Trinidad Rancheria’s Planned Hyatt Hotel Project suffers setback

Following a California state appeals court's decision that there is insufficient evidence to support the hotel's provision of adequate fire protection services, the Trinidad Rancheria's plans for a 100-room, five-story Hyatt Hotel with a view of the Pacific Ocean have been returned to the California Coastal Commission for additional review.

The Humboldt Alliance for Responsible Planning (HARP), a nonprofit organization that focuses on development issues in the Trinidad-Westhaven area, has won the case, while the Rancheria has suffered a setback as a result of the three-judge appellate court decision that upholds the tentative ruling from last month.

Though on extremely limited grounds, the decision essentially overturns a California Coastal Commission decision from over five years ago.

Following a lengthy and frequently perplexing hearing in August 2019, the commission voted 5-6 to conditionally concur with a federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) determination that found the hotel proposal to be in compliance with the California Coastal Act. Before building could begin, the BIA had to show that the project had a sufficient supply of water. That supply has not yet been secured by the Tribe.

The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District and the Tribe have inked a memorandum of understanding to expand the district's service north to the Rancheria. The Tribe is in charge of finishing the design and obtaining the necessary permits, though. "We have been so busy with all of our other projects, we have not been working on this," CEO Jacque Hostler-Carmesin stated. However, one observer claims that an engineer has since been employed, and that was almost a year ago.

In an attempt to reverse the Coastal Commission's ruling on five different grounds, HARP, whose members had long opposed the project, filed a petition for writ of administrative mandamus, which is essentially an appeal. The group contended, via its lawyer, that the Commission had used the incorrect legal standard to evaluate the proposed hotel's visual impact; could not adequately explain how it came to the conclusion that the hotel would blend in with its natural surroundings; improperly invoked the concept of tribal sovereignty and its Environmental Justice Policy; abused its authority by refusing to expressly conclude that fire protection services were sufficient in light of the administrative record's evidence and by giving a conditional concurrence instead of an objection.

Based only on the fire protection services claim, the appellate court's recent decision overturns the trial court's denial of HARP's petition. The panel of judges concurred that the other four allegations lacked validity.

About 46.5 acres of land east of Trinidad are owned by the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria. The BIA technically holds the land in trust for the Tribe. Although California's Coastal Zone Management Act normally does not apply to such federal trust land, the BIA must approve a loan guarantee and leasing agreement with the Tribe for this hotel project. The project must adhere to the Coastal Act as that financing arrangement is regarded as a government activity that impacts coastal resources.

The Tribe intends to construct a five-story hotel adjacent to The Heights Casino.

Source:

“Appeals Court Rejects Coastal Commission’s Approval of Trinidad Rancheria’s Planned Hyatt Hotel Project” , Ryan Burns, lostcoastoutpost.com, November 26, 2024.