Capitola city council puts pause on plans to move city hall, replace it with hotel

Capitola city leaders say they need to find a better place for the police department and city hall because its current location is in a flood zone.

At Thursday’s city council meeting, city leaders weighed the option to consider an 80-room hotel in the village down the line. The hotel would be built on the property currently occupied by the city hall.

But the consideration is taking a step back, as many residents say the city is jumping the gun.

Residents concerned with the city’s proposal to enter an exclusive developer agreement to consider moving city hall vocally opposed the plan at Thursday’s meeting.

The opposition prompted the council to decide not to move ahead with the agreement and to instead, hold more discussions with residents about the idea sometime in the future.

The city says its trying to look for ways to prevent flooding from happening again and estimates it’ll cost about $20 million to move city hall and build a parking garage, among other tasks.

City officials said the police department was flooded twice, and officers had to operate out of a temporary building for more than six months.

City manager Jamie Goldstein says a new hotel would be good for the local economy and could generate upwards of half a million dollars in taxes.

Not all residents oppose the idea, but there are concerns about whether city officials are being transparent throughout this process.

If the proposal does move forward down the line, Goldstein says a hotel could handle flooding better than emergency services.

“A hotel can close shop if the water levels get too high,” he explained. “Obviously, your police department can’t close shop if the water levels get too high.”

At Thursday night’s meeting, developer Lawlor/French, LLC agreed to work with the community to meet the city’s needs.

We’re not here to push anything down anyone’s throats,” developers said. “We see ourselves as a part of the larger puzzle.”

The city says the agreement it was considering Thursday night would have put taxpayers on the line for $50,000. But since it’s not going to happen for now, city leaders may look to discuss the issue again after the November election.