Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009
Concerned Citizens fighting motel project
in Cayucos
Group is pursuing action with the courts,
the California Coastal Commission and the Board of Supervisors
David Sneed - dsneed@thetribunenews.com
Opponents of a contentious motel development in Cayucos are pursuing their efforts to scale back the project on three fronts — the courts, the California Coastal Commission and the county Board of Supervisors.
A group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Cayucos has asked the county Superior Court to rescind the county’s approval of the Cayucos del Mar development.
Developer Franco DeCicco wants to build an 18-room motel with four residences at the corner of Highway 1 and Old Creek Road.
Opponents say they oppose the development primarily because they think it is too big for the residential neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Cayucos.
The proposed motel would be three-stories tall, and they say two stories would be more appropriate.
“It’s three stories in a two-story neighborhood,” said Bruce Payne from the citizens group. “Residents behind it would be looking at a virtual wall.”
Court officials have placed the case on hold until an appeal of the project before the Coastal Commission is settled.
The citizens group, however, has also asked that county supervisors overturn a previous opinion that the case is not appealable to the commission.
“We would be going into the Coastal Commission hearing with one strike against us with that opinion,” Payne said.
DeCicco said the county decision to issue him a building permit is not appealable because the project does not have any of the characteristics that normally trigger an appeal.
These include a location west of the highway and proximity to a creek or coastal bluffs.
“We feel we have followed all the rules,” DeCicco said.
Supervisors approved the project in November.
It was one of a series of contentious development projects that were approved last year in 3-2 votes before former Supervisors Harry Ovitt and Jerry Lenthall left the board.
DeCicco scaled the project back from original designs, but it was not enough to satisfy critics, including Supervisor Bruce Gibson, who represents Cayucos on the board and voted against it.
Reach David Sneed at 781-7930.