Waterfront Hotel Approved By City Council

ALAMEDA, CA — The Alameda City Council has paved the way for a Marriott Residence Inn with 172 guest rooms to be built next to the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal at the edge of San Francisco Bay.

Despite opposition by nearby residents who said the 113,000-square-foot, five-story hotel is too big and would increase traffic near the terminal, the Alameda City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday night to uphold the Planning Board's unanimous approval of the plan in December.

A report by city staff concluded that opponents who appealed the Planning Board's vote failed to demonstrate that its conclusions were not supported by substantial evidence.

The report also says the 5.5-acre project site near the corner of Harbor Bay Parkway and Bay Edge Road has no habitat value for any endangered, rare or threatened wildlife species.

The hotel's parking lot will have 275 parking spaces but Marriott has agreed to share up to 112 spaces with ferry riders.

Project supporters say the hotel will generate $1 million in tax revenue for the city of Alameda in its first year, bring quality union jobs, including 85 new permanent jobs and 250 construction jobs, and use modular construction to cut down on waste, noise, and time to build.

They say it also will include a free-standing restaurant and coffee house which will be open to the public, create green space with a public plaza and bike-pedestrian access, include conference space for weddings, meetings, or other private events, observe all quiet hours and provide a shuttle to and from the Oakland International Airport, which is about three miles away.

In a letter to the council opposing the project, Alameda resident Skip Hutchison described the proposed hotel as "a monstrosity" and said, "It would feel like a big wall placed right in front of the bay."

Hutchison wrote, "It just doesn't fit or belong near the ferry terminal. I don't think it is right to put money over the natural beauty of that location."

Resident Myra Lim wrote, "I strongly oppose this hotel project as it is out of scale with the neighborhood, would bring increased traffic congestion and noise to our community."

Lim said the hotel "is so out of scale to any other building in Harbor Bay and will drastically alter the skyline and beautiful coastline of Alameda and the Bay Area."

Resident Erin Sugiyama wrote, "The proposed hotel is a terrible greed-driven decision which hurts Alameda and its families."

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— Bay City News; Image via Patch Archive