VISTA: South Vista hotel project faces appeal

By CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Monday, August 18, 2008 6:13 PM PDT ∞

VISTA ---- A developer's plan to build a 93-room Marriott hotel, restaurants and retail stores on a prime south Vista corner appears to be in limbo because of an appeal filed by a neighboring property owner.

The project is targeted for the corner of South Melrose Drive and Sycamore Avenue.

Arie DeJong, a well-known North County businessman, appealed the Planning Commission's approval of the project last month to the City Council. A hearing is set for 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 26.

In a letter to the city, an attorney representing DeJong and Liberty Family Partnership, co-owners of the vacant lot across the street from the site of the hotel project, said the city didn't provide notice of the meeting or adequate information about fees that the hotel developer would have to pay for street improvements.

It's unclear what the appeal could mean for the hotel.

City and business leaders have worked for years to attract an upscale hotel to the south Vista business park, and sources said the council isn't expected to reverse the planning commission's decision.

Still, the appeal "raises the issue of what (Dejong and the partnership) intend to do once the council hears the project," Community Development Director John Conley said Monday. Even if the council approves the hotel, DeJong could always sue.

The city has been on the receiving end of a DeJong lawsuit before.

Earlier this year, DeJong sued Vista, alleging that officials changed zoning laws to block him from building an RV storage lot on his property. The city responded with a lawsuit of its own after DeJong started storing vehicles there anyway.

Those lawsuits are pending in Superior Court.

DeJong could not be reached for comment Monday. City officials declined to speculate whether DeJong's appeal of the hotel was motivated by the legal clash over RV storage.

Reached by phone Monday, the hotel developer, Terry Lathrum, declined to comment on the appeal. He said he's still hoping to open the hotel around December 2009.

Lathrum said the retail side of the project would include a Spicy Pickle restaurant and a Tropical Smoothie cafe. He said he was in negotiations with two restaurants, a dry cleaner, a beauty salon and a drive-through Starbucks coffee shop.

"This is a good project," said Kevin Ham, Vista's director of economic development. "It's something that will benefit the city and the business park and it's supported by all of the people that I've talked to."

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.