Hyatt Place Hotel - Project Proposal

UPDATES: 06.02.2025

On May 8, 2025, the Hyatt Project was reviewed by the California Coastal Commission. Please follow the Coastal Commission website for updates or contact Isobel Cooper, Coastal Staff isobel.cooper@coastal.ca.gov for more information.

Coastal Commission Information - May 8, 2025

January 30, 2025, City Council reviewed the project appeal and approved the project. As of February 18, 2025, an appeal has been filed to the California Coastal Commission.

Please email HyattHotel@hmbcity.com with any comments, questions or concerns.

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Environmental Review:

Final EIR - Here (Intro. Response to comments, EIR text revisions, Chapter 3.0 Contains Appendix A, MMRP)

DRAFT EIR - Draft Hyatt EIR (Appendices listed below)

Appendix-A-2-Scoping-Comment-Letters

Appendix-B-California-Agricultural-LESA-Worksheets

Appendix-C-Air-Quality-and-Greenhouse-Gas-Assessment

Appendix-D-Biological-Resources-Technical-Report

Appendix-E-Cultural-Resources-Evaluation-Memorandum

Appendix-F-Geotechnical-Investigation

Appendix-G-Noise-and-Vibration-Assessment

Appendix-H-Traffic-Impact-Study

Appendix-I-Drainage-Memorandum-Alternative-2

Final EIR Errata #2 (10.16.2024)

Final EIR Errata #1 (09.06.2024)

Public Comments (public comment circulation period of DEIR)

Project Location:

Five-acre vacant undeveloped parcel on the 1100 block of Main Street (undeveloped parcel north of the intersection of Highway 1 and South Main Street); 1.45-acre parcel at 100 Seymour Street (James Ford Auto Dealership site); and 1.15-acre parcel on the northeast corner of Cabrillo Highway South and Seymour Street (currently used for James Ford Auto Dealership parking).

Project Status:

The proposed Hyatt Place hotel project has been under design and environmental review for several years, having been the subject of several community meetings and public hearings from 2017 through 2022. The last public meeting on the project was on August 9, 2022, when the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Draft EIR, which was published on July 15, 2022. The City’s professional environmental consultants have prepared responses to the 103 comment letters received on the Draft EIR during the 60-day comment period that closed on September 13, 2022. The Final EIR has been completed, posted, and published in accordance with Public Resource Code section 21092.5.

Since July 2022, the project applicant has refined the project details in response to public comments received at study sessions and public hearings. In October 2023, the applicant submitted revised project plans to the City indicating that he intended to move forward with a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) application for a slightly modified and smaller version of the original “Alternative 2” project. This proposed project is described in the Final EIR as “Modified Alternative 2” and is described below.

The proposed Hyatt Place hotel project was on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 6:00 PM Planning Commission hearing and continued to a date certain of October 22, 2024. The application to be considered is for discretionary actions including a Coastal Development Permit, Site and Design Review, Tentative Parcel Map, Parking Exception and certification of a Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Due to on-site wetland along Cabrillo Highway (Highway 1), final City decisions on this proposal may be appealed to the California Coastal Commission. On October 22, 2024, the project was denied by the Planning Commission; in November 2024 the proposed project was appealed.

Additional Information (click on links below):

Low-Cost Accommodations proposal and back-up information provided by the Project Applicant

Project Description:

The applicant’s proposal for Planning Commission consideration is the “modified Alternate 2” project, described as a 66,268 square-foot, 102-room hotel on the project site along with parking lots, a two acre open space habitat restoration/buffer area with interpretive trail facing Cabrillo Highway (Highway 1), site and landscape improvements. The project includes a four-lot parcel map allowing for future development of up to 16 dwelling units along Seymour Street, frontage improvements to Seymour Street, and the expansion of the adjacent car dealership parking lot. The hotel consists of two main buildings, a north building (3 stories) and a south building (2 stories), and a surface parking lot that faces Main Street. A smaller, single-story building houses a bicycle rental shop. The north building consists of guestrooms on two levels and one level with employee and service areas. The south building houses the lobby and public spaces, with guestrooms on the second level. This project is described as “Modified Alternative 2” in the Final Hyatt Place EIR. The site plan and renderings for the proposed project are below.

Site Plan and Photo Sims 2024

Previous Project Data/Historical Project Information

Below is previous information about project status and relevant project meetings. Some of this information is no longer current and has been superseded by the information in the sections above, which describe the current project proposal. This information is provided below for historical context and background.

September 2022 - The public comment period for the Draft EIR ran from July 15 to September 13, 2022. Public comments include those received at a Planning Commission hearing on August 9, 2022, a community meeting held during the comment period, and all other written communications submitted to the City from community members and other agencies during the comment period. Community and agency comments will be addressed in the Final EIR, which is now being prepared. Public comments and meeting minutes from August 9, 2022 Planning Commission meeting are provided in the link, below.

City staff would like to thank those who took the time to submit comments. We will be reaching out to you regarding next steps. If you have not been receiving notifications, please click 'subscribe to email' listed below.

Main Street Park Community Meeting_08-31-2022

Planning Commission Meeting Minutes_08.09.2022

Public Comments on Draft EIR

July 2022: The Draft EIR is available for public review. The public review and comment period is 60 days, which includes an extension beyond the statutory requirement to give interested parties more time to review the Draft EIR and provide comments. Hard copies are available for review at the Half Moon Bay Library (620 Correas Street) and Half Moon Bay City Hall (501 Main Street). Hard copies and CD format copies are also available for purchase. Contact the Community Development Department at 650-726-8270 to order a copy.

Comments on the adequacy of the Draft EIR may be submitted in writing or during a Planning Commission public hearing on August 9, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.

Planning Commission Agenda Web Page

Hyatt Draft EIR: The Draft EIR evaluates the “Project” as originally submitted to the City. The Project includes a 129-room hotel. The applicant’s preferred alternative, introduced in June 2021 (see below), is evaluated in the Draft EIR as Alternative 2.

Draft EIR Consolidated Report (without Appendices): Hyatt EIR Consolidated

Draft EIR Individual Sections (including Appendices):

0.1 Cover Page - Volume I	4.13 Population-and-Housing
02. Table of Contents	4.14 Public-Service Recreation
1.0 Introduction	4.15 Transportation-and-Traffic
2.0 Executive Summary	4.16 Utilities-and-Service-Systems
3.0 Project Description	4.17 Other-Resource-Topics
4.0 Settings Impacts Mitigation Measures	5.0 Alternatives-Analysis
4.1 Aesthetics	6.0 Other-CEQA-Considerations
4.2 Agricultural Resources	7.0 List of Preparers
4.3 Air-Quality	Appendix-A-1-Notice-of-Preparation-and-Scoping-Meeting
4.4 Biological-Resources	Appendix-A-2-Scoping-Comment-Letters
4.5 Cultural Resources	Appendix-B-California-Agricultural-LESA-Worksheets
4.6 Geology and Soils	Appendix-C-Air-Quality-and-Greenhouse-Gas-Assessment
4.7 Energy	Appendix-D-Biological-Resources-Technical-Report
4.8 Greenhouse Gas	Appendix-E-Cultural-Resources-Evaluation-Memorandum
4.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials	Appendix-F-Geotechnical-Investigation
4.10 Hydrology-and-Water-Quality	Appendix-G-Noise-and-Vibration-Assessment
4.11 Land-Use-and-Planning	Appendix-H-Traffic-Impact-Study
4.12 Noise-and-Vibration	Appendix-I-Drainage-Memorandum-Alternative-2

Previous Project Information:

June 2021: The project applicant has brought forward a new project alternative which will undergo design review and be considered in the EIR as the applicant’s “Preferred Alternative.” The revised project includes the following, with key changes highlighted in blue:

102-room hotel (reduced from 129 rooms) including the following:
1. Two main buildings: One 3-story building, and one 2-story building
2. Incorporated conference rooms
3. Various site and service amenities
4. Wetland restoration
5. Multi-use bicycle and pedestrian path
6. Bicycles and facilities and EV charging stations
Expansion of the existing auto dealership to the south
Eight lot subdivision for duplex development on the north side of Seymour Street

The updated project plans can be viewed here . Project plan sets are also available at City Hall for review by appointment at the Community Development Department (650) 726-8270.

Scroll down for information about next steps including upcoming meetings, as well as past versions of the plans and previous public meetings.

June 29, 2021 - Joint Study Session:

Planning Commission and Architectural Advisory Committee
7:00 PM via Zoom
Virtual meeting information will be posted on the Planning Commission Agenda Page at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting.

The purpose of the joint study session is to reintroduce the project to the community, Planning Commission, and Architectural Advisory Committee in that it has changed significantly since the previous public meetings. The focus of the session will be project updates and design details.

Story poles were installed for this Study Session

Community members may study the story pole installation which depicts the overall height and footprint of the two main hotel buildings. The story poles will assist the Planning Commission and Architectural Advisory Committee in their consideration of project design, bulk, mass, and potential impacts on visual resources.

Community members are invited to attend and encouraged to make comments during a public forum portion of the session.

The Study Session will not focus on the EIR, which is not yet complete. Later in summer 2021, the EIR should be ready for public review and will be considered by the Planning Commission at a public hearing.

2017: The applicant has been developing the proposal for the hotel project for more than two years. An environmental consultant was hired in April 2017, and preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is underway, at the applicant’s expense. A biological resources report evaluation was prepared and circulated to regulatory agencies for comment in fall 2017.

2018: A Notice of Preparation (NOP) was circulated from March 22 – April 20, 2018, and a Planning Commission Study Session was held on March 27, 2018 to gather input on what issues should be addressed in the EIR. A further study session, on the project design, was held by the Planning Commission on October 9, 2018 to gather input and to provide further comments.

2019: Refined project plans were submitted to the City January 29, 2019. This included a reduction in the number of guest rooms, reduced overall square footage and parking as well as moving the proposed buildings outside of a 100-foot wetlands buffer. Preparation is underway for circulation of a draft EIR for public comment in the near future.

January 2020: Revised site and elevation plans were submitted to the City January 2020 by the applicant.

July 16, 2020: Architectural Advisory Committee Meeting 8:30 AM - Remote/Virtual Meeting

Hyatt Place Hotel - Project Proposal

Previous Project Data/Historical Project Information

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