Page 6 - Protea Waterfront Development Brochure

Permitting and Protecting Seaport
We know how to bring mixed-use projects to market in San Diego. Over the past several years alone, we have partnered with clients on projects representing billions of dollars in catalytic development and local community reinvestment. We have expedited the approval of many of San Diego’s most innovative and transformative mixed-use and waterfront projects, which we detail below.
We applaud PWD for the foresight to incorporate affordable lodging in Seaport’s hospitality core – a strategic move in recognition of the Coastal Commission’s mandate to protect public access to our coast by providing lower cost lodging. We will help you anticipate other project issues like this and develop strategies that allow development of Seaport to move forward efficiently.
We expect, for example, Seaport’s hotel properties will encounter strong opposition from UNITED HERE Local 30, which has a pattern of filing CEQA litigation to attempt to extract labor concessions out of area hotel developers. Over the past few years alone, Local 30 has brought four such lawsuits challenging San Diego projects – the Hotel Del Coronado Expansion, Lane Field’s mixed-use project, the Marriott Marquis & Marina Expansion, and the San Diego Convention Center. We were hired to defend three of these projects and successfully defended all of them. As land use counsel for Cisterra’s Ritz Carlton/Whole Foods mixed-use project at 7th & Market, we are currently preparing the defense against Local 30’s attack on that project. Our proposed land use counsel, Jeff Forrest, has never lost a CEQA lawsuit and has never failed to get the necessary permits for his clients. He and his team will protect Seaport and PWD through this process.
Our Permitting Team’s Representative Waterfront Experience
• Advising on permitting issues for the development and maintenance of the U.S.S. Midway Museum.
• Won unanimous approval from the San Diego Unified Port District for the $200 million expansion of the San Diego
Marriott Marquis & Marina. Successfully defended the project against subsequent CEQA challenge.
• Successfully defended Lane Field San Diego Developers, LLC in the appeal of its Port-issued Coastal Development Permit, allowing Lane Field to move forward with its $115 million project to activate San Diego’s bayfront with two hotels, visitor-serving retail, underground public parking, and nearly two acres of public space.
• Lead development counsel on the Grand Caribe resort, a 5.4-acre site including dining facilities, shops, and marina in Coronado. Land use matters and entitlements included amendment to Port District lease, coastal development permit, compliance with CEQA, and permitting condo-hotel units within tideland properties restricted by the Doctrine of Public Trust and navigation rights.
• Defended the Hotel Del Coronado in appeal of coastal development permit to the California Coastal Commission for the Hotel Del Coronado Amended Master Plan to add a new conference center and new guestrooms to the historic hotel.
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