July 11–When Chula Vista approved a development agreement for a $1 billion hotel and convention center in April, the mayor said the project would spur more development along the city's Bayfront.

That is starting to happen.

The city's Planning Commission will hold a public hearing tonight for a 33-acre development that includes up to 1,500 residential units, a 250-room hotel, 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and 420,000 square feet of commercial, office, and retail use.

The project, known as "Pacifica," will be just west of Interstate 5 along Marina Parkway. The developer is a limited partnership called North C.V. Waterfront L.P.

The development agreement, which still needs to be approved by the City Council, requires the developer to start construction before 2023, pay $1 million toward a new fire engine, and $500,000 toward a new fire ladder truck.

Under the current agreement, Chula Vista would give the developer a variance from the city's affordable housing requirements.

This variance would allow Transient Occupancy Tax — the official term for hotel taxes — generated by the short-term rental of residential units to satisfy affordable housing requirements as long as the city collects $3 million in taxes from the developers in 10 years.

If the developers fail to generate $3 million in taxes, they would have to pay the difference themselves, according to the agreement.

In April, Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego approved a development agreement, revenue-sharing plan, and public subsidies for a $1.1 billion hotel and convention center.

The project includes a 1,600-room hotel, 275,000 square feet of event space, a parking garage and resort-style amenities such as a lazy river and wave pool. It is expected to generate about 2,200 temporary construction jobs and 4,470 permanent "direct, indirect, and induced jobs."

Chula Vista is currently in the process of diversifying its tax revenues by attracting more businesses, hotels, and even universities to the South Bay.

Currently, 2.3 percent of Chula Vista's general fund tax revenues come from the transient occupancy tax and 19 percent come from sales tax.

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