impacts that were not discussed in the prior EIR; or that are previously identified significant effects that, as a result of substantial new information that was not known at the time the EIR was certified, will have more severe adverse impacts than discussed in the prior EIR. The project description assessed in the 1983 EIR included the development of a hotel and conference center within the Marblehead Coastal Specific Plan. In this case, the enclosure of a portion of the rooftop restaurant area, within the permissible maximum 62-foot height limit afforded to the hotel under the MCSP, will not produce any new or more severe impacts that were not discussed in the FEIR, in Addendum No. 6 to the FEIR, and other prior analyses.
SECTION 3. Amendment Findings and Conditions. With respect to PHP 25-558, to modify PHP25-343, which was approved by City Council Resolution 25-137 and amended Commercial Site Plan Permit (SPP) 99-16 and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 99-17: the City Council affirms the findings made within Resolution 04-61 and Resolution 25-137.
SECTION 4. Approval of PHP 25-558. The City Council hereby approves PHP 25-558 (modifying PHP 25-343) to amend Commercial Site Plan Permit (SPP) 99-16 and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 99-17 to modify the previously approved rooftop restaurant at the hotel at 401 W. Avenida Vista Hermosa consistent with the modified architectural plans provided as Attachment 2 to the agenda report, dated January 20, 2026, entitled “Consideration of a Resolution to Approve Public Hearing Project (PHP) 25-558 to Modify the Previously Approved Lodge Hotel Rooftop Restaurant to Enclose a Portion of the Rooftop Seating Area and Add Operational Conditions of Approval; and Making Findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.” The project remains subject to the conditions of approval set forth in Exhibit 1 of Resolution 04-61 and as added to by Resolution 25-137. Additionally, Exhibit A to this Resolution establishes additional conditions of approval for the project.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this _____ day of ____________________, _______.
ATTEST:
___________________________ __________________________
City Clerk of the City of Steve Knoblock, Mayor of the
San Clemente, California City of San Clemente, California STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) §
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 25-XXX was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on the _______ day of _______________________, _________, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of _________________, ________. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
Approved as to form:
___________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, City Attorney
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Resolution No. 26-xxx Page 2
Attachment 1