Jun. 1--OCEANSIDE, Calif.--Manchester Resorts has submitted to the city an initial plan for its proposed El Corazon golf resort, the companion project to its planned beachfront hotel near the Municipal Pier. 

The draft master plan for the golf resort on a 455-acre former sand quarry in the center of the city was submitted Wednesday to the city's Planning Department. The golf resort also would include a hotel. 

Pete Litrenta, senior vice president for Manchester, said the plan will undergo changes as it proceeds through additional steps. Those include an environmental impact report and numerous hearings. 

"The guarantee that I make is that it will change," Litrenta said. 

Litrenta said Manchester wants to open the golf course at about the same time as its 400-room beachfront hotel on the two blocks south of the Municipal Pier, although the planning process for that project is on a earlier timeline. The environmental impact report for beach project is due June 15. 

The El Corazon property, which was given to the city in 1994 by the Rancho del Oro Land Co., is bordered by Oceanside Boulevard, Rancho del Oro Drive, El Camino Real and Mesa Drive. The draft plan places the entrance to the golf resort off an existing portion of Rancho del Oro. 

The plan includes a 175- to 200-room hotel up to 80 feet in height in the north-central part of the property. It would be surrounded by an 18-hole golf course. A nine-hole par-three executive course also might be included. 

The golf course portion of the project might be built and opened before the hotel is built, although a final decision has not been made on that, said Litrenta. Many of the beachfront hotel guests will want to play golf nearby, he said. 

A 500-foot wide band of open space runs along Garrison Creek and a 120-acre wildlife preserve is along the northern and western portions. Fifteen acres on the southwest corner is reserved for city recreational use, and at least five acres for city use will be set aside later. 

Oceanside Deputy City Manager Mike Blessing said that state and federal wildlife agencies will review the draft plan. The goal is to have a environmental impact report and a refined master plan completed by January of next year. 

"We've been on schedule so far," Litrenta said. 

City officials estimate the beachfront hotel will bring the city $130 million in tax revenue over 30 years. They have offered Manchester $15 million in financial support for the two companion projects. The El Corazon property would be sold to Manchester. 

Some opposition remains to the projects. 

A number of residents have objected to a proposal to convert the two blocks of Pacific Street south of the pier to a landscaped promenade, and to Manchester expanding and maintaining the bandshell area near the beach amphitheater. 

Former City Council candidate Lou Fenton is trying to launch a petition drive to block the El Corazon portion of the project. He wants the land retained for city parks. 

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(c) 2001, North County Times, Escondido, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.