County to lease land for hotel in Marina del Rey

Over the objections of Marina del Rey residents upset about the pace of development in the coastal community, Los Angeles County supervisors approved plans to lease county land for a new six-story, 288room Marriott Hotel building.

The project, which would consist of two hotels operating in a single building, has been downsized from an original proposal for a 19story structure.

But many residents argue that it will worsen traffic and parking and endanger people who might need to evacuate in an earthquake or tsunami.

A portion of the land will be set aside as a wetland, but environmentalists want to see the entire vacant parcel turned into a wetland park.

Marina del Rey resident Sharie Green asked the board to create a “planned community, not a piecemeal one.”

“These are projects driven by greed, not by need,” she said.

Union members came out in support of the project because the developer has agreed to a “labor peace” deal that will make it easier to organize the hotel’s workforce.

And Janet Zaldua, chief executive of the Marina del Rey Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that hotels are in high demand in the area and that the project “will strengthen the Marina’s position as a premiere travel and tourism destination.”

The supervisors voted unanimously to move forward with the project and with an agreement with MDR Hotels, giving the company the option for a 60year lease of the property.

After the vote, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl had a testy exchange with some of the project’s opponents.

After voting on the hotel, the supervisors moved on to a proposal by Kuehl to hire a consultant to look for ways to better serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths in the county’s foster care and probation systems and those receiving services from other county departments.

Kuehl, the first openly gay supervisor on the board, said those youths are overrepresented in the child welfare system and “face unique challenges and barriers to finding positive outcomes and permanent homes.”

Many of the hotel critics remained in the room, vocally registering their displeasure as the board moved on to the next order of business. Kuehl accused them of “rudeness” and “selfishness.”

“This may seem like just another thing to you, but it is not to me,” she said. “These children need this attention.”

The board voted unanimously to approve that proposal as well.