Del Rey Oaks readies to vote on luxury RV park project.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the following clarifications: A wine bar is not proposed as an amenity, as originally stated; the rate per night is $70, not $100; the proposed number of parking spots is 210, not 205; and the luxury recreational park would be exclusive to guests, not the public. Del Rey Oaks City Manager provided incorrect information to the Weekly, and project manager Sean Kranyak provided updated information after publication.

Imagine a place surrounded by rolling hills, with a pool overlooking the Monterey Peninsula and where a clubhouse is one of the amenities.

This place also has 210 parking spots for luxury recreational vehicles, which encircle the aforementioned clubhouse and pool. It’s a vacation place for people who come to the area for big events like the Superbike World Championship and Pebble Beach Food and Wine.

This vision is Del Rey Oaks’ next big plan.

The property at the top of a hill off Highway 68 neighboring the Fort Ord National Monument has long awaited a purpose. Earlier talks for it to host a hotel, a golf course or a convention center fell through. Now, the idea to transform the 53-acre patch of rough terrain into a luxury RV park is moving along.

The plan has been in the works for a few years, and the clubhouse’s design is complete and pinned to a wall in City Hall. Monterey Peninsula Properties, LLC is the developer behind the multi-million project, and Sean Kranyak is its project manager.

“We want to make sure it is an exclusive park, but we still want it to be open to the public,” City Manager Daniel Dawson says. “There’s really no competition in the area for a luxury park like this.”

But with big construction comes big infrastructure, and currently there is none in the area. Building infrastructure for water, sewage and electricity is expected to be one of project’s biggest challenges, Dawson says.

The developer will also have to pay impact fees to the Fort Ord Reuse Authority to assist with transportation improvements and habitat management.

The plan would also have to comply with the FORA Master Resolution and Fort Ord Reuse Plan policies.

At the moment, there is no time frame for when the project could be completed, but Dawson hopes the developer can break ground late this year. First, Dawson says, the developer is collecting signatures – 160 Del Rey Oaks resident signatures are needed – to get City Council to vote on the project May 24.

At that meeting, the council will have three options: They can approve the project as is, put it on hold and study its impacts further, or submit it to voters in the Nov. 8 election. Dawson says the existing plans satisfy the California Environmental Quality Act: “This area has been studied to death.”

If approved, the project is estimated to bring about $500,000 annually through transient-occupancy taxes, according to Dawson. (The RV parking spots would mirror hotel rooms as far as tax purposes.)

Each parking spot would cost visitors about $100 a night, Dawson says, perhaps more for those with an ocean view. But Kranyak says rates are estimated at $70 a night, not $100. However, prices have yet to be determined.

Dawson suggests the price is meant to weed out crummy RVs from visiting, as well as long-term parking.

“It’s not really a trailer park, it’s more of a week-at-a-time kind of thing,” Dawson says.

The site would be gated, but Dawson envisions the project as a local gathering place for Del Rey Oaks residents, where medical marijuana could be enjoyed as well as a glass of wine.

Kranyak says it would be more for visitors looking for accommodations in "hopes of enjoying what the Peninsula has to offer." He adds that a wine bar and medical marijuana delivery services are not proposed for the project.