§ 33-1348. Hotel conversions.

• (a) Purpose. The specific purpose of the hotel conversion procedure is to ensure that any conversion of transient lodging to other uses is preceded by adequate notice, and to allow for the conversion of existing hotels, motels, and other transient lodgings to various types of land uses, while providing for the review of the configuration, design, location, and potential impacts of the proposed use in order to evaluate the suitability of a new or converted use to the site.

• (b) Applicability.

  • (1) Permit Required. In addition to any other necessary discretionary land use permit that may be required, a hotel conversion permit (plot plan permit) is required in order to authorize the conversion of hotels, motels, and other transient lodgings to another use, and may be approved for any use classification permitted or conditionally permitted in the base district in any zoning district in which an existing hotel or motel is located. To qualify for a hotel or motel conversion to housing, the land development request or proposed housing development would have to comply with applicable, objective General Plan, zoning, and subdivision standards.

    • (A) No application to construct a new use on the property shall be accepted for processing or approved, unless the proposed land use development application is in conformance with this section and a hotel conversion permit is first obtained.

    • (B) No building permit or other license, authorization, or permit shall be construed to allow any action in contravention of this section, and any license, authorization, or permit obtained that purports to allow any action in contravention of this section shall be void.

    • (C) Regulations Non-Exclusive. The provisions of this chapter regulating Hotel Conversions are not intended to be exclusive, and compliance therewith shall not excuse noncompliance with any other provisions of the Municipal Code or any other regulations pertaining to the operation of businesses as adopted by the city council of the City of Escondido

  • (2) Zoning Districts. Existing hotels and motels in all zoning districts, as well as those located in specific plan areas, may be permitted to be converted provided the conversion is found consistent with all applicable standards provided in this section.

• (c) Authority.

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City of Escondido, CA § 33-1348

ZONING

§ 33-1348

• (1) The director, or director's designee, shall have the authority to grant, conditionally grant, or deny a hotel conversion permit application for any use that is permitted in the zoning district. For projects including other discretionary actions that must be approved at a higher level than the director (such as by the planning commission or city council), the design review permit will also be decided upon at that higher level.

signee, shall have the authority to grant, conditionally grant, or deny a hotel conversion permit application for any use that is permitted in the zoning district. For projects including other discretionary actions that must be approved at a higher level than the director (such as by the planning commission or city council), the design review permit will also be decided upon at that higher level.

• (2) The conversion of hotels, motels, and other transient lodgings to any other use that is conditionally permitted in the same zoning district shall be reviewed and considered by the planning commission through the issuance of a major conditional use permit, or as otherwise identified in an applicable specific plan.

• (3) A hotel conversion permit application that requires concurrent review and approval of a zone change or other discretionary action at a higher level than the director or planning commission shall require the review by the planning commission, which shall forward a recommendation to the city council for final action.

• (d) Permit Administration. At the time a new hotel conversion is requested in any existing building or structure, a hotel conversion permit application package shall be submitted to the planning division, together with the applicable application fee as established by the city council.

  • (1) Application Requirements. An application for a hotel conversion shall be filed in compliance with section 33-1315 (Authorization, procedure, and modification) in the same manner as a plot plan permit.

  • (2) Hotel conversion projects shall be allowed to convert to any land use or activity as provided in any permitted and conditionally permitted principal use matrix in the base district in any zoning district in which an existing hotel or motel is located. Hotel conversion projects shall comply with all applicable requirements of the General Plan, Zoning Code, specific plans, area plans, city design standards, building and safety requirements, and other applicable city standards. No hotel conversion project shall be granted a permit unless the following requirements are satisfied:

    • (A) Demand analysis and mitigation as specified in section 33-1125 for a change of use to a commercial, industrial, or other nonresidential use; for a conversion to a condominium, cooperative, or similar form of ownership; or for other changes of the use for a purpose other than transient lodging operations.

    • (B) Compliance with section 6-457 (Other fees and exactions for public services), if otherwise applicable, for a change of use to group home or quarters, SRO units, multifamily housing, or combination thereof that may be utilized for supportive housing, transitional housing, or other types of housing provisions.

    • (C) The establishment, maintenance, or operation of the use would not, under the circumstances of the particular case, be detrimental to the health, safety, or general welfare of persons residing or working in the neighborhood of the proposed use.

• (D) The use, as described and conditionally approved, would not be detrimental or injurious to property and improvements in the neighborhood or to the general welfare of the city.

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City of Escondido, CA § 33-1348

ESCONDIDO CODE

§ 33-1348

• (E) The design, location, operating characteristics, and size of the proposed use, including any proposed increase in floor area, room/unit count, or height is consistent with the provisions of this ordinance and the implementation of which would be compatible with the existing land uses in the vicinity in terms of aesthetic values, character, scale, and view protection.

• (3) Project Review, Notice, and Hearing.

  • (A) Each application shall be analyzed to ensure the application is consistent with the purpose and intent of this section.

    • (i) Expedited Processing of Plans and Permits. Projects providing affordable housing, including affordable housing for seniors and/or target populations, will receive expedited processing as currently available.

  • (B) City staff shall submit a staff report and recommendation to the decision-maker for consideration on a hotel conversion permit.

  • (C) The applicant shall be provided with a list of applicable conditions. In approving a hotel conversion permit, the applicable review authority may impose conditions (e.g., landscaping and maintenance, lighting, off-site improvements, parking, performance guarantees, property maintenance, signs, surfacing, time limits, traffic circulation) deemed reasonable and necessary to ensure that the approval would be in compliance with the findings required by this section, and to preserve the public health, safety, and general welfare.

    • (i) The city council may find that there is substantial evidence to support a finding that the imposition of conditions would result in an extreme economic hardship for the applicant for an affordable housing project, including affordable housing projects for seniors and/or target populations. An extreme economic hardship does not exist where the cost of implementing the conditions would merely deny the applicant the maximum profits that could be realized from the hotel conversion.

    • (ii) If the city council determines that the conditions would result in extreme economic hardship for the applicant, the city council may waive or modify any conditions that would otherwise be necessary to enable the city council to make the findings required. Such conditions may be waived or modified only to the extent minimally necessary to alleviate such extreme economic hardship.

• (4) Findings and Decision. The applicable review authority may approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove an application for a hotel conversion permit. The review authority may approve a hotel conversion permit only after first finding that the hotel or motel proposed for conversion was legally constructed and is currently a legal or legally nonconforming use and the project represents successful implementation of this section, and complies with all other applicable provisions of local and state law.

an application for a hotel conversion permit. The review authority may approve a hotel conversion permit only after first finding that the hotel or motel proposed for conversion was legally constructed and is currently a legal or legally nonconforming use and the project represents successful implementation of this section, and complies with all other applicable provisions of local and state law.

• (i) For hotel conversion projects under the purview of the director, the director's written decision and conditional letter of approval shall be filed in the planning division and a copy provided to the applicant at the address shown on the application. The applicant must sign and return the conditional letter of

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City of Escondido, CA § 33-1348

ZONING