Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Luis Rey Downs turns hotel over to renters

But is it legal?

San Luis Rey Downs. Crain says each room has a bathroom but no kitchen. - Image by Hotels Combined
San Luis Rey Downs. Crain says each room has a bathroom but no kitchen.

In 2014, the San Luis Rey Downs golf resort in Bonsall closed. Some 118 acres was purchased by the County to augment a public riverpark, and another 71 acres is in the process of being turned into a mitigation bank by the Conservation Land Group of Mill Valley.

But there are about three acres of the old San Luis Rey Downs Golf complex that has neighbors in bucolic Bonsall concerned. It’s the property right off Golf Club Drive that was home to the restaurant, clubhouses, offices and 24-room hotel. One real estate agent who did not want to be identified says the group of buildings perched over the closed golf course was on the market for $4 million but was actually sold for $1.5 million. (The broker who handled the sale, Rolf Rawson, said he was not at liberty to disclose figures).

Neighbors are surprised to learn that the hotel units are being rented out as residences.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Records show that the property was bought by Bell & 63rd Investments, LLC, whose principals are George Bien-Willner and his son Jerry from the Phoenix area. A sign in front of the property announces leasing opportunities for “restaurants, shops, offices and hotel studios.”

A call to the Phoenix area number on that sign indicates that the hotel room rentals are being handled by Mike Crain of Fallbrook Mission Realty. Crain says that the owners are handling the leasing of the restaurant property but he is charge in filling the hotel rooms with tenants.

Crain says the rooms (approximately 400 sq. ft.) go for $985 a month and are being leased on a month-to-month basis. “That includes electricity, water, and sewer… we also ask for a $985 security deposit and a credit check fee,” Crain tells me.

He says there is a door that adjoins some of the rooms and that depending on demand, that door could be removed to make a larger rental. Crain says each room has a bathroom but no kitchen. He says he has had plenty of offers from prospective tenants interested in a Bonsall studio.

Only problem: the county of San Diego says that that address is not zoned for residential use. Jeff Melo of the Planing and Services Department says that turning hotel rooms into residences is not legal on that parcel.

When notified, Crain says he was surprised to learn of the zoning restriction. He said he would reach out to Melo and find out what the status was before moving forward. He says he already has three tenants.

Meanwhile one non-residential business, an art studio known as Green Art House, has moved into one of the rooms. Crain says that the property owner has had many “nibbles” from prospective restaurateurs who would want to bring the eatery back to life.

On May 1 Phoenix TV station ABC15 aired a report on a hotel that police claim was “dilapidated,” “abandoned,” and “crime infested” that was plagued drugs, squatters, a dead body and a sex assault and was in danger of being taken over by the city of Phoenix.

The station reported the “nuisance property” was managed by Jerry Bien-Willner who is the vice mayor of Paradise Valley. While the Bien-Willners declined comment for this article, Jerry Bien-Willner reportedly told ABC15 “…the claims you are making are disputed.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
San Luis Rey Downs. Crain says each room has a bathroom but no kitchen. - Image by Hotels Combined
San Luis Rey Downs. Crain says each room has a bathroom but no kitchen.

In 2014, the San Luis Rey Downs golf resort in Bonsall closed. Some 118 acres was purchased by the County to augment a public riverpark, and another 71 acres is in the process of being turned into a mitigation bank by the Conservation Land Group of Mill Valley.

But there are about three acres of the old San Luis Rey Downs Golf complex that has neighbors in bucolic Bonsall concerned. It’s the property right off Golf Club Drive that was home to the restaurant, clubhouses, offices and 24-room hotel. One real estate agent who did not want to be identified says the group of buildings perched over the closed golf course was on the market for $4 million but was actually sold for $1.5 million. (The broker who handled the sale, Rolf Rawson, said he was not at liberty to disclose figures).

Neighbors are surprised to learn that the hotel units are being rented out as residences.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Records show that the property was bought by Bell & 63rd Investments, LLC, whose principals are George Bien-Willner and his son Jerry from the Phoenix area. A sign in front of the property announces leasing opportunities for “restaurants, shops, offices and hotel studios.”

A call to the Phoenix area number on that sign indicates that the hotel room rentals are being handled by Mike Crain of Fallbrook Mission Realty. Crain says that the owners are handling the leasing of the restaurant property but he is charge in filling the hotel rooms with tenants.

Crain says the rooms (approximately 400 sq. ft.) go for $985 a month and are being leased on a month-to-month basis. “That includes electricity, water, and sewer… we also ask for a $985 security deposit and a credit check fee,” Crain tells me.

He says there is a door that adjoins some of the rooms and that depending on demand, that door could be removed to make a larger rental. Crain says each room has a bathroom but no kitchen. He says he has had plenty of offers from prospective tenants interested in a Bonsall studio.

Only problem: the county of San Diego says that that address is not zoned for residential use. Jeff Melo of the Planing and Services Department says that turning hotel rooms into residences is not legal on that parcel.

When notified, Crain says he was surprised to learn of the zoning restriction. He said he would reach out to Melo and find out what the status was before moving forward. He says he already has three tenants.

Meanwhile one non-residential business, an art studio known as Green Art House, has moved into one of the rooms. Crain says that the property owner has had many “nibbles” from prospective restaurateurs who would want to bring the eatery back to life.

On May 1 Phoenix TV station ABC15 aired a report on a hotel that police claim was “dilapidated,” “abandoned,” and “crime infested” that was plagued drugs, squatters, a dead body and a sex assault and was in danger of being taken over by the city of Phoenix.

The station reported the “nuisance property” was managed by Jerry Bien-Willner who is the vice mayor of Paradise Valley. While the Bien-Willners declined comment for this article, Jerry Bien-Willner reportedly told ABC15 “…the claims you are making are disputed.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.