Published on : Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Sunshine Enterprises violated a state law that enshrines public access to beach areas, according to the California Coastal Commission. The agency is expected to approve a $15.5 million penalty — the largest in its 40-year history, said commission supervisor Andrew Willis. Commissioners could recommend an additional $9.5 million in mitigation fees to make up the loss in low-cost lodging.
Sunshine Enterprises was permitted to rebuild and expand two motels — the Pacific Sands and a Travelodge — that were among a dwindling number of affordable accommodations along a tourist-heavy strip of pricey hotels near the Santa Monica Pier. The new hotel would not offer a bar, restaurant, spa or other “luxury” amenities and rooms would cost about $165 a night, according to the permit application.
But the company let the permit expire and instead built the boutique Shore Hotel, where rooms with a “bed and breakfast package” start at around $300 and ones featuring Pacific Ocean views can run up to $800, documents show.
Under the landmark Coastal Act, the commission protects resources including marine habitat, fisheries, shoreline public access and less-expensive visitor accommodations.
The efforts to make sure lower-income people can visit beaches and also afford to spend the night are central to the commission’s mission, said Sean Hecht, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Sunshine Enterprises will pay any ordered penalties and work with the commission to reach “full resolution of this matter,” the company said in a contrite statement Tuesday.
Sunshine Enterprises lost in court after suing when commissioners denied an after-the-fact permit for the new Shore Hotel. An appeals court this year upheld the commission’s denial. The $9.5 million in additional fees are part of a possible enforcement action that would require the Shore Hotel to cease operations within 180 days unless it obtains new permits while meeting a number of additional requirements.