UPDATE - June 10, 2019

Project Description:
Request for a Conditional Use Permit Amendment and Site Plan Review to allow for construction of a three-story, 51-guestroom addition on the west end of an existing three-story, 141-room hotel (Calabasas Hilton Garden Inn); and a Conditional Use Permit requesting a 20% off-street parking reduction, pursuant to Calabasas Municipal Code Section 17.28.050, on a property located within the Commercial, Mixed Use (CMU) zoning district, and the Calabasas Park Centre Master Plan area at 24150 Park Sorrento (A.P.N. 2068-030-016).

Environmental Impact Analysis and Review:
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was prepared for the project, which indicated that the environmental impacts of the project were mitigated to a level of less than significant. A Notice of Intent to Adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration was published, posted and circulated; the public review period for the Draft IS/MND was October 23, 2015 to November 23, 2015. Staff released the Final IS/MND, along with the staff report, in December 2015.

Project Reviews and Approval:
The Architectural Review Panel reviewed the project on three separate occasions (April 24, May 12, and August 28, 2015), with considerable discussion and suggestions for design improvement, and ultimately recommended approval to the Planning Commission. On January 7, 2016 the Planning Commission conducted a noticed public hearing for consideration of the IS/MND and the project. Based upon the staff report and testimony by members of the public, the Planning Commission adopted P.C. Resolution No. 2016-607 recommending to the City Council certification and adoption of the final IS/MND and approval of the project. On January 27, 2016 the City Council conducted a public hearing to consider the final IS/MND and the project; following the hearing, the City Council adopted Council Resolution No. 2016-1490 certifying and adopting the final IS/MND and approving the project.

Final Project Design, Permitting and Construction:
In 2018, following several rounds of review and correction in response to City comments, final detailed engineering and construction drawings were approved -- the Grading Permit was issued by the Public Works Department on May 16th, and Building Permits were issued by the Building & Safety Division on June 28th.

In September – December 2018 the contractor proposed modifying the retaining wall design by using an engineered wire mesh retention system instead of concrete masonry block. This new engineered wall system offered the property owner a lower construction cost while also offering improved aesthetics by accommodating a green-wall approach (via plantings). Staff from Planning and Public Works departments reviewed the proposed wall modifications and the modified wall type was approved in January, 2019. In mid-April 2019 Planning staff conducted several project site visits to examine the retaining wall construction and to review the revised “as-built” grading and drainage plans. In coordination with Public Works Dept., staff requested corrections to the plans to obtain consistency with the as-built conditions and to comply with codes and safety requirements. The required corrections were accomplished by the project engineer and contractor and the revised as-built grading and drainage plan was subsequently approved by the City Engineer on May 15, 2019.

On May 30, 2019 staff from the Planning Division and the Building & Safety Division conducted a “Pre-Wrap” Inspection of the building. A pre-wrap inspection is a standard inspection of the fully framed and partially clad building envelope to confirm that the structure has been constructed in the correct location and in the appropriate shape(s) and configuration, consistent with the design approved by the approving bodies, such as City Council and/or Planning Commission. Staff identified several instances where modifications had been accomplished by the contractor to accommodate ventilation system components or to adjust for mandatory seismic protection devices installed within the structure. Some of the modifications (for example, several vents for mandatory room ventilation) were allowable as installed. However, some other modifications were not approved by staff. Four large boxed vent clusters on the roof were disapproved because they were being constructed as large cupolas which detracted substantially from the building architecture. Staff recommended a modified and substantially smaller ‘chimney’ design to greatly reduce the visual impact of these features. Secondly, to accommodate mandatory seismic stability components, a series of large wall vents (each being roughly six square feet) had been relocated from a side-facing orientation to a front-facing orientation on only the left side of the symmetrical north-facing façade. To retain the approved symmetrical design of the north-facing façade, Staff requested that the contractor realign to a front-facing orientation the corresponding opposite right-side vents to match the others. Staff also reviewed and confirmed the final colors for paint and stucco, which will be applied uniformly to both the addition and the existing hotel structure.

Staff continues to monitor the on-going construction for adherence to the conditions of approval, as well as the mitigation requirements documented in the IS/MND. A final updated landscape plan (which must include several mitigation oak trees) has not yet been submitted to the Community Development Director for review and approval. Also, although the required Art in Public Places component has been initiated and a conceptual plan review was accomplished by the Arts Council last year, a final public art project has not yet been completed and approved.