A proposed hotel in Monterey is delayed by the threat of litigation over parking spots.

A proposed hotel in Monterey’s North Fremont district is already on ice: On Dec. 21, the Monterey City Council was set to consider whether to approve plans for a 42-room hotel at 2101 North Fremont St., which would replace an existing 18-room motel and a now-shuttered restaurant, Caruso’s Corner. But due to the threat of litigation, council has tabled it for now.

Monterey’s Planning Commission approved plans for the hotel on Oct. 12, despite that threat of litigation. Monterey’s staff had recommended approving the project despite those threats – they believe the proposed hotel conforms to all the codified planning constraints the city has in place in the North Fremont district – but because of communications the city received Dec. 17, city staff recommended tabling the issue for a later date, which City Council did 5-0.

The principal points of contention for the proposed hotel are parking, noise and building height. As proposed, the new hotel would have 42 off-street parking spaces – one for every room – as well as an off-street loading zone space. That makes it compliant, staffers say, with the city’s zoning code for hotels. Specifically, that means the Visitor Accommodation Facilities district, which Monterey voters approved in 1986. It requires, among other things, at least one parking space per hotel room, plus two additional spaces for every 50 rooms. It also precludes new hotels in sites that aren’t already hotels, unless approved by voters.

But in a Dec. 17 letter, architect Henry Ruhnke contends that the project should require at least 44 off-street parking spaces, as well as two – not one, as proposed – loading zone parking spaces. Ruhnke also contends the four compact parking spaces proposed are not compliant with the North Fremont Specific Plan, and that the project “should be adjusted” to make the compact parking spaces bigger.

Monterey Community Development Director Kim Cole notes none of the hotels on North Fremont have been retrofitted for over 25 years. “We’re really hoping we can improve the future of North Fremont Street,” she says. “It needs some rehabilitation to move it forward.”

Derric Oliver, an attorney representing the Mahroom family who owns an adjacent apartment building, says the city erred in not putting up story poles to show the spatial footprint of the project. That, combined with the parking, “is just not a combination my clients are pleased with.”